As an authorized representative of the proposer, having carefully examined the Request for Proposals, propose to furnish services in accordance therewith as set forth in the attached proposal.I further agree that this proposal will remain in effect for not less than sixty (60) calendar days from the date that proposals are due, and that this proposal may not be withdrawn or modified during that time.I hereby certify that this proposal is genuine and not a false or collusive proposal, or made in the interests or on behalf of any person not therein named; and I have not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any Contractor or supplier on the above work to put in a false proposal or any person or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal; and that I have not in any manner sought by collusion to secure to myself an advantage over any other contractor(s) or person(s).In order to induce the County to consider this proposal, the proposer irrevocably waives any existing rights which it may have, by contract or otherwise, to require another person or corporation to refrain from submitting a proposal to or performing work or providing supplies to Pierce County, and proposer further promises that it will not in the future directly or indirectly induce or solicit any person or corporation to refrain from submitting a response or proposal to or from performing work or providing supplies to Pierce County.

In order for an organization to be eligible to submit a proposal under this procurement, the organization must meet the following eligibility requirements:Be a/an: Educational school or district; or Washington State registered non-profit with current 501(c)(3) status; or For-profit organization working in partnership with a Washington State registered non-profit as the program lead. Possess a Washington State business license by the time a contract is executed (as evidenced by a UBI number when available).Possess a Federal Tax ID number. By checking 'Confirm', I agree that the organization meets all eligibility requirements as stated under this section. If you have questions regarding eligibility requirements, please submit a question through the "Question & Answer" section of this RFP.

If your organization is a for-profit organization working in partnership with a Washington State registered non-profit as the program lead, please upload documentation showing the relationship between your organization and the non-profit organization. Otherwise, you may skip this question.

By submitting a proposal, I agree that all documents, reports, proposals, submittals, working papers, or other materials prepared by the applicant pursuant to this proposal shall become the sole and exclusive property of the County, and the public domain, and not property of the applicant. The applicant shall not copyright, or cause to be copyrighted, any portion of said items submitted to the County because of this solicitation.

I confirm I have reviewed the content of the following attachments included under this RFP: Sample Agreement and any other documents as identified as "sample" in the Attachments section and acknowledge I understand and agree to these requirements should my organization receive a contract as a result of this proposal.

By submitting a proposal, I understand and agree that if awarded funding from this RFP, the organization must be able to meet all insurance requirements based on services being purchased, prior to contract execution, and types of insurances may include, but are not limited to:Commercial General Liability Insurance: Required on all contracts. Standard levels are $1M occurrence/$2M aggregate (may be higher/lower, depending on value of contract and type of service).Commercial Automobile Liability Insurance: Required when the Contractor uses owned, rented, or leased automobiles to complete the services as required per the contract. Higher coverages may be required for fleet/large passenger vehicles. Workers Compensation Insurance: As required by Washington State. Professional Liability or Errors and Omissions Insurance: If the Contractor provides services such as analysis, consulting, counseling, daycare, legal, medical, nursing, pastoral, medical, or other services that require professional licensing.Abuse and Molestation: If the Contractor will be working directly with youth under the age of 18, elderly, disabled or other vulnerable populations.Cyber/Privacy and Security Insurance: If the Contractor is doing work that could give the Contractor access to personal or sensitive information from within the County's network or on the Contractor's personal computer, or lead to breaches of security, leading to a loss of privacy or identity theft. Crime/Employee Dishonesty Insurance: If the Contractor is in the custody or control of Pierce County funds such as cash, credit cards, checks or physical property.Other insurance(s) applicable to services being purchased: Such as Excess or Umbrella Liability Insurance if the contract is in excess of $500,000.In addition, Pierce County shall be named as an "Additional Insured,” which must be provided in the insurance endorsement. Insurance requirements also apply to any subcontractors hired by the main Contractor to deliver services, where applicable.Please see "Exhibit D" in the SAMPLE AGREEMENT under attachments to see full insurance requirements. If you have questions regarding insurance requirements, please submit them through the “Question & Answer” section of the RFP.

As an authorized representative of the proposer, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the organization and its principals:Are not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any Federal department or agency;Have not within a three-year period preceding this proposal been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (Federal, State, or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; violation of Federal or State antitrust statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property;Are not presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a government entity (Federal, State, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (1)(b) of this certification; andHave not within a three-year period preceding this application/proposal had one or more public transactions (Federal, State, or local) terminated for cause or default.Does not employ any person nor contracts with any person or agency excluded from participation in federal health care programs under either 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7 (§§1128 or 1128A Social Security Act) or debarred or suspended.By checking the confirmation, I understand that a false statement on this certification may be grounds for rejection of this proposal or termination of any award. In addition, under 18 USC Sec. 1001, a false statement may result in a fine of up to $10,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years, or both.

I understand that all potentially successful Proposers will be required to complete a financial risk assessment prior to a formal contract offer. This audit requires the organization to submit detailed financial information about the organization’s financial history, current status, and details regarding boards, internal processes, and controls. The results of the risk assessment shall be utilized to determine the potential financial risk and stability of the organization – the outcome of the assessment shall be scored low, medium, high. The County reserves the right not to contract with an organization considered financially “high risk.” If you have questions regarding risk assessments, please submit a question through the "Question & Answer" section of this RFP.

An organization must have, at the time of submission, an active UEI number when the funding is identified as federal. Please list your UEI as issued by Sam.gov. Funding may or may not create a subrecipient relationship between the organization and the County. WARNING: Failure to provide a number OR if the UEI number is NOT ACTIVE may be cause for the application to be disqualified from competition.

Please provide the name and title of the individual authorized to execute a contract on behalf of the organization.

Please provide the legal name, any d/b/a names, years in business, local address, billing address if different, email address, and phone number of the organization making the proposal.

Please provide the organization's Federal Tax Number (EIN).

Please provide the organization's Washington State Unified Business Identification (UBI).WARNING: Failure to provide a UBI number may be cause for the application to be disqualified from competition.

Must choose at least two (2) answers: Profit status (1 or 2) and organizational structure (3, 4, 5, or 6).

Please provide the name, phone, and email for:Executive Director/CEO/PresidentFinancial Manager/CFOContract Manager

What area(s) within the Pierce County Regional Transit Authority (RTA) boundary of Pierce County will the project deliver services?

Select one.

Please provide a detailed description of your proposed program. Please include an overview of the main project activities and whether this is a new project or a continuation of an existing project. For service-related projects, be sure to include the types of early learning access programming and resources you will be providing and the estimated number of clients served annually.

How does your program reduce barriers and increase access to early learning facilities for youth ages birth through 5 and their families?

For service projects: Please describe your target population and explain how your organization is equipped to provide them with services.For capital projects: Please describe the early learning facilities or providers that make up your target population and explain how your organization is equipped to support them through capital enhancement projects.

Please describe your organization’s experience with the proposed activities. If your organization does not have direct experience in these areas, explain how your leadership and staff possess the expertise and capacity to successfully implement the proposed activities.

What infrastructure (e.g., facilities, technology, mobile capacity) do you have to deliver the proposed activities effectively? If there is no infrastructure in place, what is your plan to ensure adequate capacity to deliver the project?

For services projects: What criteria will be used to determine participant eligibility, and what processes will your organization implement to ensure participants are appropriately screened, enrolled, and connected to the services they need?For capital projects: What processes will your organization implement to prioritize projects, and ensure that proposed improvements align with the goals of increasing childcare slots and improving quality?

For service projects: What strategies will you use to outreach, engage, and retain participants in services, especially those with high barriers?For capital projects: What strategies will you use to manage project planning and implementation, including engagement with key stakeholders (e.g., facility operators, contractors, licensing agencies), to ensure successful and timely completion of capital enhancements—particularly for facilities serving communities with the highest barriers to accessing quality childcare?

For service projects: How will you measure and monitor Performance Measures? Include in your response the method(s) your organization will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the project in achieving its goals. For capital projects: How will you measure and monitor project outputs and outcomes? In your response, describe the methods your organization will use to evaluate the effectiveness of the capital enhancements in increasing licensed childcare capacity and improving facility quality.

For service projects: How does your project meaningfully modify access to services for populations whose modes of engagement are different?For capital projects: How does your capital enhancement project meaningfully improve access to early learning services for populations whose modes of engagement or facility needs differ (e.g., multilingual families, families with infants/toddlers, children with disabilities, or families needing non-traditional hours)? Describe how the planned facility improvements will reduce barriers and support more equitable access.

For service projects: How does your project subsequently meet cultural needs? How is the project tailored to the diversity of customers you serve?For capital projects: How does your capital enhancement project meet the cultural and community-specific needs of the families you serve? Describe how your facility design, renovations, or upgrades will reflect and support the cultural, linguistic, and accessibility needs of diverse populations.

For service projects: What plan do you have to partner and collaborate with other organizations to support client success? For capital projects: For capital enhancement projects, what plan do you have to partner and collaborate with other contractors, architects, licensing agencies, and early learning partners to support successful completion of capital enhancement projects and ensure improved facility quality and increased childcare capacity?

Please upload the budget for your program.

Provide a brief narrative for the items included in the proposed budget.

How will the proposed budget support the successful completion and implementation of the service or capital enhancement project?

What percentage of the proposed program does the budget request make up?

Please indicate the type of payment method and why your organization chose this method.Cost Reimbursement: The contractor will invoice the county for approved costs (e.g. employee costs for those staff described in the service delivery). The contractor will need to demonstrate on an ongoing basis and during audits that any staff time charged to the PSTAA fund was specifically for work done through this grant. The contractor will also need to demonstrate that staff output (e.g. numbers served, hours of service) justifies the funding for the position. Fee for Service: The awarded contractor invoices Pierce County at an agreed-upon rate for specific services provided. The rate includes all direct, administrative and other associated costs and is considered full payment for the service provided.

Please download the Pre-Award Risk Assessment, complete, and upload the completed assessment and all required supplemental materials, including: 2 most recent audited financial statements, including federal single audit, management letters and findings/corrective responses.Prior year Balance Sheet, Profit and Loss and Cash Flow Statements for entire year period.Current YTD Balance sheet, Profit and Loss and Cash Flow Statements.Most recent IRS annual submission, if this has not been sent, please detail why it not been filed yet.Agency’s policies and procedures for fiscal/grant accounting, including cost allocation and record retention policies.Third Party monitoring reports you may have received in last two years.1 example of a management timesheet and 1 example of an employee (non-management) timesheet.Additionally requested documents, as applicable based on Pre-Award Risk Assessment responses.

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload for EACH additional application:Application Questions (Word) and any applicable attachmentsAttachment B: Budget Workbook (Excel)