Now Accepting Applications: Prenatal to 5 Workforce Collaborative RFP

The Prenatal to 5 Workforce Collaborative funding opportunity is now open. This funding opportunity invites proposals from self-identified groups of prenatal to five providers who are seeking ongoing professional development and reflective consultation. The goal of this Request for Proposals is to create space for collaborative participants to gain deeper content knowledge, build mutual support with one another, reflect on their work experiences, and apply what they are learning to real-life scenarios with children and families.

Click here to view the RFP and apply on ZoomGrants. This link will take you a ZoomGrants page. Create a log-in to view the RFP and apply.

Need help applying? Get free assistance

Free technical assistance is available to support organizations in developing proposals. Providers offer a wide range of skills, areas of expertise, and language abilities

Click here to learn more about free assistance and view provider profiles.

Workforce Development Approach

This funding opportunity is the second of two connected funding opportunities in Best Starts for Kids’ Workforce Development Strategy. The workforce collaboratives identified through this RFP will be able to access consultants and systems coordinators
(identified via this separate RFQ) to support access to and provide training, technical
assistance, and reflective consultation.

What is Workforce Development?

In order for children and their families to have positive experiences and form trusting relationships with the workers who serve them, the workers themselves must be supported—through ongoing opportunities for knowledge-building as well as self-care and reflective consultation with supervisors and peers. This is especially crucial for those workers serving children and families who have experienced trauma, institutional racism, and lack of opportunity—and who might themselves have experienced these adversities.

As a result, in its implementation plan, Best Starts for Kids set aside funding for trainings and other learning opportunities on broad topics such as infant and early childhood mental health, healthy child development, and racial equity. More specific topics such as newborn safety and autism were also identified. Additionally, Best Starts for Kids’ approach emphasizes a need for workforce access to “reflective consultation” in order to create the space for staff members to process their experiences with children and families, to learn how to strengthen their relationships with those they serve, and to build resilience against vicarious trauma. Reflective consultation also promotes staff morale and retention.

What is a workforce collaborative?

Workforce Collaboratives are coordinated, ongoing groups of prenatal to five workers who:

Share roles or work places, such as a group of home visitors or a community health clinic’s pediatric team
Work with a specific cultural community, possibly with a variety of different work roles
Serve a focused geographic community, neighborhood or rural area, also with a variety of work roles.

See the RFP on ZoomGrants for examples of workforce collaboratives.

Eligibility

This announcement is only open to not-for-profit organizations, community-based organizations, tribes and tribal organizations, schools and school districts, and public or governmental agencies serving communities in King County. Small non-profits and community-based organizations, youth-led organizations are encouraged to submit proposals.

Timeline

RFP Release Date	September 6, 2018
Final Day to Request Technical Assistance	October 15, 2018
Applications Due	October 18, 2018
Interviews with Applicants (if necessary)	October 31 – November 2, 2018
Responses Rated and Reviewed	By November 8, 2018
Notice of Selected and Non-Selected Applications	November 9 – November 14, 2018