Child Care Day Contracts Infant and Toddler Expansion Application Guide FY24

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What is the intent of this funding?

Child Day Care (CDC) Contract Infant and Toddler expansion funding through the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC) is intended to provide low-income Connecticut families increased access to high-quality, affordable NEW full day, full year infant and toddler child care spaces.

What qualifies as “NEW” spaces?

“NEW” means classrooms for infants and/or toddlers that were open and available to families after and not before June 30, 2022. For Family Child Care Homes, “NEW” means a space that has been unutilized for at least eight (8) months by an infant and/or toddler.

What is the definition of infants and toddlers?

Infants and toddlers are children six (6) weeks to three (3) years of age.

Does the program have to be licensed?

Yes, all programs must have a current OEC infant/toddler licensing endorsement prior to funding availability. Programs may apply for this funding while pursuing a licensing endorsement from OEC (Allowable license types: DCCC, DCGH, FCCC only).

What is the definition of low-income families?

At least 60% of children enrolled in CDC Infant and Toddler Expansion spaces must be from families that are at or below 75% of the state median income (SMI), of which 80% of those families must be working families. See OEC General Policy B-03 for more information.

What is the definition of the full day, full year space type?

Full day, full year spaces must be open and available to families at least thirty (30) hours a week. Additionally, full day, full year spaces must be made available for ten (10) hours a day, five (5) days a week, forty-eighty (48) weeks a year.

What is the annual reimbursement rate for infant/toddler full day/full year spaces?

The annual reimbursement rate is $13,500.00 per child for full day/full year infant/toddler spaces.

What is the length of this contract?

This contract is from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024.

What are the compliance requirements of this contract?

A contractor, and all approved subcontractors, will be required to meet all contract requirements and OEC General Policies specific to Child Day Care Contracts.

By submitting an application in response to this RFA, the applicant implicitly agrees to comply with the provisions of Parts I and II of the State’s “standard contract” for POS: Part I of the standard contract is maintained by the OEC and will include the scope of services, contract performance, quality assurance, reports, terms of payment, budget, and other program-specific provisions of any resulting POS contract.

Part II of the standard contract is maintained by OPM and includes the mandatory terms and conditions of the POS contract. Part II is available on OPM’s website.

Who can apply for this funding?

This funding opportunity is open to all licensed child care centers, group child care homes and family child care homes in Connecticut and will result in a direct contract with the OEC. Programs must have a current OEC infant/toddler licensing endorsement or be working towards said endorsement at time of application, to be considered for funding.

Family Child Care Homes must apply through an intermediary organization. The intermediary organization will serve as the primary contractor with OEC and will subcontract funding to a minimum of 5 individual family child care homes. Examples of such intermediary organizations may include but are not limited to municipalities, unions, boards of education, nonprofits or faith-based organizations, staffed family child care networks, other large child care organizations and networks, etc.

Do child care centers and group child care homes have to apply through an intermediary organization?

No. Child care centers and group child care homes are encouraged but not required to work with an intermediary organization as primary contractor.

Are there funds available to organizations to administer this contract?

For Family Child Care Homes: The intermediary organization (primary contractor) will be awarded ten percent (10%) administrative funding, based on the total funding amount, to administer and monitor the program amongst subcontractors.

For Child Care Centers and Group Child Care Homes: There are no administrative funds for these program types.

How many spaces can a program or organization request in an application?

Family Child Care Space Requests

  • Minimum number of spaces per license: 1
  • Minimum number of spaces per application: 10
  • Maximum number of spaces per license: 4 spaces with no more than 2 children under 18 months
  • Maximum number of spaces per application: No maximum

Child Care Center & Group Child Care Homes Space Requests

  • Minimum number of spaces per license: 4
  • Maximum number of spaces per license: 24
  • Maximum number of spaces per application: No maximum

What criteria prioritizes an application?

Priority will be given to programs:

  • Located within a socially vulnerable community that scores above .4 as defined by the Centers for Disease Control
  • Located in a child care desert
  • Currently accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), or are currently Early Head Start/Head Start approved

Does the program(s) have to become accredited through NAEYC or NAFCC if not already accredited or Early Head Start/Head Start approved?

Yes, all approved programs must meet accreditation requirements outlined in OEC General Policy B-05. All child day care contractors and subcontractors that serve infants, toddlers, and/or preschoolers must be Accredited or hold Head Start Approval within three years of when the first child occupies a funded space. Accreditation refers to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC).

Any infant/toddler classrooms that were not accredited through the programs’ last accreditation process will be required to participate in the Environmental Rating Scale system.

What is the OEC Infant/Toddler Study?

The OEC Infant/Toddler study is a state funded initiative designed to research and evaluate the implementation of various early childhood care education and support services on the overall
growth and development of infants and toddlers. Participation may include implementing
research-based professional development, curricular interventions, 2 Gen family-based
approaches and additional researched based interventions. The implementation of any
interventions would be covered by OEC, and study participation is a require of this funding
opportunity.

What are Enhancement Funds and how may they be used?

Approved applicants will have the opportunity to request enhancement funds to support the infant/toddler expansion spaces. This funding may be used for things including but not limited to: classroom renovations, teacher sign-on bonuses, supplies, equipment, etc.

How are applications scored?

The evaluation and award process will be done by tiers based on a community’s social vulnerability index SVI and category of child care desertification. Completed applications will follow one of two tracks:

  • TRACK A: Family Child Care Intermediary Contractors
  • TRACK B: Child care centers, group child care homes (individual or with an intermediary contractor)

Spaces will then be awarded based on this tiered system within their track until all spaces are awarded. In the event there are not enough spaces to award all applicants within a tier subset, applicants will then be awarded spaces based on descending order by town of SVI level from highest to lowest.

How are applications submitted?

The application has been built into the Qualtrics survey software. All applications must be submitted in their entirety through this Qualtrics link.

Can I save my application and return to it later?

Yes. Using the link above, the application will automatically save throughout completion and return to the last question answered. There is a PDF application available for reference to use before an application is submitted via Qualtrics.

When are applications due?

All applications are due by March 29, 2023 at 12:00pm. No extensions will be granted.

Where can questions be directed?

For all questions and inquiries, please contact OEC.statefunded@ct.gov.

Last updated February 27, 2023