RFA 1278 Child Care Support Centers (Reissue)

The New York State (NYS) Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) mission is to serve New York’s public by promoting the safety, permanency, and well-being of the children, families, and communities of New York State (NYS). OCFS has released this request for applications (RFA) to solicit competitive applications from child care resource and referral (CCR&R) agencies to establish child care support centers (CCSC).

CCR&R agencies are established not-for-profit, community-based organizations that provide services to support the child care infrastructure. CCR&Rs awarded under this procurement will receive funding to establish a CCSC. Each CCSC will administer a regional child care substitute pool to support the daily operations of OCFS licensed/registered child care programs. [...] Up to four awards will be made statewide with a maximum of one award per OCFS-defined region to an established CCR&R currently serving that region. The total funding for this project is anticipated to be **$12.5 million** over five years (**$2.5M per year**), which will be divided equally among the awarded contractors, anticipated to be **$625,000 per awardee annually**.

The CCSC will be responsible for the recruitment and verification of the qualifications of individuals interested in serving as a substitute caregiver and participating in the child care substitute pools within their OCFS region. The CCSC will utilize existing OCFS databases of the Division of Child Care Services, such as the Facility Application Management System (FAMS), for processing comprehensive background check clearances and tracking training and other approval requirements. The CCSC must also utilize a technology application provided by the Early Care and Learning Council that will be provided at no cost.

• CCSCs must obtain and maintain a valid operating certificate that will be issued by OCFS after issuance of award.
• CCSCs will place substitute caregivers at licensed/registered child day care centers, group family day care homes, family day care homes, and/or school-age child care programs located in the OCFS region where the CCSC is physically located.
• CCSC will vet prospective substitute caregivers by verifying minimum qualifications of individuals consistent with statute and OCFS child care regulations.
• The CCSC must recruit individuals who want to be substitute caregivers.
• CCSCs must maintain a current, accurate list of substitute caregivers who are available to child care programs on an as-needed basis.
• The CCSC must create a method for monitoring a substitute caregiver’s performance, which includes eliciting feedback from previous substitute pool placements.
• The CCSC is required to allocate at least 1% and no more than 20% of the awarded amount for stipends to eligible substitute caregivers who are not otherwise employed or volunteering at a child day care program for the following onboarding and professional development expenses.
• The CCSC is required to pay the $25 fee to complete the Statewide Central Register (SCR) of Child Abuse and Maltreatment clearance on behalf of substitute caregivers.
• The CCSC must operate and be accessible to the community it serves at least eight hours a day, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.
• The CCSC will be required to report to OCFS on a quarterly basis.

**Submission method:** Application submission for this RFA will occur in two steps. Step 1: Applicants must first complete an online administrative form as instructed below. This begins the application process. Step 2: After completing Step 1, applicants must reply to the confirmation email to attach and submit all required application documents specified below to complete their application process. All required documents must be submitted to funding@ocfs.ny.gov. No facsimile or hard copy applications will be accepted.

The application deadline is **12/14/2026 by 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time**.

**Scoring:** The technical component (Attachment 2 sections A-G) of the application will be weighted at 80% of the total score, and the cost component will be weighted at 20% (Attachment 2 section H. Budget) of the total score. Applications that receive a minimum average score of 65% will be considered for funding.

**Contract term:** The contract(s) awarded in response to this RFA will be for five years. The anticipated start date is 5/1/2027, and the anticipated end date is 4/30/2032.

Applicants may subcontract up to 40% of the total contract amount per year.