Intermediary Organization Pilot Project Planning INTRODUCTION On November 3rd, 2020 voters in Multnomah County overwhelmingly supported the “Preschool for All” ballot measure. The approval of Preschool for All (PFA) will give 3- and 4-year-olds in Multnomah County access to free, high-quality, developmentally appropriate, culturally affirming preschool experiences. A detailed Preschool for All Plan was published in July 2020 in advance of the November 2020 election. The Preschool & Early Learning Division of Multnomah County’s Department of County Human Services, as the administrator of this new program, is interested in identifying community-based organizations interested in becoming Intermediary Organizations for Preschool for All. Intermediary Organizations will offer culturally-responsive business development support as part of PFA. Information gathered as a result of this process will assist the County in the development of any potential solicitation(s) in the future and provide the County knowledge of available services within the community. This application will not directly result in a contract award, but will assist the County in the development of the Intermediary Organization Pilot Project. BACKGROUND AND POTENTIAL SCOPE OF PROJECT Preschool for All will provide access to high-quality, culturally responsive, joyous preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds in Multnomah County. PFA will be a mixed-delivery system that will include in-home providers, schools, centers, and multi-generational preschool programs. PFA will grow over time, increasing the number of providers and families, until the system is universally available in approximately 10 years. Multnomah County will hold contracts with larger centers and with school districts. The county will also contract with Intermediary Organizations. Intermediary Organizations will sub-contract with pre-identified in-home preschool providers and small centers for Preschool for All slots In-home providers represent the most linguistically and culturally diverse group of preschool providers in our community. Many in-home providers offer culturally relevant or culturally specific care, giving children rich learning environments and building strong relationships with families. Intermediary Organizations will ensure that in-home providers and small centers can fully participate in Preschool for All by offering culturally responsive business development support. This RFI will be used to gather information and further develop the role of the Intermediary Organization within PFA. Organizations selected to participate in this pilot will be working closely with PFA administration to understand and refine the role of the Intermediary Organization. This will require flexibility, and organizations should expect ongoing changes as part of the learning and planning process of this pilot. Response to this RFI is not required for potential participation as an Intermediary Organization. INTERMEDIARY ORGANIZATIONS Intermediary organizations will play a key role in supporting in-home preschools and small centers, bringing cultural and community expertise to their relationships, communication, and contracts with providers. Intermediary organizations will work closely with the PFA administration to ensure that these providers’ needs are met and that the system works smoothly to support their participation. Key responsibilities of intermediary Organizations: Hire, supervise, and support a minimum of 1.0 FTE Child Care Systems Navigator position to support the key responsibilities of Intermediary Organizations. Utilize community, cultural, and linguistic expertise to develop, implement and oversee contracts with identified Preschool for All providers. Guide providers through the PFA contracting process and ongoing implementation: Share information, Answer questions, and Ensure Multnomah County contractual requirements are met. Offer business development opportunities in areas such as: Budget planning, Purchasing and maintaining appropriate insurance, Record-keeping, and Staffing and supervision. Support provider invoicing and pay providers in a timely manner. Help providers address challenges through resource connections and system navigation. Communicate and collaborate regularly with PFA administration, including attending program planning, support, and implementation meetings. Work with PFA administration to refine the role of the Intermediary Organization over the course of the pilot project, including identifying strengths, lessons learned, and process improvements. Intermediary Organizations will support in-home providers and center-based Preschool for All providers with a licensed capacity of 0-49 children. Intermediary Organizations will not select Preschool for All providers. Providers will be selected through a separate process. FUNDING The Intermediary Organization Pilot Project has an anticipated budget of up to $300,000/year. This funding is for the whole project and may support multiple organizations as necessary for the system. Please be mindful of this constraint as you consider how your organization may support any future pilot project. This amount may be adjusted in the first year depending on the timeline for the execution of the contract. The County fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30. It is the County’s expectation to issue a full competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) as we near completion of the Intermediary Organization Pilot Project. This is currently anticipated to take place in two (2) years. PFA is committed to ensuring a living wage for preschool providers and contracted services staff. QUESTIONS Please describe your organization’s experience working with in-home and small center-based child care businesses. Please describe your organization’s experience providing culturally responsive or culturally specific business support to Black, Indigenous, and Business Owners of Color and the cultural and linguistic groups your organization is well positioned to partner with. Please describe your organization’s experience subcontracting to other organizations or businesses. Please describe how many providers that each Child Care Systems Navigator position would be able to support and how you arrived at that number. The PFA contracting period is expected to start in January 2022. Are you able to have all staff in place to support this project by early December in order to participate in PFA contracting activities? Please describe how your organization would utilize potential funding for these services given the budget constraints described above. Please include staff requirements, pay scale, and related budget categories. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Response must be submitted electronically through this Sourcing Event. Please submit your response as a single PDF upload to Question 1.1.1. There is no page limit for responses. CONFIDENTIALITY Multnomah County is required to disclose non-exempt public documents pursuant to ORS 192.410-192.505). ORS 192.502(4) exempts the County from disclosing information submitted in response to a solicitation where the information is such that it “should reasonably be considered confidential.” A respondent who determines that information within a response meets the statutory requirement and desires that such information remain confidential shall mark the bottom of the pages containing such information with the word “CONFIDENTIAL.” If a respondent marks every page of a response as “CONFIDENTIAL”, the statutory requirement is not met; any response so marked will not be deemed to have been submitted in confidence, and upon request, the entire response will be disclosed. The County will keep properly marked information confidential unless ordered to release the information and materials by the District Attorney pursuant to ORS 192.460. SUBMITTED MATERIALS PROPERTY OF COUNTY All materials submitted for any portion of this application process shall become the property of the County, and will not be returned to respondents.

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