Fund for Sustaining Quality

About the Fund       Procurement Timeline       Announcements       Eligibility       Application       Submission       Consultants       Contact

PHMC and the Fund for Sustaining Quality continue to monitor information on COVID-19/coronavirus. We are focused on quality care for all participants and ensuring organizational preparedness, including our employee’s health and wellness. We are continuing to provide services to our clients and are ensuring extra preventive and precautionary measures are in place based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. If you have a specific question about the Fund for Sustaining Quality services, please email FSQ@phmc.org.

COVID-19 Business Support

During this unprecedented time, we know early childhood education operators have more questions than answers.  We are here to help you get the answers you need. You'll get a response within 48 hours. If we can’t answer your question, we will point you in the right direction.

CLICK HERE to ask a question about your business operations, stability, or sustainability and we will find an answer.

Your questions and answers will be made anonymous and used to develop a Frequently Asked Questions document which will be posted to this website, along with other tools being developed to support your business operations and assess your viability and sustainability.

CLICK HERE for more resources.

About the Fund

Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), with funding support through Vanguard’s Strong Start for Kids™, has launched a new fund to support existing high-quality early care and education programs in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia has very few high-quality programs (approximately 15% of seats are high-quality) and those that do exist operate on extremely slim financial margins. The Fund for Sustaining Quality (FSQ) will provide STAR 3 and 4 child care facilities, located in Philadelphia, with awards to support the development and implementation of sustainability plans. Providers will work with an expert consultant to reflect on their current operations and landscape threats and opportunities and make needed shifts in practice to ensure sustainability of their business. Projects will focus on ensuring sound business practices, operational efficiency, and risk mitigation. Projects may also consider diversifying funding sources, increasing service offerings, or modifying programming to better meet current funder priorities or community needs.

Cohort 1 and 2 Fund for Sustaining Quality Awards

PHMC congratulates the following programs that have been selected to participate in the first two cohorts of the Fund for Sustaining Quality (FSQ).

• Ann Kids
• Beautiful Beginnings Child Care Center
• Casa Del Carmen, Catholic Social Services
• Children's Community School
• Children's Village
• Little Learners Child Care Center
• Rising Sun Children’s Center
• Smart Beginnings
• Woodland Academy
• Your Child's World

These programs will work with a consult with expertise in strategic planning and other business areas such as financial planning, staffing, enrollment recruitment, facilities management, and leadership development.

Procurement Timeline

COHORT 3

Announcements

PHMC is now accepting Requests for Qualifications for business and operational consultation services. Please refer to the Consultants section below for more information.

Eligibility

Participant eligibility 

- Existing high-quality child care center, Keystone STAR 3 and 4, operating in Philadelphia
- Non-profit or for-profit organization
- Currently serving vulnerable (including children with identified special needs, i.e. IEPS/IFSPs) and/or low-income populations (defined as client population of at least 50% subsidy, Head Start, or Pre-K Counts) or able to demonstrate a commitment to serving vulnerable and/or low-income families 
- In good standing with DHS Certification and free of city, state and federal liabilities
- Consideration may be made for agencies at a lower STAR level with appropriate justification and approval from the FSQ Advisory Council. Lower STAR levels should include a letter of recommendation from their STARS Quality Coach or other Coach/TA Consultant. 

Providers at varying stages of sustainability planning and implementation are encouraged to apply.

Priority consideration

• Preference will be given to applications that operate in at-risk neighborhoods in Philadelphia. Priority considerations are as follows:
• Serving vulnerable populations
• Locations in Childcare Map priority areas:
  • Lack of high-quality ECE 
  • Areas of high-poverty 
  • Unmet demand for ECE services

Application

Application submission period is currently closed. Check back for future dates.

Submission

Submission deadline for Cohort 3 is October 31, 2019.

Applications must be submitted via the Fund for Sustaining Quality email, FSQ@phmc.org.

Please work with FSQ staff to ensure all items are emailed and accessible. A confirmation of receipt will be sent once your complete application is received.

Funding notifications will be sent to the legal entity contact email provided in the application.

Consultants

Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), along with their project partners, provides consultative business and operational supports to Philadelphia early childhood education programs through the current projects:

• The Fund for Quality (FFQ) supports STAR 3 and 4 early care and education providers with expanding their services to reach more low-income families through business planning support and facilities-related financing (typical four month engagement with provider).

• The Fund for Sustaining Quality (FSQ) provides STAR 3 and 4 child care centers with awards to support the development and implementation of sustainability plans (typical 18 month engagement with provider).

• The Fiscal Hub uses a unique online tool to collect detailed financial and operational data and works to improve providers’ business practices through resources, technical assistance, and policy advancement. (varies five to 20 hours engagement with provider)

Services Needed

To support the goals of these projects, PHMC is seeking expert consultants to provide business and operational consultation to project awardees. Content areas of expertise vary but may include: strategic planning; financial/business planning; fiscal analysis; staffing (recruitment, qualifications, retention, training, pay, benefits); administrative and management structure; client recruitment, enrollment, and retention; data management; risk management; marketing; and leadership development and succession planning. PHMC seeks professionals with general strategic planning expertise as well as specialized expertise in the above areas as pertains to early childhood education operations.

CLICK HERE to download the Request for Qualifications

Please submit your RFQ responses by 5 pm on Monday, December 2, 2019. All submissions must be made electronically by emailing to fundforquality@phmc.org. Please send all questions regarding this Request for Qualifications to fundforquality@phmc.org.

Contact

Fund for Sustaining Quality
Public Health Management Corporation

Centre Square East
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

PHONE: 267.773.4400
FAX: 267.765.2397
EMAIL: FSQ@phmc.org

Please use the address below when sending mail:

Fund for Sustaining Quality
Public Health Management Corporation
LM 500, Lower Mezzanine, West Tower
1500 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19102

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