OCA-DGCP-050 New York State Children’s Center Program: Orange County

II. PROJECT INFORMATION

The UCS Office of Court Administration’s (“OCA”) Division of Grants, Contracts & Procurement (“DGCP”) is soliciting sealed proposals from vendors to provide childcare and family services, including referral services, in an existing, fully furnished Children’s Center located in the Orange County Family Court of New York State (the “Orange County Children’s Center”). The Orange County Children’s Center has a maximum service capacity of eight (8) children at a time. The average annual number of children served in the Orange County Children’s Center is approximately 1,500 children.

Please see Article V (Project Services) for details.

UCS anticipates that Awarded Contractor (as such term is defined below) will begin providing services to the public on or about January 1, 2026.

III. AWARD Term of Award

A single contract (“Contract”) will be awarded to the successful bidder (“Awarded Contractor”) for a term of fifty-four (54) months. The Contract is expected to commence on or about January 1, 2026 and terminate on or about June 30, 2030 (“Contract Term”). The initial budget period of the Contract will be for three (3) months, from January 1, 2026 through March 31, 2026 (“Budget Period # 1”). The maximum available annual funding of $178,680 will be prorated for the three month Budget Period # 1, equating to 25% ($44,670) of the maximum available amount.

OCA further reserves the right to extend the Contract for a period not to exceed one (1) year (“Extension Term”), upon written notification to Awarded Contractor prior to the expiration date of the Contract Term, on the same terms and conditions, including pricing, as the preceding term; provided, the maximum term of the Contract will be five (5) years. The Contract, renewals and extension thereof are subject to the approval of the NYS Attorney General and the Office of the State Comptroller.

Contract funding is contingent upon the availability of current and subsequently enacted New York State appropriations.

Method of Award

UCS will make an award to a single bidder for the Orange County Children’s Center.

The Awarded Contractor must:

1. Meet the minimum qualifications outlined in Article IV below;

2. Be a responsible applicant as determined in accordance with the criteria set forth below the heading “Responsible Bidder” in Article XI (General Specifications);

3. Receive the highest score in Technical Criteria points in excess of the minimum score, as determined by the selection criteria set forth herein.

Proposals will be reviewed and rated by a team composed of qualified UCS staff and will be scored as follows:

Detailed criteria are contained in the Proposal Rating Tool attached as Exhibit 5 hereto. In the event of a tie score, UCS will select the winning bidder in its sole discretion.

Note: A minimum score of 70 (average of all evaluators) is required for an award to be made.

IV. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

UCS will only consider proposals submitted by public organizations and nonprofit organizations. 1 The proposer must have at least three (3) years’ experience delivering childcare services or human services (i.e., programming or facilities that improve the quality of life for one or more service populations, such as people who are poor, sick, young, or elderly).

V. PROJECT SERVICES

UCS seeks proposals describing how the applicant will provide the services listed below (“Project Services”). The Awarded Contractor shall be required to provide the Project Services listed below.

The Awarded Contractor must operate the Orange County Children’s Center in compliance with the requirements of the Operational Standards for Children’s Centers as set forth in Exhibit 7 attached hereto and made a part hereof. The Operational Standards include, but are not limited to, the following requirements:

- Provide a separate, safe, supervised, and enclosed environment for children who must be in court in connection with matters involving them or their caregivers.

- Serve children from six (6) weeks old through twelve (12) years of age.

- Operate the center when court is open for general daytime court hours, and staff the center with at least two adequately trained and supervised persons who are paid employees or volunteers.

- Ensure that the Children’s Center is maintained in good repair and kept clean.

- Ensure that the Children’s Center and its toys, furnishings, and equipment are safe, clean, and age-appropriate for children.

- Designate an area of the Children’s Center, when feasible, for infants and toddlers so that they may be separated from older children for safe floor play. Establish an area designed to be welcoming to older children through the use of decorating, furniture, and the activities offered.

- Complete the SCCP intake form for each visit a caregiver makes to the Center according to SCCP instructions ensuring that only one caregiver—or a person designated by the caregiver or a court order as an alternative to pick up the child(ren)—is allowed in the Center during intake and sign out procedures.

- Complete “Incident/Accident Reports” on forms to be provided by the SCCP for any injury or illness that occurs in the Children’s Center which requires first aid or medical attention or for an incident that requires the involvement or notification of court officers, security personnel, a provider agency, court staff, law enforcement, or Child Protective Services.

- Maintain the confidentiality of all information relating to an individual child or caregiver and refrain from disclosing that information without the written permission of the child’s caregiver except as set forth in Exhibit 7.

- Implement the Children’s Center consistent with current standards for developmentally appropriate practice as established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

- Ensure that Children’s Center staff prepare developmentally appropriate activities and ensure a sufficient quantity and variety of furniture, toys, books, and materials. Toys, books, and materials must be selected to promote positive images of different ethnic, racial, cultural, gender, and ability groups and families.

- Establish a community outreach program; disciplinary guidelines; a staffing plan in compliance with Section Q Exhibit 7, Operational Standard (“Staffing”); a policy for substitute staffing; procedures for cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting toys and other items; and procedures for questions or concerns regarding Center operations.

- Establish an advisory committee comprised of, but not limited to representation from the following list of stakeholders:

o Provider Agency

o Court

o Court Security

o Lawyer or Attorney for the child

o Department of Social Services

o Department of Health or health care professional

o Department of Mental Health or mental health professional

o Head Start of Child Care Resource & Referral

o Parent

- Ensure that snacks are prepared and stored in a safe and clean manner and that they are made available to all children utilizing the Center.

- Connect children and families to available local, state, and federal service programs and entitlements.

- Submit attendance, service connections, and other reports as required by SCCP and transmit such data to SCCP.