Children & Family Services, NYS Office of — Bureau of Contract ManagementIssuing agency·New York·via the nyscr.ny.gov statewide procurement bulletinWe post new health & human services opportunities in New York as agencies publish them. Get them in one email — free, and unsubscribe whenever.
PLEASE NOTE: This procurement was amended on 6/10/2026 and 7/23/2026. The Calendar of Events has been updated. The deadline for submission of applications has been EXTENDED to 8/28/2026. An amended version of the RFA, Attachment 1 – Online Administrative Form Template, Attachment 2 – Application, and Attachment 3A – Budget Instructions are available for download. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the State Register on July 22, 2026. Please refer to the regulations filed for public comment here: https://ocfs.ny.gov/main/legal/regulatory/pc/
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. The addition of child care substitute pools will provide qualified professionals to licensed and registered child care programs. This allows providers to utilize substitute caregivers to fill in when necessary to provide continuity of care for families and maintain child care operations. The CCSCs will receive technical assistance and relevant technology to support the implementation of the substitute pools from the Early Care and Learning Council (ECLC).
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.
Background
Governor Kathy Hochul announced the goal of creating a substitute pool of vetted, trusted professionals who can provide needed continuity of care for families and support child care providers in her 2025 State of the State address. Enacted in the 2026 Budget, CCSCs will administer regional substitute pools to benefit the public by supporting child care operations. The CCSCs will provide qualified, trained substitute caregivers to support licensed and registered child care programs facing staff shortages or absences. These substitute caregivers will reduce service interruptions for the children and families of NYS by helping programs meet required child/staff ratios and supervision requirements. The CCSCs will administer the substitute pool in their designated OCFS region and verify that all prospective substitute caregivers meet minimum qualifications, receive an approved comprehensive background check, and complete required trainings as indicated by OCFS regulation (for further information, please see RFA Section 4.2 Performance Requirements). The services of the CCSCs shall be provided at no cost to child care providers. Funds are allocated to the awarded contractors for the purposes of administering this program.
Minimum Qualifications
Eligible applicants must:
• Be a not-for-profit organization.
• Be operating as a CCR&R agency, as listed on the OCFS public website: https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/referral-agencies.php as of deadline for submission of applications, as denoted in the Calendar of Events.
• Be prequalified, if not exempt, on the application deadline. (See RFA Section 7.8 for additional information.)
Desired Outcomes
CCSCs will support licensed and registered child care programs facing staff shortages or absences by providing qualified substitute caregivers. The CCSCs will administer substitute pools for eligible child care providers. These services will be provided at no cost to the child care providers. Funds are allocated to awarded contractors for the purposes of administering this program.
The target population to be served by the child care substitute pools includes OCFS-licensed/registered child care programs within the OCFS-defined region within which the awarded CCSC is located. The purpose of the child care substitute pools is to support the daily operations of licensed/registered child care programs by providing qualified substitute caregivers to programs when they need staffing assistance.
Applicants may submit one application in response to this RFA and may receive a maximum of one award.
Please refer to the amended RFA documents located on the "documents" tab for additional information and submission requirements.
Submission of Applications
Application submission for this RFA will occur in two steps (specific information is in RFA Section 5.0 Application Content and Submission):
Step 1: Applicants must first complete an online administrative form, which begins the application process. The information required is specified below. The completion of Step 1 generates an application number and gathers required information for each application. Upon completion and submission of the online administrative form, applicants will receive a confirmation email from funding@ocfs.ny.gov providing their application number and instructing them as to next steps in the submission 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 or the application submission will be considered incomplete. Both Step 1 and Step 2 must be completed, or the application will not be considered by OCFS to be properly received.
Online Administrative Form: https://forms.office.com/g/tqDXW4ab3f
Please use the Attachment 4 – Submission Checklist to ensure all required documents are completed and submitted to OCFS.
Please refer to RFA Section 5.4 Application Submittal Process for additional information and submission requirements.
Business enterprises awarded an identical or substantially similar procurement contract within the past five years:
None.
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business (SDVOB)
SDVOB Goal: 0.00%
Minority / Women Business Enterprise contracting goals (MWBE)
MBE Goal: 0.00%
WBE Goal: 0.00%
Disadvantaged Business Enterprise contracting goals (DBE)
DBE Goal: 0.00%
Awarded contractors will establish a child care support center to administer a regional child care substitute pool, providing qualified substitute caregivers to licensed/registered child care programs facing staff shortages or absences. The CCSC will verify that substitute caregivers meet minimum qualifications, receive comprehensive background checks, and complete required trainings. Services are provided at no cost to child care providers.
Source: New York State Contract Reporter (CR# 2134399), retrieved via the nyscr.ny.gov statewide procurement bulletin. View the official posting , always confirm requirements and deadlines with the issuing agency.
