RFI_DRAFT PWS Head Start National Customer Service Improvement Project_CSIP.pdf

HHS Internal Use Only (protected)

DRAFT

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families

Office of Head Start

Head Start National Customer Service Improvement Project

April 2026

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1.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Introduction

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a federal agency within the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) dedicated to fostering health and well-being by providing federal leadership, partnership, and resources for the compassionate and effective delivery of human services. ACF serves families, children, youth, individuals, and communities through funding, policy direction, training, technical assistance, and information services.

The Office of Head Start (OHS), part of ACF, promotes school readiness of young children from low-income families by enhancing their cognitive, social, and emotional development. OHS provides operating grants to local public and private organizations to deliver comprehensive child development services to low-income children (ages birth to five years) and their families.

This acquisition establishes contract support to provide customer service, grants management assistance, and data management services in direct support of the ACF and OHS missions. The Contractor shall deliver responsive and efficient customer service to grant recipients to and in support of federal staff, streamline and support grants management processes, and provide effective and accurate data management services.

This effort will enhance program operations, support evidence-based decision-making, and advance OHS objectives to promote child and family well-being and improve school readiness for children from low-income families.

1.2 Purpose and Objectives

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) establishes requirements for professional and technical support services to enhance OHS program and data management capabilities nationwide.

The primary objectives of this contract are to:

• Provide high-quality grants management support for Head Start, Early Head Start, and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grants, and other related grants

• Deliver professional customer service to grant recipients to and in support of federal staff

• Conduct data management services, leveraging federal compliant tools, including but not limited to, data entry, data quality and governance, data infrastructure and engineering, data processing and transformation, data product development, and data analysis and reporting, to support grant management, workflow tracking systems, program oversight and decision-making

• Maintain user-informed, accessible, accurate, and secure data management processes and systems, including developing and maintaining solutions on Smartsheet platform to support workflow, task tracking, and management

• Ensure grant recipient compliance with grant agreement terms and federal regulations

• Support continuous improvement in regional office operations and processes.

1.3 Background

About ACF and Head Start

ACF funds state, territory, local, and tribal organizations to provide family assistance, child support, childcare, Head Start, child welfare, and other programs related to children and families. Through this funding, ACF provides critically needed services and support to vulnerable populations, including low-income children and families and at-risk youth.

Founded in 1965, the Head Start program provides comprehensive child development services to low-income children and their families. Head Start programs promote school readiness by enhancing social and cognitive development of children through educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. Head Start programs engage parents in their children's learning and support them in setting and achieving educational, literacy, and self-sufficiency goals.

OHS Organization and Funding

OHS provides funding, oversight, programmatic and fiscal policy guidance, and training and technical assistance (TTA) to Head Start programs throughout the United States, U.S.

Territories, and American Indian and Alaska Native communities. OHS has a regional structure that supports the administration of grants, oversight, and TTA for individual grant recipient agencies. OHS awards about 1,900 Head Start grants to over 1,500 agencies to deliver program services to children and their families.

Total annual appropriation for the Head Start program was $12.27 billion in fiscal year 2025.

Current Operating Environment

With the passage of the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007, OHS renewed its commitment to ensuring grant recipients have the organizational, management, and human capital capacity to fully prepare low-income and vulnerable children and families for success as they enter our nation's school systems. OHS has substantially increased efforts to ensure grant recipient accountability for programmatic outcomes and successful fiscal stewardship of grant funds.

Grant recipients face the challenges of successfully managing their organizations within the confines of their budget while maintaining compliance with federal, state, and local regulatory requirements. Ensuring grant recipients establish effective management systems to meet these challenges while adhering to Head Start grant standard operational procedures, requires federal staff to function in a dynamic and complex work environment with high levels of analytical, decision-making, and communication skills, as well as the ability to promote data-informed decision-making and assessments throughout the administration of Head Start grants.

While the complexity and scope of work performed by federal staff has increased, the size of the federal workforce has decreased due to attrition and retirement. Federal staff must manage significantly larger caseloads of grant recipients requiring intensive and individualized support. This procurement addresses these workforce gaps by providing contract support for grants management, data management, and customer service functions.

Current Data Management Services

The Office of Head Start currently maintains the following data systems (not an exhaustive list):

- The Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) for the management of information and records associated with Head Start grant administration activities including grant application processing and award, enrollment reporting, funds planning, facility location and ownership status, program schedules, correspondence, oversight, and much more

- The Aligned Monitoring System (AMS) for the management of records, deployment of monitoring events, information collection during monitoring reviews, and report development associated with Head Start monitoring activities

- The Training and Technical Assistance Hub (TTA Hub) for the management of information and records associated with TTA deployments.

These systems are maintained by other federal contracts. Additionally, there are other federal systems that OHS uses, such as GrantSolutions, for the administration of Head Start grants.

Each grant administered by the Office of Head Start has a grant ID (e.g., 01CH0001) and each grant ID has an assigned Program Specialist to work on it, resulting in each Program Specialist having a workload of multiple grants as part of their work portfolio. HSES, AMS, and TTA Hub all rely on the grant ID as a primary identifier for creating relationships between records. There is also an agency ID, as some agencies can have multiple grants, which may be used to create table relationships at the agency level.

Many of the tasks a Program Specialist must perform primarily involve HSES, such as responding to correspondence received within HSES sent by Head Start grant recipients, tracking enrollment reporting in HSES for Full Enrollment Initiative planning and informing action needed, completing their review and analysis of applications for funding, executing grant awards, processing related actions, logging oversight events, and much more.

Note that the remainder of this section provides background on current data management services which OHS relies on and this contract will be tasked to develop, improve upon, and maintain.

To ensure Program Specialist staff and their management keep track of the various tasks needing action as part of grant administration, especially given the significant caseloads and many moving pieces for each grant, OHS greatly relies on Smartsheet as a tool to support workflow and task tracking and management. This includes the development and maintenance of a shared Smartsheet solution regional offices use entitled SmartFlow.

SmartFlow is a shared workspace powered by Smartsheet that contains tools to support workflow tracking related to applications, enrollment, issues, key hires and waivers, and much more.

In addition to workflow and task management in SmartFlow, powered by Smartsheet, federal staff rely on data management customer service team for other types of support including, but not limited to the following:

- Inform and support the administration of Head Start grants leveraging data, such as data management services to track enrollment reports, track application processing statuses, track and update budget and funds planning data and track administrative data to identify actions to take by the regional office

- Develop data visualizations and data-driven presentations for management meetings, state conferences, and to inform decision-making

- Respond to data-related inquiries

- Support one-time or ad hoc data projects, such as projects to support service area mapping and Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) longitudinal data analysis.

To enable the use of Smartsheet as a tool for supporting regional operations, OHS relies on data management services to help maintain a data feed between HSES to SmartSheet:

HSES provides daily data tables each morning which are then processed and populated onto Smartsheet via the Smartsheet API.

OHS also has a data layer that can be used as part of data management service delivery and is currently leveraged for SmartFlow and PIR data transformation and analysis. The OHS Data Layer is a Next Generation Secure Cloud environment (hosted in Amazon Web Services) that is home to several OHS data projects, including:

• SmartFlow - The data layer handles a significant portion of the data used to update SmartFlow. The architecture for this project consists of several Lambda functions which query a custom Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) API and read and write data to SmartFlow. When a Lambda function fails, alerts are disseminated via AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS).

• Program Information Report (PIR) - The data layer handles ingesting and linking PIR data. PIR exports can be uploaded to an S3 bucket and will be automatically processed. The Lambda functions that handle this also do some light linking. Then, users can propose other links/confirm automatic links via the PIR QA Dashboard which is hosted on an EC2 instance in the data layer. All PIR information is written to an RDS database hosted in the layer as well.

Federal data tools readily available for staff to use as part of data management customer service include Smartsheet, Qualtrics, Excel, R/RTools/Rstudio, Python, Tableau, PowerBI, GitHub, Credal and Claude (among other AI tools), Smarty, NVivo, VS Codes, QGIS, and ArcGIS.

Scope Limitation

This procurement is limited to Head Start, Early Head Start, and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership services and related grants administered by OHS.

1.4 Scope of Work

The National Customer Service Improvement Project (CSIP) provides grant management and data management services while being responsive to the needs of the program office.

Additionally, this contract will establish and track progress and successful delivery of services provided, adjust where needed, and take action to improve the OHS effectiveness, management, and oversight of grant recipients. This contract will also support federal staff and their partners to be data-informed.

The Contractor shall:

• Provide program management and data management services professionally and efficiently in accordance with applicable laws, policies, and regulations as stated in this PWS

• Perform required tasks independently but not as a Federal Government Representative.

• Provide personnel, where needed, who are knowledgeable or adept of HHS, ACF, and OHS requirements, with professional, technical, and administrative support for Head Start and Early Head Start grant recipients through high-quality programmatic, grants management, administrative, and/or data management services (see section

2.0 – 2.4 on qualifications for more detail).

• Establish and track progress and successful delivery of program management and data management customer service to ensure adjustments are made where needed with an aim to improve OHS effectiveness, management, and oversight of grant recipients.

Successful delivery of services requires:

• Capacity to analyze work processes and internal systems for effectiveness and efficiency

• Experience developing written procedures outlining work processes

• Background, training, experience, and knowledge of automated financial programs and federal information systems such as Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) and GrantSolutions

• Knowledge of and experience with the Head Start program and the federal grants process, particularly within HHS

• Experience in the administration of federal discretionary grants, preferably grants funded under ACF

• Experience in data management, including but not limited to data entry, data quality and governance, data infrastructure and engineering, data processing and transformation, data product development, and data analysis and reporting

• Experience in program analysis and evaluation, quality assurance, and risk management, particularly as they relate to Head Start and other early childhood care and education programs

1.5 Contract Type

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1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance consists of a base year beginning September 1, 2026, with four one-year option periods and one six-month option to extend services.

Period Start Date End Date Base Year September 1, 2026 August 31, 2027

Option Year 1 September 1, 2027 August 31, 2028 Option Year 2 September 1, 2028 August 31, 2029 Option Year 3 September 1, 2029 August 31, 2030 Option Year 4 September 1, 2030 August 31, 2031 Six-Month Extension September 1, 2031 February 28, 2032

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1.7 Place of Performance

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Work Location Categories

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Remote Positions

The following positions may be performed remotely from locations approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR):

• Project Manager

• Data Engineer / Data Project Lead

• Data Visualization Specialist

• Data Entry Support Specialist

• Program Support Specialist

Onsite Positions

The following positions are required to be onsite at Regional Office locations, with telework available upon approval by the COR:

• Data Analyst

• Data Management Specialist

• Lead Program Specialists

OHS Office Locations

The Government will provide workspace for Contractor personnel performing services onsite at the following OHS locations:

• 801 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107

• 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, GA 30303

• 1301 Young Street, Dallas, TX 75202

• 1961 Stout Street, Denver, CO 80294

• 601 E. 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106

• 330 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20201

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Alternate Work Locations

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1.8 Personnel Requirements

Key Personnel and Non-Key Personnel

This contract has both key and non-key personnel. Refer to Section 2.0 for details on Minimum Qualifications.

Key Personnel

Key Personnel are positions critical to successful performance. The Contractor shall not remove or replace Key Personnel without prior written approval from the Contracting Officer (CO) and the COR. Key Personnel include:

• Project Manager - Overall contract management, Government liaison, quality oversight

• Lead Program Specialists - Regional office support, grants management expertise

• Program Support Specialists – Oversight, analysis and compliance support for grants and other projects as assigned.

• Data Engineer/Data Project Lead - Data systems architecture, integration, supervise and manage data projects

• Data Visualization Specialist - Development of reports, dashboards, and analytical visualizations and presentations

• Data Analysts - Data collection and analysis, report preparation, trend identification, support for decision-making and process improvements

• Data Management Specialists - Data quality oversight, system maintenance, record management, workflow tracking support

Note: Labor Category (LCAT) titles may not be exact matches, however the description of roles should align.

Non-Key Personnel

Non-Key Personnel support performance but may be replaced following internal quality control procedures without Government approval, provided replacements meet minimum qualifications. Non-Key Personnel include:

• Data Entry Support Specialists - Data entry and updates, record maintenance, system support, basic reporting assistance

• Administrative Assistant - Meeting coordination and logistics, note-taking and documentation, inquiry routing, scheduling support, data entry assistance

Note: Labor Category (LCAT) titles may not be exact matches, however the description of roles should align.

Key Personnel Changes

The Contractor shall submit a Key Personnel Change Request to the CO and COR no later than 30 days prior to any proposed substitution. The request shall include justification, resume(s) of proposed replacement(s), labor category information in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the impact on contract performance, and an explanation of how the replacement's skills, experience, and credentials meet or exceed the requirements of the contract.

Updates to the staff roster are required within two business days of any staff changes or updates to contact information.

1.9 Federal Holidays

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1.10 Applicable Documents and Standards

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Statutory and Regulatory Authorities

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OHS Policy Documents

Accessibility and Security Standards

2.0 MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall possess the following minimum qualifications to meet contract deadlines, support federal staff, administer discretionary grants, and deliver data management services.

2.1 Corporate Experience and Capabilities

The Contractor shall demonstrate:

• Corporate experience managing and administering work comparable to the tasks described in this PWS, preferably in support of federal grant programs

• Knowledge of and experience with the Head Start program and the Federal grants life cycle

• Capacity to provide sufficient experienced, qualified staff with proven ability to perform the tasks described in this PWS

• Ability to provide staff needed to meet unforeseen, urgent assignments without degradation of service quality

• Ability to fill vacancies within 45 calendar days of notification

• Experience and capacity to work effectively in ACF web-based systems such as

GrantSolutions, Head Start Enterprise System (HSES), Office of Head Start Aligned Monitoring System (AMS), and national database and tracking systems

• Ability to recommend improvements to existing systems and processes where appropriate

2.2 Technical Expertise for Data Management Services

The Contractor shall demonstrate expertise in:

• Technical areas including Python, R, GIS/Mapping (Geographic Information System), SQL (Structured Query Language), Smartsheet, Microsoft Outlook, Word, Windows, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Microsoft Teams, and Cloud platforms (AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Azure)

• Database design, data management and analysis, data visualization, and data quality assurance and validation

• Data governance principles and applications with preference for federal information systems experience

• Project management methodologies and tools https://www.r-project.org/

2.3 Staffing Requirements

The Contractor shall provide personnel who meet the minimum qualifications specified in section 2.4 Qualification Requirements. At minimum, all personnel shall possess:

• U.S. citizenship or legal authorization to work in the United States

• Ability to pass background investigations as required for access to federal facilities and systems

• Professional communication skills, both written and oral

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a team environment

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and web-based collaboration tools

2.4 Qualification Requirements

Program Manager (PM) The Contractor shall provide a Program Manager who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications Bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, or related field, Master’s degree preferred, from an accredited university or college. Certified Project Management Professionals (PMP), or equivalent certification, preferred.

Experience • At least 10 years of relevant and progressive post-baccalaureate professional experience managing client services projects of the size, scope, and complexity similar to the proposed project, with

• A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated progressive supervisory experience.

• Demonstrated proficiency/experience in successfully developing, implementing and managing/improving complex, high-profile, multi- faceted projects including experience in implementing quality assurance systems that improved the provision of client services.

• Demonstrated proficiency to review, aggregate, and present data gathered from multiple sources.

• Demonstrated proficiency to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, and produce high-quality written products such as memoranda, presentations, and correspondence.

• Proven ability to address team member and client complaints and resolve problems.

• Demonstrated ability to coach team members effectively.

Lead Program Support Specialist The Contractor shall provide a Program Support Specialist who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, human services, public administration, or related field, from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 5 years of progressive professional experience directly related to early childhood programs, with a preference for Head Start/Early Head Start programs.

• Experience with federal discretionary grants management, non-profit or for-profit program and/or financial management, and regulatory compliance monitoring and oversight.

• Demonstrated ability in utilizing a variety of web-based and off-the- shelf data management software packages.

• Demonstrated ability to aggregate, analyze, and present data gathered from multiple sources.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, and produce high-quality written products such as memoranda, presentations, and correspondence.

• At least 2 years supervisory experience preferred.

Program Support Specialist The Contractor shall provide a Program Support Specialist who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, human services, public administration, or related field, from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 2 years of progressive professional experience directly related to early childhood programs, with a preference for Head Start/Early Head Start programs.

• Demonstrated ability in utilizing a variety of web-based and off-the- shelf data management software packages.

• Demonstrated ability to aggregate, analyze, and present data gathered from multiple sources.

• Demonstrated ability to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing, and produce high-quality written products such as memoranda, presentations, and correspondence.

Functional Expertise • Expertise in federal monitoring of early childhood programs, with a preference of experience in measuring the performance, progress, compliance, and accountability of Head Start programs

• Expertise in fiscal management of early childhood programs, with a preference of experience or training in federal interest, fiscal reporting, in-kind contributions, cost allocation, budgeting, and/or internal controls for Head Start programs.

• Expertise in facilities and/or early childhood learning environments, with a preference of experience in designing, purchasing, constructing, renovating, and/or maintaining facilities that operate Head Start programs.

• Expertise in child health and safety, with a preference for experience in addressing sensitive subject matter such as child abuse and neglect.

Expertise in Head Start program options, the Full Enrollment Initiative (FEI) and changes in scope (CiS), with a preference for expertise in budget analysis.

Administrative Assistant The Contractor shall provide an Administrative Assistant who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications At least an Associate degree in a field related to task activities from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 2 years of relevant professional experience directly related to the task activities.

• Demonstrated proficiency in utilizing a variety of web-based and commercial off-the-shelf data management software packages.

• Demonstrated ability to aggregate, analyze, and present data gathered from multiple sources.

• Ability to develop reports, correspondence, and presentations to include Excel spreadsheets, MS Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations.

Data Engineer/Data Project Lead The Contractor shall provide a Data Engineer/Data Project Lead who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications At least a Bachelor's in Computer Science, Information Systems, Data Science, or related field from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 10 years of relevant and progressive post-baccalaureate professional experience directly related to the task activities,

• a minimum of 3 years of progressive supervisory experience

• Demonstrated proficiency/experience in successfully developing, implementing and managing/improving complex, high-profile, multi-faceted data projects

• Demonstrated ability to coach team members effectively

• Demonstrated proficiency to communicate clearly, both orally and in writing

• Demonstrated proficiency in database design, ETL processes, data warehousing

• SQL and programming language proficiency

• API development and integration

• Data governance and security knowledge

• Application of AI in data pipelines preferred

• Federal information systems experience preferred

• Proven ability to address team member and client complaints and resolve problems.

Specialty Areas • Project management: Proven experience with Agile methodologies and project management software with certs preferred in Agile/Scrum or similar

• Primary technical: SQL, Python, ETL tools, API development

• Secondary: Cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), Docker, Confluence

• Databases: PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle

• At least 1 year of experience in early childhood education and/or Head Start programs highly preferred

Data Visualization Specialist The Contractor shall provide a Data Visualization Specialist who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications At least a Bachelor's in Data Visualization, Information Design, Data

Science, or related field from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 3 years of relevant post-baccalaureate professional experience directly related to the task activities.

• Strong design skills and visualization principles

• Experience translating complex data into visual stories

• Stakeholder collaboration skills

• Presentation development experience

• Accessibility standards knowledge

Specialty Areas • Primary: Tableau, Power BI, D3.js

• Secondary: GIS/mapping tools

• Additional Visualization Tools: Figma, Canva, Google Data Studio

• Skills: Dashboard design, infographic creation

• Techniques: Statis data displays, interactive visualization, geospatial mapping, data story telling

Data Management Specialist The Contractor shall provide a Data Management Specialist who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certification s

At least a Bachelor's in Information Management, Library Science, or related field from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 3 years of relevant post-baccalaureate professional experience directly related to the task activities.

• Data quality assurance and validation

• Data governance principles knowledge

• Document management systems experience

• Metadata management experience

Specialty Areas • Primary: Excel or Smartsheet (advanced in one of these), Data quality tools

• Secondary: SQL (basic)

• Skills: Data cleaning, metadata management, documentation

• Knowledge: Records management, data governance

Data Analyst The Contractor shall provide a Data Analyst who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certification s

At least a Bachelor's in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, or related field from an accredited university or college.

Experience • At least 3 years of relevant post-baccalaureate professional experience directly related to the task activities.

• Strong analytical and critical thinking skills

• Experience with reporting analytical findings

• Experience working with data layers

• Experience with qualitative data analysis

• Early childhood knowledge preferred

Specialty Areas • Primary: Excel, Python, R, and preferably Smartsheet

• Secondary: SQL, GIS, Data Visualizations, Survey Methodology or Implementation, application of AI

• Tools: GitHub, R, Qualtrics, Tableau or Power BI, ArcGIS

Data Entry Support Specialist The Contractor shall provide a Data Management Specialist who meets at a minimum the following qualifications:

Education/Certifications At least an Associate’s degree in Information Management or related field from an accredited university or college. Bachelor’s degree preferred.

Experience • At least 2 years of relevant post-baccalaureate professional experience directly related to the task activities.

• High attention to detail and accuracy

• Microsoft Office Suite proficiency

• Database systems and data entry experience

• Strong organizational skills

• Ability to follow established procedures

Specialty Areas • Primary: Excel, Word, Outlook

• Secondary: Smartsheet, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams

Skills: Fast and accurate typing, form completion, basic reporting

3.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide professional, technical services and expertise in support of OHS initiatives and mission. The work effort will provide the level of support necessary to enable the National CSIP team to meet mission-critical functions and enhance its ability to implement effective data management, oversight, and management systems. The COR is the only Government representative that shall provide technical direction to the vendor and manage interactions and communications.

3.1 Grant Management Support

The Contractor shall perform functions related to the award, oversight, and programmatic administration of discretionary grants funded through OHS. These functions provide necessary support to OHS Regional Office staff in managing Head Start and Early Head Start grant recipients and require effective communication with federal staff, external partners, contractors, and Head Start program governing bodies and executive management. The Contractor may be assigned to work individually with specific grant recipients. The Contractor’s primary assignments will be based in one of the OHS Regional Offices; however, they may be assigned to work across regions as necessary.

3.1.1 Grant Applications and Awards

The Contractor shall complete review, analysis, and administrative activities related to the OHS grant application and award process, including programmatic and cost reviews of applications, follow-up contact with grant recipients to obtain required information, and completion of all administrative activities related to the grant awards process.

Specific activities include:

a) Application Review and Analysis

Use existing HHS electronic data management systems and other information sources (such as Community and Self-Assessment reports, risk management data, and historical performance data) to complete timely analysis of Head Start grant refunding applications, COLA/Quality Improvement applications, and other supplemental funding applications.

Ensure all required information and documentation is included in applications. Verify that grant applications conform to all applicable HHS and ACF policies, procedures, and regulations. Document all application analysis and grant recipient communication in the appropriate information systems according to OHS policies and procedures.

b) Application Revisions and Negotiations

Based on analysis, identify areas requiring revisions and document issues. Prepare written recommendations for revisions or modifications of applications. Contact grant recipients as directed to negotiate and obtain required revisions to budgets, program design, proposed services, and any required documentation for application packages. Complete application analysis reports and tools according to OHS instructions.

c) Award Processing

Prepare budget worksheets, funding recommendations, and funding memo documents using HHS grant application processing systems. Ensure notices of grant award are accurate and issued within timeframes identified by OHS.

d) Competitive Grant Review Support

Participate in the OHS competitive grant application review process including required training on panel review procedures, coordination of panel review activities, technical and grammatical review of panel reports, analysis of panel comments and grant applications to identify discrepancies or areas of concern, and communicate with appropriate OHS staff regarding the status of the panel review process, timeliness and accuracy of panel report submissions, and any identified concerns or issues.

e) Budget Modification Review

Coordinate with appropriate OHS and Office of Grants Management (OGM) staff according to Regional Office procedures to review programmatic justification for budget modifications including use of unobligated funds, offset of grant funds, and budget revisions.

f) Supplemental Application Review

Conduct review of supplemental applications including change in scope applications (such as enrollment reductions and conversions) and applications for facilities purchase, renovation, and construction. Document and negotiate all required revisions. Ensure all communications and outcomes are documented using OHS checklists and forms for change in scope and facilities applications and in the appropriate OHS information management systems. Forward required documentation to OHS and OGM for review.

g) Post-Award Requirements

Complete and document in the OHS information systems all post-award requirements including required follow-up communications with awardees, establishment and maintenance of official correspondence and documentation files, and all other activities as outlined in Regional Office procedures for post-award grant management and close-out of expired grants.

h) Waiver Request Review

Conduct review and analysis of grant recipient programmatic and financial waiver requests. Complete all necessary follow-up contact with grant recipients to obtain information necessary to complete review, analysis, and documentation of approval or disapproval of requests.

3.1.2 Program Performance and Monitoring

The Contractor shall provide support services related to the programmatic administration of Head Start, Early Head Start, and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grants. This task includes activities related to supporting OHS goals and objectives to improve accountability, school readiness, and program performance for Head Start grants and to provide effective guidance, technical assistance, and direction to grant recipients in implementing Head Start programs.

Specific activities include:

a) Grant Oversight Activities

Use existing HHS electronic data systems to complete all activities related to the Office of Head Start grant oversight process including: conduct and document monthly grant recipient meetings and periodic staffing according to Regional Office procedures; facilitate risk assessment meetings based on identified risk factors (such as chronic under-enrollment); schedule, plan, and conduct onsite oversight visits to 50% of grant recipients annually; and complete documentation including summaries of oversight contact activities, relevant correspondence, action plans, and follow-up as required by Regional Office procedures.

b) Report and Data Analysis

Conduct thorough analysis of all grant recipient reports, correspondence, and information received by the Regional Office including program performance reports, monitoring review reports, Quality Improvement Plans and other corrective action plans, self-assessments, community assessments and other grant recipient demographic data, grant recipient inquiries and correspondence, and external reports and information.

c) Performance Issue Identification and Technical Assistance

Identify and notify Regional Office management of grant recipient performance or management issues. Provide grant recipients with accurate guidance and technical assistance to reduce or mitigate risk factors, improve program performance, and ensure compliance with applicable statutory requirements, federal regulations, and OHS policies.

Draft correspondence regarding identified risk factors.

d) Pre-Review Planning

Complete activities related to pre-review planning for OHS monitoring reviews as part of the OHS national monitoring review system. Activities include communication and coordination with OHS staff and contractors to provide background data and information regarding grant recipients, completion of electronic profiles or other OHS information system updates related to pre-review planning, and participation in interviews and other data-gathering activities related to the OHS pre-review planning process.

e) Monitoring Review Conduct

Complete remote and onsite monitoring reviews of grant recipient performance and compliance, including oversight of review teams, quality assurance of data collection, coordination of review activities with grant recipient representatives, development of written reports, and accurate completion of all required monitoring review documentation within established timeframes.

f) Post-Review Activities

Complete all required post-review activities including transmittal of accurate and complete monitoring review data and supporting documentation using OHS electronic monitoring software, reviewer performance assessments, and responses to comments or feedback on draft review reports within the timeframes established by the Regional Office.

g) Program Goals Oversight

Provide oversight of grant recipients including review and analysis of data, program services, and management systems to ensure grant recipients establish and implement program goals (including goals for school readiness), effective management systems (including data management and analysis, ongoing monitoring, and fiscal oversight), and methods to assess progress on anticipated outcomes for children, families, and the community throughout the five-year project period.

3.1.3: National Initiatives

The contractor shall be expected to provide additional grants management support for functions in Central Office related to national programmatic priorities, data analysis, and oversight. These tasks include recommending systemic workflow improvements, ensuring consistent guidance and practice across regions, and preparing senior staff for internal and external communications.

Specific activities include:

Specific activities include:

a) Change in Scope, Full Enrollment Initiative, and Child Incidents

Review recipient and regional office change in scope submissions, full enrollment initiative recommendations, incoming complaints and child incident reports for completeness and clarity. Conduct additional research as directed, ensuring regional staff and managers are notified if central office staff are contacting their recipients.

b) Supporting update to national procedures

Make data-informed recommendations for continuous quality improvements to operational systems and processes. Ensure central and regional office teams are informed and up-to-date on changes impacting their work. Contribute to development and implementation of training materials, webinars, and in-person training sessions.

c) National Data Systems

Contribute to ongoing development, maintenance, and troubleshooting of national data systems.

d) Special Leadership Requests

Assist in fulfilling leadership data requests and trend analyses, often ad hoc and on short notice. Participate in briefings as directed.

3.1.4: Administrative Support

The Contractor shall provide support services related to the administrative support of the regional offices. This task includes activities related to supporting OHS goals and objectives to improve

a) Event Planning

Manage logistics for OHS meetings and activities, including scheduling, room reservations, note-taking, and the creation of meeting summaries with action items.

b) Research Support

Conduct research on program topics and issues as assigned within this contract's scope.

c) Document Development

Create and format documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for internal and external meetings. Additionally, assist in preparing and delivering training materials, webinars, and in-person sessions.

d) Underenrollment Meeting Coordination

Coordinate and manage the schedule of under-enrollment meetings of contractors and provide notetaking.

e) Documentation Completion

Guarantee completion of required documentation related to requests including drafting, editing, and completion of analysis forms and correspondence approving or disapproving the requests.

3.1.5: Coordination and Collaboration

This task focuses on enhancing collaboration between OHS and various internal and external partners

a) Inquiry Management:

• Route external inquiries and complaints to the appropriate specialist within OHS or the Office of Grants Management (OGM).

• Track grant recipient requests to ensure required information is obtained promptly.

• Develop accurate responses for external inquiries and hotline complaints involving Head Start grant recipients, documenting all information in the required data systems.

b) Partnership Activities:

• Participate in Federal, State, and local meetings to promote partnerships that support the mission of OHS and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

• These activities may involve facilitating meetings, developing materials (such as presentations and reports), and participating in work groups as directed by the Project Manager (PM) and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).

3.2 Data Management Support

The Government requires the delivery of data management services to support the administration of Head Start grants. The Contractor shall collect, aggregate, enter, and update data maintained in databases, spreadsheets, and internet-based applications, including maintaining workflow and task management solutions such as SmartFlow powered by Smartsheet. The Contractor shall support data integration processes, including maintaining data feeds between the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES) and operational tools via APIs, and leveraging the OHS Data Layer infrastructure for data transformation and analysis. The Contractor shall conduct both basic and complex data analysis to produce management information reports, data visualizations, written analytical reports, and data-driven presentations for management meetings and decision-making. The Contractor shall respond to data-related inquiries and support ad-hoc data projects. The Contractor shall provide technical support where needed for automating standardized documents, mail merge processes, and mass correspondence for distribution to grantees. The Contractor shall develop plans and reports, ensure proper documentation is maintained to support knowledge transfer and handoff of data projects, maintain official records, and conduct analysis and make recommendations to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of operations and work processes. The Contractor shall establish and track progress and successful delivery of program management and data management customer service, ensuring adjustments are made where needed with an aim to improve OHS effectiveness, management, and oversight of grantees.

3.2.1 Data Project Execution

The Contractor shall assist with the execution of projects that involve the development and implementation of data products or data management services to support OHS effectiveness, management, and oversight of grant recipients , including workflow and task management solutions such as SmartFlow powered on Smartsheet, solutions to lift key data from other systems for OHS staff to inform decision making and action (e.g., grant award actions including funding, changes in scope, waivers), supporting data integrity and quality (e.g., through data review and entry), maintenance and improvement of data-driven tools leveraging the OHS Data Layer, development of data pipelines and automation, and the use and implementation federally compliant commercial off-the-shelf applications when executing such data projects.

Specific activities include:

a) Data Project Leadership

The Data Engineer/Data Project Lead shall oversee data projects while ensuring an iterative and flexible approach to the management of data projects that prioritizes collaboration, incorporates user-based feedback, approaches the prioritization of work based on an assessment of value proposition against level of effort, and strategically approaches backlog management. Additionally, data project leadership ensures supervising of other staff with data roles on the contract (i.e., Data Analysts, Data Visualization Specialist, Data Management Specialist, and Data Entry Support Specialist).

Data project leadership also leads the establishment and tracking of measures to understand progress and successful delivery of grant and data management services, which primarily measure against the needs of the users intended to be met by those services.

b) Development and Maintenance of Workflow and Task Tracking Solutions and Tools

Ensure key grant administration workflows and tasks are tracked and lifted to inform actions that need to be taken by program specialists and other OHS staff, such as SmartFlow in Smartsheet. These solutions and tools should incorporate data from other federal systems where needed, which includes supporting applicable data pipeline and integration efforts (e.g., maintaining APIs, data transformation and automation processes).

Workflow and task tracking solutions and tools will cover OHS priorities, including the tracking of:

• applications,

• issues (e.g., complaints, external inquiries, incidents),

• corrective actions,

• program modification requests,

• enrollment monthly reports,

• Full Enrollment Initiative related actions and data,

• processing of key hires and waivers,

• actions related to monitoring,

• staff rosters,

• correspondence tracking, and

• other key grant administrative areas

c) Data Integration Efforts

OHS uses various federal systems which house key program data (e.g., HSES, AMS, GrantSolutions, TTA Hub) which need to be integrated into solutions and tools that this contract would develop and maintain. When integrating data, develop and maintain efficient processes for integrating data into these solutions and tools (e.g., establishing data pipelines, leveraging of APIs, leveraging of OHS data layer).

d) Data Entry and Quality

Ensure and support the entry of data into federal systems, solutions, and tools used to support the administration of grants. Additionally, promoting the quality of data entered and maintained for grant administration (e.g., ensuring up-to-date contact information, grant application cycles, changes in funding and enrollment levels, changes in reporting due dates, receipt status of reports, Program and Grants Specialists assignments, and other key data). Promote alignment of data integrated into solutions and tools to align with existing federal systems (e.g., mitigate competing sources of truth).

e) Develop and Maintain Solutions for Generation of Standardized Documentation

Effectively and efficiently produce and populate standardized documents, such as correspondence templates and funding guidance letters, which integrate relevant data from other systems in accordance with identified timelines.

f) Lifting Data to Support Data-informed Decision Making

Design and produce tools and solutions to lift data to support data-informed decision making, including leveraging technology to support automated notifications and effective and sustainable data pipelines and including management information reports on a periodic, cyclical, or ad hoc basis, based on user needs.

g) Documentation to Support Handoff and Knowledge Transfer

Develop and maintain documentation of data projects that would support the handoff and knowledge transfer for the maintenance of tools and solutions developed as part of data projects.

3.2.2 Data Analysis

The Contractor shall assist in collecting,…