Center for Home-based Child Care Research | HHS 2024 ACF OPRE YE 0089

Opportunity Information: Apply for HHS 2024 ACF OPRE YE 0089

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), through its Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), is funding a single cooperative agreement to create a Center for Home-based Child Care Research. The Center is meant to serve as a national hub for leadership and practical support that strengthens what the field knows about home-based child care (HBCC) across states, territories, tribes, and local communities. The main idea is to build research and evaluation capacity while also helping local partners design and carry out studies that answer real-world questions about how HBCC works, who it serves, and what communities can do to sustain and strengthen it.

A major focus of the Center is improving understanding of HBCC providers and settings. HBCC providers are individuals and small business owners paid to provide child care in private residences or homes, and they represent a critical part of the child care system. The opportunity emphasizes that HBCC is a large segment of the child care and early education workforce and serves many children from birth through school-age who receive regular nonparental care. Because of that, ACF is looking for stronger evidence about provider characteristics, program features, and the experiences of families who rely on HBCC, especially working families and families with lower incomes.

The research agenda is framed around both supply and access. On the supply side, the Center is expected to promote rigorous research into the factors that support or suppress the availability of HBCC in communities. That can include issues such as barriers to entry or operation, regulatory and licensing dynamics, workforce and compensation challenges, and local market conditions that influence whether HBCC is available and stable. On the access side, the Center is intended to help communities better understand how families find, choose, and use HBCC, including whether certain groups face unique obstacles in locating care that is safe, affordable, and aligned with their needs (for example, care during nontraditional hours or care that is culturally and linguistically responsive).

Another central priority is examining how HBCC providers engage with public programs and quality improvement systems. The funding notice specifically calls out participation in publicly funded programs such as child care subsidies and Head Start, along with involvement in quality improvement efforts like Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS), quality initiatives (QI), and continuous quality improvement (CQI). In practice, that means the Center should help the field understand what encourages or discourages HBCC providers from enrolling in these programs, what participation looks like once they do, and whether policy or administrative changes could make these systems more accessible and workable for HBCC settings.

Capacity building is a defining feature of this award. The Center is not only expected to produce research, but also to strengthen the ability of state, territorial, tribal, and local research partnerships to conduct high-quality studies. The opportunity highlights the value of developing and facilitating local research that is grounded in local context while still contributing to broader national learning about HBCC. This implies hands-on support such as developing shared tools and methods, supporting local evaluation designs, improving data collection strategies, and helping translate findings into practical insights that can inform initiatives aimed at sustaining and expanding HBCC supply.

ACF indicates that the ideal applicant team will bring a mix of expertise: experience studying HBCC directly, knowledge of Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs and policies, and strong familiarity with the needs and experiences of families with lower incomes, tribal communities, and historically marginalized populations. The Center is expected to be equipped to help local partners run model research projects that address community-specific questions while also generating lessons that are useful across different jurisdictions.

This funding opportunity is a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which typically means substantial involvement by the federal agency in shaping or coordinating the work as it unfolds. The opportunity number is HHS-2024-ACF-OPRE-YE-0089, listed under CFDA 93.575, with an original application deadline of July 10, 2024. ACF expects to make one award, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000.

Eligibility is broad across public and private sectors, including state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status); and for-profit organizations (including small businesses). Individuals, including sole proprietorships, and foreign entities are explicitly not eligible and will be disqualified. Faith-based and community organizations that otherwise meet eligibility requirements may apply, and the notice emphasizes that ACF will not discriminate based on an organization’s religious character, consistent with applicable federal regulations and protections.

• The Administration for Children and Families - OPRE in the income security and social services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Center for Home-based Child Care Research" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.575.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for HHS 2024 ACF OPRE YE 0089

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