Request for Proposal for Family Child Care Pre-K Capacity
Submission Deadline: March 21, 2025
Overview
The Children’s Opportunity Alliance (the Alliance) is seeking proposals from community-based organizations to support Family Child Care (FCC) providers in increasing their capacity, with the intention of preparing for eventual application to the Maryland State Department of Education Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Grant Program. FCC providers play a vital role in offering families flexible, culturally responsive, and high-quality child care options. However, many providers face challenges in growing their small businesses, as they often handle all operational roles without dedicated staff support. This initiative aims to strengthen FCC providers in Montgomery County by offering technical assistance and training to prepare their programs for delivering high-quality Pre-K. The selected partners will deliver targeted support through specialized services tailored to the unique needs of FCC providers.
Background Information
The Children’s Opportunity Alliance was created in 2022 through Montgomery County legislation. Our mission is to connect our community to build an equitable, accessible, high-quality, and sustainable early childhood system that narrows disparities and puts all young children on a path to reach their greatest potential. We are located in Montgomery County, Maryland, with an annual budget of approximately $1.2 million. The organization’s revenue is comprised of County funding through Montgomery County’s Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County Public Schools, foundation grants, and donations from individual donors.
Contact Information
All correspondence, telephone calls, and/or emails regarding this RFP shall be addressed to:
Children’s Opportunity Alliance
Attn: Kimberly Pena-Molina, Early Care and Education Manager
1801 Rockville Pike, Suite 320
Rockville, MD 20852
Telephone: 301-450-1672
Email: Kpmolina@mocochildren.org
Release Date: March 10, 2025
Submission Deadline: March 21, 2025
Introduction and Purpose
The Children’s Opportunity Alliance (the Alliance) is seeking proposals from community-based organizations to support Family Child Care (FCC) providers in increasing their capacity, with the intention of preparing for eventual application to the Maryland State Department of Education Pre-Kindergarten Expansion Grant Program. FCC providers play a vital role in offering families flexible, culturally responsive, and high-quality child care options. However, many providers face challenges in growing their small businesses, as they often handle all operational roles without dedicated staff support. This initiative aims to strengthen FCC providers in Montgomery County by offering technical assistance and training to prepare their programs for delivering high-quality Pre-K. The selected partners will deliver targeted support through specialized services tailored to the unique needs of FCC providers.
Scope of Work
This initiative builds upon the Alliance’s past efforts to support child care centers in preparation for Maryland’s Blueprint Pre-K Expansion grant, extending similar strategies to FCC providers. Grantees should include a proposal to deliver Pre-K capacity-building services to FCC providers in their network; examples of services include but are not limited to:
Assessment: Conducting site visits, consultations, and individualized growth plan development.
CLASS Training & Support: Facilitating classroom observation with detailed scoring and a comprehensive program improvement plan.
Instructional Quality Review (IQR): Providing overview and support to enhance instructional practices for Pre-K expansion.
Parental Feedback Evaluation: Collecting feedback from parents and families to improve services.
Pre-K Family Engagement Toolkit Development: Creating resources to strengthen family engagement strategies.
Community Partnership Planning: Facilitating connections with local organizations to enhance FCC support networks.
Developmental Screening Tool Selection: Providing guidance on choosing and implementing effective screening tools.
Staff Credentialing & Training: Identifying training opportunities and developing a credentialing plan.
Maryland EXCELS: Supporting publishing in EXCELS and moving from level 1 to 3.
Classroom Materials: Supporting purchase of classroom materials.
All services must be customized to each provider’s needs, ensuring no duplication of efforts between partners.
Deliverables and Timeline
Monthly Reports: Summary of key activities, progress updates, and impact assessment.
Invoices: Due on the 5th of each month for services provided in the previous month.
Budget and Timeline
Contract Duration: Initial three-month term. Funding must be spent by June 30, 2025. There is a potential three-month extension based on available funding.
Funding Availability: Minimum of $150,000.
Proposal Submission Requirements
Interested parties should submit a brief application with the following:
Cover Letter: A brief overview of your qualifications and interest in the project.
Approach, Statement of Need, and Work Plan: Outline your proposed scope of services to be offered, including a timeline and estimate of how many FCC providers you will support and how you will select them.
Budget Proposal: Detailed cost breakdown based on the scope of work.
References: Contact information for three professional references familiar with your capacity building work.
Selection Criteria
Alignment with the scope of work and organizational goals.
Strength of proposed approach and scope of work.
Cost-effectiveness and adherence to budget.
Strength of references.
Submission Instructions
Please send proposals electronically in PDF format to:
Children’s Opportunity Alliance
Attn: Kimberly Pena-Molina, Early Care and Education Manager
Subject Line: Family Child Care Capacity RFP Submission
Submission Deadline: March 21, 2025
For questions or clarifications, contact Kimberly Pena-Molina, Early Care and Education Manager at 301-450-1672 or kpmolina@mocochildren.org.
Proposals will be reviewed as quickly as possible and on a rolling basis until the submission deadline. Organizations will be invited to a partnership call with the Alliance to have an in-depth discussion of their proposal.
Terms and Conditions
The Children’s Opportunity Alliance reserves the right to reject any and all proposals. Submission of a proposal does not guarantee selection. The selected candidates will enter into a formal agreement with the Alliance outlining the terms of engagement.
We look forward to your proposal and to partnering on this critical work to increase family child care capacity to participate in Pre-K expansion.