RFP 1104 Infant Toddler Regional Resource Centers AMENDED 8/29/2024 and 9/13/2024

PLEASE NOTE:  This RFP was AMENDED on 8/29/2024 and 9/13/2024. The deadline for submission of proposals was extended to 9/19/2024 by 4 pm Eastern Time. Please refer to the amended documents for additional information. The online administrative form link has also been posted. Please see below for the link and specific instructions.

OCFS is pleased to announce this funding opportunity for Infant Toddler (IT) Regional Resource Centers, including infant and early childhood mental health consultant (IECMHC) Regional Services, and seeks to award contracts to qualified not-for-profit organizations that demonstrate the ability to provide the services described in this RFP.

Seven contracts will be awarded, one in each of the seven regions across the state (RFP Section 6.2 Evaluation Process) to lead IT regional agencies to address the unique needs of the IT population. These agencies will develop and coordinate IT and IECMHC services in partnership with OCFS and the OCFS assigned Network lead (currently, Early Care and Learning Council {ECLC}). The IT Regional Resource Center must collaborate with all Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) within their corresponding regions.

IT Regional Resource Centers will provide services to promote an understanding of the importance of, and strategies for, improving the quality of care for infants and toddlers. Services will include:

• providing technical assistance to providers regarding best practices in serving infants and toddlers,
• assisting providers in addressing issues of importance to the IT population,
• working with providers as they develop new IT care,
• promoting and facilitating child care staffing to obtain specialized training in serving the IT population,
• making available IT information on best practices in various mediums to the child care provider community,
• increasing opportunities for the historically underserved IT population and their caregivers,
• IECMHC Regional Services to support Infant and Toddler mental wellness and Early Childhood Caregiver wellness as outlined in Attachment 7 - IECMHC Consultation Services Cycle.

RFP Section 3.1 Minimum Qualifications include:

• Only not-for-profit organizations are eligible to receive awards for the funding announced in this RFP.

• Only not-for-profit organizations with a minimum of five years of experience working on a county-wide, regional, or statewide basis with the child care community or other program similar to the project described in this RFP. 

Submission of Proposals

Application submission for this RFP will occur in two steps (specific information is located in RFP Section 5.4 Proposal Content and RFP Section 5.5 Proposal Submittal Process):

• Step 1: applicants must first complete an online administrative form as instructed in RFP Section 5.5 Proposal Submittal Process. The online administrative form will be made available to the public on the date specified in RFP Section 1.2 Calendar of Events. Completion of the online administrative form is required for each application submitted in response to this RFP. The completion of Step 1 generates an application number and gathers required information for each application. Upon completion and submission of the online administrative form, applicants will receive an automatic confirmation email from funding@ocfs.ny.gov instructing them as to next steps in the submission process.

• Step 2: after completing Step 1, applicants must reply to the confirmation email to attach and submit all required application documents specified in RFP Section 5.4 Proposal Content to complete their submission process. All required documents must be submitted to funding@ocfs.ny.gov or the application submission will be considered incomplete. Both Step 1 and Step 2 must be completed, or the application will not be considered by OCFS to be properly received.

Online Administrative Form link:  https://forms.office.com/g/udsteicetP

Please use Attachment 12 – Submission Checklist to ensure all required documents are completed and submitted to OCFS via email. 

Please refer to RFP SECTION 5.0 PROPOSAL CONTENT AND SUBMISSION in the RFP document located on the "Documents" tab for additional information and submission requirements.