Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care – FY18 Educator and Provider Support Grant – Fund Code 322
Appendix E: Building Early Childhood Foundational Knowledge for All Scope of Work
February 21, 2017
Dear Interested Parties,
The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is seeking to contract with one or more qualified vendor(s) for the development of a suite of content-rich, professional development core knowledge trainings and materials to be used by all the educators across the Commonwealth’s mixed delivery system. EEC is seeking to fund three (3) types of foundational early educator content knowledge development for this Scope of Work (SOW). A qualified vendor may apply for one, two or all three Content Development Areas addressed below:
1. Development of pre-service health and safety trainings and materials in eleven (11) different topic areas;
2. Redesign of and content development for EEC’s pre-licensee process and required provider/educator orientation(s) for EEC’s Family Child Care License Programs and EEC’s Group and School Age Child Care License Programs; and
3. Content development for ongoing foundational core knowledge in the following areas:
a. Understanding Child Growth and Development (Birth – 8 Years of Age);
b. Guiding and Interacting with Children and Youth (Birth – 8 Years of Age);
c. Effective Partnering with Families;
d. Identifying and Caring for Children with Special Needs; and
e. Learning and Understanding Program Assessment through the Use of Evidence-Based Tools Such as the Environment Rating Scales (ERS) and Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) to Help Programs with EEC’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS).
This suite of trainings and associated materials will become part of new licensing and QRIS expectations and will enhance program quality by supporting the foundational knowledge of all educators working in the Commonwealth’s mixed delivery system (licensed, license-exempt, and care provided in the child’s home). This work is in part due to the new requirements articulated in the reauthorization of the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which is a federal grant that provides funding for child care subsidies for low income working families and improvements in child care quality. For information on the CCDBG please click on the following link: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/initiatives.
This contract will have an initial duration of approximately four (4) months, starting on or about March 30, 2017 and ending on June 30, 2017 with one (1) option to renew for FY18, contingent on contract performance and subject to the appropriation of State funds. Additional required services and funding will be determined prior to the FY18 renewal.
Content Development Deadlines:
EEC expects the following deliverable deadlines to be met by selected vendor(s):
· Content Area #1: Completed and delivered to EEC on/before September 29, 2017
· Content Area #2: Completed and delivered to EEC on/before December 29, 2017
· Content Area #3: Completed and delivered to EEC on/before May 31, 2018
Contract Timeframe: March 30, 2017 through June 30, 2018 Total Contract: Up to $ 440,000.00
Year One FY17: March 24, 2017 - June 30, 2017 Up to: $220,000.00
FY17 - Subject to the appropriation of State funds
Year Two FY18: July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018 Up to: $220,000.00
FY 18 - Subject to the appropriation of State funds
Funding:
Content Development Funding Percentages anticipated by EEC:
· Content Area #1: Funding of up to 25 % of available funds. Up to $110,00.00
· Content Area #2: Funding of up to 35 % of available funds. Up to $154,000.00
· Content Area #3: Funding of up to 40 % of available funds. Up to $176,000.00
Note: If additional funds become available during the contract duration period, EEC reserves the right to increase the maximum obligation to the selected vendor or to execute contracts with vendors not funded in the initial selection process, subject to available funding, satisfactory contract performance and service or commodity need.
Context:
EEC supports all children and their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and supports families in their essential work as parents and caregivers. EEC has made workforce a priority of the agency.
The new federal CCDBG requirements and the Board of Early Education and Care’s goal of focusing attention and resources on the needs of the workforce have led EEC to conduct a review of its current licensing practices and requirements; a review of EEC’s licensing citations; and a review of the findings from EEC’s QRIS Validation Study.
EEC is implementing the following strategies to support its workforce agenda in FY17:
· Revising the Massachusetts QRIS;
· Investing in an online learning platform that will encompass and update current technology infrastructure related to workforce development;
· Developing training as required by the new federal CCDBG requirements;
· Updating and developing a crosswalk of EEC’s Categories of Study with Core Competencies, QRIS professional development requirements, and current college courses that are transferable among institutions of higher education, to inform development of an authentic career pathway for the early education and out-of-school time workforce;
· Expanding onsite supports, including coaching, technical assistance and early childhood mental health consultation for the early education and out-of-school time workforce; and
· Restructuring grant opportunities funded by EEC to support the development of a comprehensive workforce development system that builds the capacity of educators and licensed programs across the mixed delivery system.
Currently, EEC supports workforce development, technical assistance and coaching through a variety of initiatives and funding mechanisms. These initiatives include the Educator and Provider Support (EPS) grant, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grant (ECMH), Preschool Expansion Grant (PEG) and technical assistance through EEC’s Licensing Staff, Family Child Care Systems and EEC’s Program Quality Specialists. These EEC initiatives serve educators and providers across the Commonwealth and across EEC’s mixed delivery system which includes center-based, family child care, public and private preschools, Head Start, and out-of-school time/after school programs.
Based upon recent review of its workforce development system, EEC has concluded that key foundational components are needed within EEC’s system of supports to and expectations of the workforce. As part of EEC’s efforts to strengthen these systems, the agency is looking to implement the following changes to further support the educators across the Commonwealth’s mixed delivery system:
1. Development and enhancement of EEC’s foundational core knowledge trainings for all educators;
2. Revision of EEC’s pre-service and orientation trainings on licensing and QRIS requirements; and
3. Investment in a comprehensive information technology workforce development system that is inclusive of a dedicated Learning Management System (LMS) so that all educators would have the ability to learn core content knowledge in multiple ways, track their progress and more easily develop the core competencies and skills needed to support children’s early learning in a safe environment that leads to positive child outcomes and increased program quality.
The purpose of this procurement is to support this agenda through the development of core content in the following areas:
Health and Safety Trainings:
CCDBG revisions require that EEC provide pre-service orientation and ongoing training to educators in all programs (including family child care and license-exempt) in the following areas:
1. Administration of Medication;
2. Appropriate Precautions in Transporting Children;
3. Building and Physical Premises Safety;
4. Pediatric First Aid and CPR;
5. Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning;
6. Handling and Storage of Hazardous Materials and the Appropriate Disposal of Bio-Contaminants;
7. Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, including Immunizations;
8. Prevention of and Response to Emergencies due to Food and Allergic Reactions;
9. Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome and Abusive Head Trauma;
10. Prevention of SIDS and Use of Safe Sleeping Practices (subject to age appropriateness of children in care); and
11. Recognizing, Responding and Reporting Appropriately to Incidents of Child Abuse and Neglect.
Through this procurement, EEC is interested in purchasing services to revise and/or develop such trainings, including both the pre-service orientations, introduction to the QRIS and the value of program self-assessment and periodic training on these topics. This training sequence will be integrated into the LMS once procured as one delivery mode.
Pre-Licensee Process and Required Provider Orientation(s):
Before applying for a license, EEC requires that all applicants complete an orientation to EEC’s licensing requirements. After completing this orientation and successfully applying for a license, licensees receive either a three-year license for Family Child Care Providers or a six-month provisional license for Group and School-Age Child Care Programs. After receiving their licenses from EEC, both Family Child Care and Group and School-Age Child Care Programs and individual staff that work at these programs will have to continue to complete ongoing additional training on licensing expectations after receiving their license as part of this new process of enhanced core foundational knowledge for educators. EEC would like to update and revise these trainings to include ongoing foundational skills and knowledge in an ongoing schedule to a program’s continuous improvement. Currently, the pre-licensee process does not introduce participants to ongoing foundational knowledge and quality enhancements offered through the QRIS. EEC is looking to include new topics as part of the orientation process.
Ongoing Foundational Core Knowledge Trainings:
CCDBG requires that EEC establish training and professional development requirements that improve the knowledge of the full EEC workforce, including those in license-exempt programs. EEC’s reviews of policies related to the workforce and QRIS validation findings identified a gap in the supports provided for foundational knowledge and skills. EEC is revising its foundational expectations of educators, as well as the available tools, and would like support in expanding the foundational trainings available to the early education workforce in the Commonwealth. These trainings should be aligned with EEC’s expectations around educator’s knowledge and competencies in the following areas:
1. Understanding Child Growth and Development (Birth – 8 Years of Age);
2. Guiding and Interacting with Children and Youth (Birth – 8 Years of Age);
3. Effective Partnering with Families;
4. Identifying and Caring for Children with Special Needs; and
5. Learning and Understanding Program Assessment through the Use of Evidence-Based Tools such as the ERS and the CLASS to Help Programs with EEC’s QRIS.
Goals:
The goals for this competitive contract are to fund the development of core content knowledge in the three (3) project areas mentioned above that will support:
· Program quality in all early education and out of school time settings;
· Educators’ core knowledge and enhanced theory-to-practice approach to their work;
· Existing foundational skills and competencies and enhance knowledge with new pre-service health and safety trainings and build upon additional core knowledge topics with more in-depth foundational content knowledge available to educators;
· Consultation with the regional licensing offices as new pre-service and new provider orientations to licensing requirements are designed and tested (this work will also meet the needs of EEC’s new Differential Licensing process to be rolled out next year); and
· EEC’s capacity to meet the federal regulatory requirements of the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) 98:41 and 98.44.
Required Services:
During the contract term, the selected vendor(s) must provide the following services:
1. Content Development Area: Pre-Service Health and Safety Trainings:
a. Research the availability and quality of current training and subsequently establish, revise, or develop health and safety content requirements and trainings in the following content areas:[1]
i. Administration of Medication;[2]
ii. Appropriate Precautions in Transporting Children;[3]
iii. Building and Physical Premises Safety;
iv. Pediatric First Aid and CPR;[4]
v. Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning;
vi. Handling and Storage of Hazardous Materials and the Appropriate Disposal of Bio-Contaminants;
vii. Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, including Immunizations;
viii. Prevention of and Response to Emergencies due to Food and Allergic Reactions;
ix. Prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome and Abusive Head Trauma;
x. Prevention of SIDS and Use of Safe Sleeping Practices (subject to age appropriateness of children in care);[5] and
xi. Recognizing, Responding and Reporting Appropriately to Incidents of Child Abuse and Neglect.
b. Collaborate with the EEC’s Programs, Workforce and Licensing Units as needed, and/or other stakeholders to gather their recommendations on key policy decisions regarding proposed training content and materials.
c. Provide mechanisms to evaluate participants’ completion and level of understanding of each new and or updated health and safety training module and /or content area.
d. Ensure that all content addresses the needs of both a diverse workforce and the needs of adult learners of varying levels of formal education with different learning preferences and language abilities. Training must be made available in the four most commonly used languages other than English by the workforce in Massachusetts. EEC will furnish this list of languages to the selected vendor.
e. Provide and plan for any required need for Train the Trainer (TOT) segments upon roll out of any orientations or long-form foundational trainings as needed by EEC staff or EPS training staff.
f. Ensure that all training content meets EEC’s new LMS requirements as specified in this Scope of Work under Appendix A.
2. Content Development Area: Pre-Licensee Process and Required Provider/Educator Orientation(s):
a. Collaborate with the EEC’s Programs, Workforce and Licensing Units as needed, and/or other stakeholders to gather their recommendations on key policy decisions regarding proposed training content and materials.
b. Meet as necessary with EEC Licensing staff at the regional offices to understand the current orientation and licensing process for Family Child Care and Group and School-Age Child Care for the purpose of the redesign of each orientation process. Please note that the new orientations must be aligned, to the extent possible, with EEC plans for the Differential Licensing process that will be implemented within the next year.
c. Provide mechanisms to evaluate participants’ completion and level of understanding of the orientation’s content.
d. Identify how these trainings fit into the larger career lattice and on-going professional development expected by EEC.
e. All new content development must address the needs of both a diverse workforce and the needs of adult learners of varying levels of formal education with different learning preferences and language ability and must be made available in the four most commonly used languages by our workforce other than English in Massachusetts. EEC will furnish this list to the selected vender.