Request for Applications (RFA)
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Division of Early Learning (DEL) is pleased to announce the FY24 Building and Sustaining Quality in Early Care and Education (BSQECE) grant application. The purpose of this grant is to support capacity building in DC’s early care and education system to expand and enhance quality care and education services for young children and their families. The grant will support OSSE in addressing the Start Early initiatives in OSSE’s 2023-2025 strategic plan, as well as the efforts laid out in the DC Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) state plan.
The BSQECE grant will be available through a competitive process. Eligible applicants must be able to demonstrate expertise in financial management, quality assurance and ongoing monitoring of program deliverables, as well as previous experience providing supports related to the implementation of the four identified program areas in a mixed delivery early care and education system.
The four program areas of the BSQECE grant are related to the implementation of:
- Capital Quality, the District’s quality rating and improvement system (QRIS);
- DC Child Care Connections (DC CCC), DC’s child care resource and referral (CCR&R) program;
- DC Shared Services Business Alliance (DC SSBA); and
- Professional development for the early care and education workforce.
OSSE intends to issue at least one but up to four awards from this RFA. Applicants may submit an application to address all program areas or a subset of them. Determinations regarding the number of competitive grants to be awarded will be based on the quality and number of applications received and available funding.
Application Submission Opening Date
The BSQECE grant application release date is May 5, 2023. The application is available through OSSE’s Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS). All applicants must be registered vendors in EGMS to access the application.
Pre-Application Webinar
A pre-application webinar will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, at 10 a.m. To register for the webinar, please email Alexis Williams, program manager, at [email protected] by May 12, 2023.
Application Submission Closing Date
The application must be submitted through EGMS by Monday, June 19, 2023 no later than 3 p.m.
Agency Contact
For questions related to the BSQECE grant opportunity, contact:
Alexis Williams
Program Manager
Division of Early Learning
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
Telephone: (202) 741-7637
Email: [email protected]
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