Item:
Title
Approve the Contract for Creation of a Durham County Early Childhood Action Plan
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: January 13, 2020
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve the attached contract proposal.
The Board discussed the prospect of creating a Durham County Early Childhood Action Plan (ECAP) and the steps that would be necessary to make that happen at their October and December Work Sessions. Since the October discussion, County staff have been engaged in further discussions with the East Durham Children's Initiative (EDCI), Child Care Services Association (CCSA), Durham's Partnership for Children (DPfC), and others about the most appropriate and effective shape for this early childhood action planning process to take. At the December Work Session Commissioners directed staff to bring back a contract and scope of work reflecting the necessary tasks, processes, and funding for EDCI to assist the County by being our lead partner in the creation of the Durham County ECAP over the next 12-18 months. EDCI, anticipating the necessary hire of a full-time project manager, expressed a strong desire for a process that could extend through the next 18 months (through the end of FY20-21).
Staff continue to believe that the East Durham Children's Initiative (EDCI) should play a leading role in this effort. EDCI has been working for the better part of a decade to create a high-functioning pipeline of community partners serving young children in East Durham. In recent years they have repeatedly expressed interest in, and energy for, the idea of leading community-wide efforts to deepen and improve our early childhood service continuum and are also in the process in dropping the "E" from their name and becoming the Durham Children's Initiative. EDCI's experience leading collective action and in private fundraising will be critical for this effort.
The October discussion centered around a proposal for EDCI to receive si...
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