Human Services has posted the following Solicitation RFP 07-18 for Pennsylvania receives funding through the Child Care and Development and Block Grant (“CCDBG”) to support low-income working families’ access to high-quality child care.

The work to support the CCDBG grant is currently performed in Region 18 (Philadelphia) by two types of OCDEL business partners, the Child Care Information Services (“CCIS”) agencies and a Regional Key. Currently, four (4) CCIS agencies manage Pennsylvania’s subsidized child care program, Child Care Works (“CCW”), in Region 18. Through the CCISs, families may receive assistance locating and paying for child care, and other resource and referral services in the community. CCISs also manage child care providers serving eligible children through provider agreements. This includes processing invoices, paying providers and issuing tax documents.

Currently, the Southeast Regional Key (“SERK”) supports child care providers’ participation in Keystone STARS. SERK is responsible for providing the designation process for providers to participate in Keystone STARS based on the Keystone STARS Performances Standards. Under the current system, the SERK manages regulatory referrals from the Child Care Certification Representatives for providers who have training needs to be in compliance with basic health and safety.

The specific objective of this procurement is to unify CCIS and SERK services into the ELRC. DHS is seeking to identify and secure agreements with community-based business partner to provide leadership, management, and administration of all aspects of the Keystone STARS program recruitment, coaching, program monitoring, grants and awards, child care resource and referral, and CCW eligibility determinations, provider payments, provider management, and funds management services. The Commonwealth intends to achieve cost savings and efficiencies through the integration of the services currently provided by the CCIS and SERK while enhancing services to eligible clients.

You may view the bid online at eMarketplace or by clicking here. Public bid openings consist of a Commonwealth procurement representative electronically accessing or opening timely received bids. The representative announces the suppliers whose bids were timely received and the total bid amount to those present at the bid opening except where it is deemed unreasonable to read the bid amount due to complexity or large number of line items. Suppliers are not permitted to review bids at the opening. The bid tabulation will be posted to www.eMarketplace.state.pa.us as soon as practicable after the opening. Awarded contracts are posted to eMarketplace after they become fully executed.