SOI 1250 NYC LE Enrollment FINAL.pdf

SOI 1250 NYC Legally Exempt Enrollment

Title: Solicitation of Interest (SOI) 1250 NYC Legally Exempt Enrollment

Agency: Children & Family Services, NYS Office of Bureau of Contract Management

Contract term: 1/1/2027 - 12/31/2031

Date of issue: 6/30/2026

Due date/time: 7/29/2026 by 4:00 PM Eastern Time

Location: New York City

Counties: Queens, Bronx, New York, Kings, and Richmond Counties

Background

The New York State Office of Children & Family Services (OCFS) announces a Solicitation of Interest (SOI) for qualified entities that are for not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations with experience regarding NYS child care regulations and statutes to express their interest in delivering legally exempt enrollment services as outlined in 18 NYCRR Part 415 for the five boroughs of New York City. Services will include all aspects related to the enrollment process for legally exempt child care providers. Please see the Eligibility Criteria section for additional information.

Statewide, in Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2025, approximately 219,000 children in 129,000 families received child care assistance. Approximately 64% of the children served were from NYC. Statewide, 38% of children were served in legally exempt settings, with nearly 4,300 legally exempt programs enrolled in NYC.

This advertisement is public notice that OCFS is seeking to contract with organizations to process, track, and maintain information pertaining to the enrollment of legally exempt child care providers; enroll and/or re-enroll these providers, evaluate enrollment forms for completeness and accuracy; perform annual, complaint, and enhanced rate, and other inspections; and provide communication and technical assistance to families and providers related to enrollment, training, and compliance with NYS OCFS regulations.

Please see the Scope of Work section for additional information.

The purpose of this solicitation is to invite any eligible and interested entities that believe they can satisfy this program’s needs to inform OCFS by a Letter of Interest (LOI). To be considered responsive, your organization’s LOI should be received no later than the deadline specified on the first page of this announcement. Please see the How to Respond section for additional information and submission requirements.

Through this announcement, OCFS is exploring the availability of vendors who have the expertise to provide the services required by OCFS. The results of this announcement are intended to determine if this opportunity will be competitively bid. If too few responses are received, OCFS may pursue other procurement options for this project.

https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/regulations/415-Child-Care-Services.pdf https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/regulations/415-Child-Care-Services.pdf

Scope of Work

The responsibilities of the selected enrollment agency will encompass the comprehensive management of legally exempt child care providers and families utilizing these providers in New York City, as outlined in 18 NYCRR Part 415 and related policies and procedures.

High level responsibilities include:

• Comprehensive evaluation of enrollment and re-enrollment application documents for accuracy and completeness, including verification of prior licensing/registration enforcement issues or parental rights termination. This also includes generating notices on application completeness and making enrollment decisions. The approximate number of new enrollments processed in 2025 was 1,556. The approximate number of re-enrollments processed in 2025 was 3,088.

• Conducting annual on-site inspections of legally exempt providers for Part 415 compliance, performing complaint-based and other inspections, and recording all inspection results in the Child Care Facility System (CCFS) within seven calendar days of completion. The approximate number of all inspection types conducted in 2025 was 1,085.

• Providing notices within timeframes required by regulation or as defined by OCFS, technical assistance, and corrective action plans to parents and providers regarding regulatory compliance, with the authority to terminate enrollment for non-compliance.

• Ongoing monitoring for adherence to all applicable Part 415 regulations, including basic health and safety standards and performing mandated criminal history review and background clearances for all required individuals.

• Conducting application reviews and on-site inspections (within 30 calendar days) for legally exempt group programs requesting enhanced rates.

• Providing technical assistance to families and enrolling providers related to enrollment processes, mandatory OCFS-approved training (pre-service and annual), compliance, and distributing OCFS-specified health and safety information.

• Processing, tracking, and maintaining accurate provider information in the Child Care Facility System (CCFS), the OCFS system of record, to facilitate regular communication regarding regulatory requirements.

Specific tasks and timelines related to the work will be measured. These include, but will not be limited to the following, recognizing upcoming changes that will move the enrollment process to an electronic format:

1. Review and determine completeness of enrollment packages and request missing information between one (1) and five (5) business days, depending on NYC (ACS & HRA) requirements.

2. Render a temporary enrollment decision within ten (10) calendar days of receiving a complete enrollment package.

3. Render a full enrollment decision within forty (40) calendar days of receiving a complete enrollment package.

4. Complete the re-enrollment process within forty (40) calendar days of receiving a complete re-enrollment package.

5. Conduct inspections of providers requiring an inspection within ninety (90) calendar days of enrollment or re-enrollment and record each completed inspection in CCFS within seven (7) calendar days following the inspection.

6. Maintain comprehensive case files and ensure appropriate and timely entries into CCFS in the time, manner, and form required by OCFS.

7. Complete application reviews, evaluating the requirements for all requests for enhanced rates from legally exempt group programs and conduct an on-site inspection within thirty (30) calendar days of receiving a complete and acceptable group enhanced rate application.

8. Process electronic enrollment applications consistent with OCFS requirements once introduced.

9. Fulfill all case management responsibilities of an enrollment agency as contained in 18 NYCRR Part 415 and related policies and procedures.

The number of hours of anticipated work is subject to change based on the volume of new enrollment and re-enrollment applications, as well as the number of annual, complaint, and enhanced rate and other inspections, as required.

Applicants may not subcontract any component of the scope of work.

Eligibility Criteria

Interested parties who meet the following criteria are eligible to respond:

• Be licensed to do business in the State of New York.

• Be a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

• Have a minimum of three (3) years of direct operational experience applying and interpreting NYS Child Care regulations and statutes, specifically 18 NYCRR Part 415 in the context of legally exempt child care services. This experience should involve the practical application of these regulations.

• Have a minimum of three (3) years of direct experience in performing legally exempt enrollment services, which may include, but is not limited to processing and evaluating enrollment applications, conducting annual and complaint-based inspections, implementing corrective action plans, and performing mandated criminal history review and background clearances.

• Agree that they possess the organizational capacity, including staff and management structures, to effectively deliver all components of this project for the approximate 4,300 legally-exempt programs enrolled in NYC, including recruitment, training, and retention of qualified personnel to perform legally exempt enrollment, inspection, and technical assistance services. Interested organizations should have approximately 60 staff available to dedicate to this project.

• Agree that they possess the technological capacity to effectively utilize and maintain accurate records within the Child Care Facility System (CCFS), the OCFS system of record, to ensure timely and accurate data entry, tracking, and reporting for the estimated 4,300 legally-exempt programs enrolled in NYC consistent with OCFS policies and procedures as stated in this solicitation’s Scope of Work.

Funding Details

The anticipated funding available for this project is up to $12,359,000 per year, with OCFS anticipating one (1) award to support this project. OCFS intends to use the results of this solicitation to determine if this opportunity will be competitively bid.

Funding for this project is subject to change and is contingent upon the availability of funds in the state and/or federal budgets. It is also dependent on the number of interested and eligible parties that respond to this solicitation.

Performance will be rigorously measured through quarterly program reviews conducted by the OCFS Division of Child Care Services (DCCS), following the end of each applicable quarter. The determination of an acceptable level of compliance for each quarter and its milestones will be based on the Contractor’s adherence to all applicable timelines, operating procedures, and other requirements. These requirements are specifically defined in Child Care Regulations and policies, including 18 NYCRR Part 415, and the detailed responsibilities outlined in the Scope of Work section of this solicitation and the Scope of Work in the resulting contract.

Term of Contract

Not applicable.

How to Respond

To be considered responsive, interested parties should complete and submit all required documents in conformance with the format and content requirements as explained in this document. A response that does not provide all the information requested may be subject to rejection. The response should contain sufficient information to assure OCFS of its accuracy. The information provided should, wherever possible, verify your organization meets the requirements in the Eligibility Criteria section of this solicitation.

Responses must be emailed to funding@ocfs.ny.gov and should be received by the due date and time specified on the first page of this announcement.

Interested parties should complete and provide the following documents:

• Attachment 1 – Letter of Interest

• Attachment 2 – Submission Checklist

The subject line of the email submission of your response should include the following information: SOI 1250 NYC Legally Exempt Enrollment. Additionally, please clearly identify the vendor’s name in the body of the email and in the file names of attached documents to ensure your submission is processed efficiently. Early submissions are encouraged, as late responses may be subject to rejection.

Please keep the information you are providing in your Letter of Interest brief, limiting your descriptions to a maximum of 2 page(s), Arial 12-point font, single line spacing and one-https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/regulations/ mailto:funding@ocfs.ny.gov inch margins. Attachment 1 – Letter of Interest is provided for your reference.

Email delivery or read receipts are recommended. OCFS will provide a confirmation email that the submission has been received. Bidders are responsible for contacting OCFS prior to the deadline if confirmation has not been received. OCFS will not be liable for any costs incurred by interested parties in the preparation of documents submitted in response to this solicitation. Vendors may modify or withdraw, in writing, the content of any submission at any time prior to the due date and time specified on page one of this announcement.

Questions

Questions should be submitted via email to funding@ocfs.ny.gov prior to the due date and time specified on the first page of this announcement. The subject line should include the following information: SOI 1250 NYC Legally Exempt Enrollment. Please submit your question(s) with adequate time for response. OCFS recommends allowing at least five business days. Late questions may not be addressed.

Under the requirement of the Procurement Lobbying Act, all communications regarding advertised projects are to be channeled only through the primary contact identified herein.

Evaluation Process

OCFS may require additional information from an organization before deciding whether the interested organization is eligible and can supply the requested commodities or services. If OCFS requests additional information, it should be provided within five business days from request or as otherwise directed in the request.

OCFS Reserved Rights

OCFS reserves the right to withdraw, amend, or postpone this solicitation, without notice and without liability, to any applicant or other party, and may exercise these rights at any time.

Contract Documents

Not applicable.

Contact Information

Primary contact:

Director of Contracts Office of Children & Family Services 52 Washington Street Room 202S – Procurement Unit Rensselaer, NY 12144 funding@ocfs.ny.gov

Submit to contact:

Director of Contracts Office of Children & Family Services 52 Washington Street Room 202S – Procurement Unit Rensselaer, NY 12144 funding@ocfs.ny.gov

Attachments

Please see the following attachments to this announcement, which are available on the New York State Contract Reporter website at https://www.nyscr.ny.gov or the OCFS website at https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/.

• Attachment 1 – Letter of Interest*

• Attachment 2 – Submission Checklist*

* Attachments marked with an asterisk must be completed and included with your response submission.

https://www.nyscr.ny.gov/ https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/contracts/funding/