Exhibit A - Statement of Work (SOW) Template.docx

Exhibit A

Statement of Work [Vendor Legal Name including DBA if appropriate] [Enter Project and/or Program Name]

CDEC Program Contract Manager

· To Be Determined

Abbreviations

· CCCAP - Colorado Child Care Assistance Program

· CCDF - Child Care Development Fund

· CDEC – Colorado Department of Early Childhood

· CLASS - Classroom Assessment Scoring System

· CQI – Continuous Quality Improvement

· DECW - Division of Early Childhood Workforce

· ERS - Environmental Rating Scale

· FCCH - Family Child Care Home

· KPI - Key Performance Indicator

· QIS - Quality Improvement System

· QRIS - Quality Rating and Improvement System

· SFY – State Fiscal Year

· SOW - Statement of Work

· UPK/UPP - Colorado Universal Preschool Program

Glossary

· SFY27 – State Fiscal Year 2027 is July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027.

Introduction/Background

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood is embarking upon a redesign of the Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). About every five years, CDEC takes the opportunity to reflect and evaluate the purpose and impact of the QRIS. A refresh allows for interest holders, including early childhood educators, leaders, CDEC staff, families, and other community members, to provide input on how to improve the QRIS to ensure it is supporting early childhood programs to provide promising early care and learning opportunities to young children and support families in identifying the best early childhood program for their child. Through interest holder engagement and workgroups, CDEC will spend the next several months developing a refreshed QRIS. Opportunities to share feedback and ideas for the refresh will be shared in the coming months.

Leading up to this redesign, CDEC is currently completing interest holder feedback sessions and a landscape analysis to bring additional context to the redesign. Interest holders are reflecting on the previous Colorado Shines QRIS as well as sharing ideas for the future of quality improvement. The landscape analysis will provide background analysis on how other states have approached developing a quality improvement system, including professional qualifications systems, analyzing the use of observation tools, integration of state preschool programs, and more.

Through this engagement, CDEC seeks a vendor partner to provide backbone support for the Quality Improvement System (QIS) Redesign. This will include supporting the CDEC Division of Early Childhood Workforce (DECW) with project management, additional analysis support, facilitation of feedback sessions for the redesigned system, and design of any potential pilots for implementation of the redesigned system.

Scope of Work

· The selected vendor shall serve as the primary administrative and strategic backbone for the DECW during the redesign process. This shall include:

· Strategic roadmapping to maintain a comprehensive project master schedule that integrates CDEC internal milestones with external engagement phases.

· Inter-agency coordination to facilitate regular check-ins with CDEC staff to ensure the redesign stays aligned with the Department’s broader strategic goals.

· Documentation and reporting to manage all project documentation, including the synthesis of meeting minutes, decision logs, and monthly progress reports for CDEC leadership.

· Technology System update timelines

· Communication and change management timelines

· The vendor shall be responsible for the end-to-end execution of a statewide engagement strategy designed to capture the voices of a diverse early childhood ecosystem. This shall include:

· Feedback session design to develop the methodology and materials (e.g., slide decks, surveys, breakout activities) for virtual and in-person feedback sessions.

· Inclusive facilitation to execute a minimum of five sessions targeting specific subgroups, including:

· Licensed center-based providers and family child care home (FCCH) providers, including providers that serve families receiving CCCAP and UPK funding

· Early childhood educators and workforce members

· Early Childhood Councils and local support workforce

· Families using Colorado Shines

· Rural, mountain, and frontier community representatives

· Synthesis of findings to produce a report that translates raw qualitative feedback into specific, prioritized recommendations for the redesigned system.

· Building upon the initial landscape analysis and initial interest holder engagement completed by CDEC, the vendor shall provide analytical support into specific technical areas of the QRIS and QIS opportunities. This shall include:

· Building off of the existing landscape analysis, conduct a comparative analysis of at least five (5) other states that have recently transitioned to "continuous quality improvement" (CQI) or alternative rating models.

· Support CDEC with analysis and recommendations that lead to the development of the QIS framework:

· The integration of professional qualification frameworks.

· The use and burden-ratio of various observation tools (e.g., CLASS, ERS).

· Alignment with other program requirements, including CCDF, Head Start, Universal Preschool, and CCCAP.

· Economic impact modeling to provide a high-level analysis of how proposed changes might impact provider participation, local capacity such as Early Childhood Councils, and state funding structures.

· The vendor shall work with CDEC to establish a Five-Year Quality Plan, to include:

· Timelines for implementation

· Creation of a rollout strategy that shall include a draft transition roadmap for moving from the pilot phase to full statewide implementation, including a change management communication plan for current Colorado Shines participants. A pilot framework that includes a detailed implementation plan for a pilot phase, including selection criteria for participating programs and geographic diversity requirements.

· Development of evaluation metrics to establish specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and data collection methods to measure the pilot's success in improving quality and reducing administrative burden.

Period of Performance

· September 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.

Where Services Will Be Performed

Work Plan

Work Plan

Outcomes, Benchmarks, and Milestones

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Schedule/Milestones

Acceptance Criteria

The acceptance of all deliverables shall reside with the CDEC, Division of Early Childhood Workforce. The designated program manager shall monitor all deliverables in order to ensure the completeness of each stage of the project and that the scope of work has been met. The CDEC program manager shall either sign off on the approval, or reply to the vendor, in writing, advising what tasks must still be accomplished.

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