202605092 PDN Proposed Services Response Form.docx

RFP# 202605092

Professional Development Network Service Delivery

PROPOSED SERVICES RESPONSE FORM

Bidder Name:

INTRUCTIONS: Bidder must complete this form to discuss the Services to be Provided referenced in Part II of the RFP and what the Bidder will offer, including:

· A description of the methods and resources the Bidder will use and how each task involved will be accomplished.

· A description of how the expectations and/or desired outcomes as a result of these services will be achieved.

· If subcontractors are involved, Bidders must clearly identify the work each will perform.

Bidders may expand each of the response (white) spaces within this document in order to provide a full response to each requirement.

A. Training and Credentials

1. Maintain the Department approved and provided training plan designed to improve quality of Child Care Services and the skills and knowledge of Early Childhood Educators, which include approximately thirty (30) facilitated training courses offered through an average of one hundred (100) virtual and in-person facilitated training sessions per year, as well as approximately fifteen (15) on demand training.

a. Set up the training schedule each year.

b. Deliver the Department provided Core Knowledge Training by:

i. Delivering the Department requested and approved series of training each year through a Learning Management System (LMS), designed to meet the needs of Early Childhood Educators across the mixed delivery system, including professionals of Family Child Care Providers (FCCs), School-Age Child Care Programs, and Child Care Centers.

ii. Offering Child Care Providers and Early Childhood Educators a designated amount of training which includes:

1. Healthy and safe environments;

2. Observation and assessment;

3. Child development;

4. Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) guidance;

5. Relationships with families; and

6. Business and professional development.

iii. Offering the health and safety training requirements of the CCDF Rule under 45 CFR Part 98.

c. Manage Core Knowledge Training by:

i. Conducting and monitoring all training delivered by the awarded Bidder and approved by the Department with mentoring and guidance for training facilitators;

ii. Maintaining a comprehensive evaluation process for the training program;

1) Develop and implement pre- and post- surveys in each training to assess the knowledge and skills gained through the training.

iii. Updating all training as needed, incorporating current research and best practice;

iv. Updating new or revised training at the Department’s request and with Department approval with written curriculum, clearly defined goals and learning objectives;

v. Entering all training into the Professional Development Registry (Registry) interface; and

vi. Informing Child Care Providers and early educators of training opportunities throughout the State.

d. Review and verify State Approved Trainings by:

i. Verifying training from other training providers that meet Department approved criteria and are aligned with Core Knowledge Training content.

2. Manage and verify the Department approved Credentials which support professionals working with children and families throughout the State by:

a. Ensuring specific training courses are delivered to allow for Credential achievement;

b. Reviewing applications for Credentials and award Credentials; and

c. Strengthening Articulation Agreements and career pathways across the early care and education sector, including with institutions of higher education.

B. Early Care and Education Registry, Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), and Consumer Education

The University of Southern Maine (USM) manages the database systems for the QRIS, the Registry, and the Consumer Education on Maine’s Child Care Choices website.

1. Provide ongoing collaboration with USM.

2. Support Maine’s Registry by:

a. Helping Child Care Providers with paper and online applications;

b. Reviewing and entering new Registry applications accurately and within two (2) weeks of receipt;

c. Utilizing Department approved Career Lattices that measure and assign a level based on an individual’s education, experience, and training;

d. Reviewing and assessing Child Care Providers’ higher education documentation to determine highest level of education as it pertains to early childhood education and child development;

e. Calculating Child Care Providers’ length of experiences in the field, training history, and education level based on the approved Career Lattices;

f. Tracking a Child Care Provider’s education, training, and experience;

g. Tracking the completion of the health and safety training requirements;

h. Obtaining and maintaining membership with the National Workforce Registry Alliance; and

i. Promoting and publicizing the Registry Statewide.

3. Support Maine’s QRIS, Rising Stars for ME by:

a. Inputting information into the Rising Stars for ME interface, including applications combining self-assessment with linked administrative data.

i. Applications must be specific to each setting’s (Child Care Centers and FCCs) standards;

b. Working with the Department and other external partners to ensure that the Rising Stars for ME interface continues to be responsive to changing policies and practices;

c. Continuing to improve the ease of use, access of, and information contained within the Rising Stars for ME database by holding regular meetings with USM, conducting an annual analysis of the Rising Stars for ME database, and recommending any changes; and

d. Promoting and publicizing the QRIS Statewide.

4. Support updates and information for Maine’s Consumer Education Child Care Choices website, including, but not limited to:

a. Providing information on resources, types of child care in the State, child care licensing and subsidy programs in the State, and State child care data;

b. Providing access to a search feature for finding Child Care Services in the State (e.g. search.childcarechoices.me); and

c. Providing access to a Department approved Child Care Services provider portal, currently managed by USM, that contains provider-level information.

d. Promoting and publicizing the website Statewide.

C. Staffing Requirements

1. Employ no more than ten (10) staff, including but not limited to:

a. Director;

b. Data and Evaluation Manager;

c. Training Manager/Coordinator;

d. Curriculum Coordinator;

e. Credential and Career Pathways Coordinator;

f. Registry Manager/Coordinator/Associate;

g. QRIS Manager/Coordinator/Associate; and

h. Consumer Education and Communication Coordinator/Associate.

D. Advisory Structure

1. Coordinate an advisory structure by:

a. Creating formal and informal opportunities for external partners to advise the awarded Bidder on access to services, quality of delivery, and relevance to emerging needs in the field and sector, through multiple measures that include but are not limited to:

i. Training evaluations;

ii. Formal meetings; and

iii. Anecdotal records.

b. Ensuring external partners represent FCC programs and Child Care Centers including Head Starts and YMCAs.

c. Convening advisory meetings at least three (3) times a year to provide expertise and guidance for successful implementation of training and Credentials.

E. Performance Measures

1. Perform all services proposed in response to this RFP by achieving all Performance Measures listed in Table 1.

0. Submit data to support the performance measures utilizing the Department’s Provider Packet Template (to be provided upon contract execution) or via a third-party data source, as indicated within the performance measure data source column of Table 1.

Table 1 Mandatory Performance Measures

F. Reports

1. Track and record all data/information necessary to complete the required reports listed in Table 2:

Table 2 – Required Reports

· A needs assessment for early care and education training and Credentialing needed for the coming year.

Registry Data

· Total number of active participants in the Registry

· Total number of active participants in the Registry that are employed in a licensed child care setting

· Number of people entering the early care and education field to work in licensed child care setting, as documented in the Registry

· Number of actively employed individuals in a child care setting with an associate’s degree

· Number of actively employed individuals in a child care setting with a bachelor’s degree

· Number of actively employed individuals in a child care setting with a Credential

Training: Facilitated, In-Person, and On-Demand

· Number of facilitated trainings and number of participants completed and completion rate

· Names of all facilitated trainings for the quarter (does not need to list all from previous 3 quarters)

· Number of trainings that include content on supporting infants and toddlers

· Number of trainings that include content on supporting children with special needs

· Number of Infant and Toddler MELDS participants completed and completion rate

· Number of Preschool MELDS participants completed and completion rate

· Number of health and safety orientation participants completed and completion rate

· Number of health and safety renewal participants completed and completion rate

Credentials

· Number of Credentials awarded and number renewed, by type of Credential

2. Submit all the required reports to the Department in accordance with the timelines established in Table 3:

Table 3 – Required Reports Timelines

DHHS RFP Proposed Services Response Form (Rev. 10/2025)