The QIN is an Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) program, which aims to prepare children to be ready for school, by supporting families as their child’s first teacher and equipping child development facilities with the tools they need to maintain or improve the quality of early learning experiences provided.

The mission of the QIN is to positively change the future trajectory of DC's youngest learners, in partnership and collaboration with families and community, by providing an umbrella of services to support their journey towards turning dreams into accomplished goals. To that end, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is soliciting applications from organizations to serve as a hub to child development facilities, also referred to as child care partners (CCPs), to provide support with the implementation of Early Head Start (EHS). Specifically, the hub will support the successful implementation of the QIN to: (1) meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS); (2) support ongoing compliance with DC’s child care licensing regulations; and (3) support increasing the number of infants, toddlers and their families benefitting from continuous, intensive and comprehensive child development and family support services.

The purpose of the QIN hub grant is to provide services within participating CCPs to include eligibility, recruitment, selection, enrollment and attendance (ERSEA); high-quality and comprehensive; and training, technical assistance and professional development to CCPs, educators and families. Services are to be delivered to EHS-eligible children, families and CCPs through a District-wide hub responsible for EHS services in all Wards of the District either directly or through contractual agreements with other organizations.

Fiscal Year 2025 Request for Applications (RFA)
The QIN hub grant will be available through a competitive process. Applications that meet all eligibility and application requirements will be evaluated, scored and rated by an OSSE designated review panel. Applications will be scored on the following categories: (1) information about the organization; (2) capacity to implement the QIN program; (3) experience providing professional development using DC observation tools; (4) financial management and proposed budget; (5) workplan; and (6) data collection and evaluation plan.

All grants under this RFA will be five-year awards, beginning on Oct. 1, 2024 and ending on Sept. 30, 2029, contingent upon availability of funds. Each budget period will be one year, with the first period beginning Oct. 1, 2024 and ending Sept. 30, 2025. A completed grant application must be submitted annually. The total funding available for implementing the QIN program is approximately $2,210,919 in local funding and $2,145,726 in federal funding per year, for each of the five years of the grant, based on similar amount of funding received for this grant in previous fiscal years.

Application Submission Opening Date
The QIN hub grant application will open May 16, 2024. The application must be submitted using the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS). A completed application with attachments is required upon submission. All applicants must be registered vendors in EGMS to access the application. OSSE/DEL will not forward incomplete applications to the review panel.

Pre-Application Webinar
OSSE will hold a pre-application webinar on May 31, 2024, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., to answer questions about the RFA and grant competition. To attend the pre-application webinar, please register by email to Samantha Young at [email protected] no later than May 27, 2024.

Application Submission Closing Date
Applications are due no later than 3 p.m. on July 1, 2024. Applications must be submitted through EGMS. Late applications will not be accepted. Once an application is submitted, it cannot be revised.

Agency Contacts
For questions related to the QIN hub grant, contact:

Lysa Torres
Program Manager
Division of Early Learning
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
1050 First Street NE, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 285-3518
[email protected]

Samantha Young
Fiscal Management Analyst​, Grants and Financial Services​
Division of Early Learning
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
1050 First Street NE, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 714-2752​
[email protected]