The Department is seeking information and recommendations to develop a contracted pilot program that includes child care slots for Infants and Toddlers, Children with Disabilities, and Children in Underserved Geographic Areas. The program should encompass the following aspects, but is not limited to: 1. What must a successful contracted slots program include? 2. What key components are essential to ensure both long-term sustainability and strong business performance in a child care program? 3. What types of additional support or resources are most important for successful operations? 4. If your organization currently or previously provided child care to the target populations, what best practices, strengths, or experiences contributed to successful, safe, and healthy operations? 5. What types and sources of funding do you consider essential to provide high-quality child care? 6. What strategies does your organization currently use (or plan to use) for continuous quality improvement? 7. What data or outcomes do you track to measure program effectiveness? 8. What strategies are in place (or needed) to serve children with disabilities or special health needs? 9. What support or resources are most critical when serving infants and toddlers? 10. What types of reporting and administrative requirements (e.g. child attendance, outcomes, data, financial tracking) would be manageable for your organization under a contracted slots model? 11. Which geographic areas do you believe lack sufficient child care services for target populations? Please specify by regions, zip code, or community. 12. What is your estimated cost per contracted slot for each age group (e.g. infant, toddler), including all standard services? 13. How should families be guided to apply for contracted slots? 14. What application process would be most effective?
