H.e.a.r.t.s. Connection

H.e.a.r.t.s. Connection, doing business as Hearts Connection, is a woman-owned nonprofit organization based in Bakersfield, California, that operates exclusively as a sub-recipient on federal education grants focused on special education and related services for children with disabilities. The vendor holds no prime federal contracts or grants and does not sit on any government-wide acquisition vehicles; all six recent awards are grant sub-awards from the Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, flowing through the California Department of Education as the prime grantee.

Hearts Connection's federal footprint consists entirely of special education grant sub-awards under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) program. The vendor received two sub-awards each in 2023, 2024, and 2025, with award dates clustered in September of each year (September 5, 2023; September 11, 2024; and September 24, 2025). Combined obligated dollars across all six awards total $1.9 million. The Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services accounts for 100% of the vendor's award count and represents the sole customer agency in the source data.

Activity has remained flat year over year at two awards annually since 2023. The vendor operates in a grant sub-award posture with no indication of prime eligibility or pursuit; the California Department of Education serves as the administrative pass-through and prime grantee on all awards. Hearts Connection's role as a sub-recipient positions it as a service provider to California's special education ecosystem rather than as a federal contractor; the organization's federal relationship is indirect, mediated through state-level grant administration.