Caregiver Engagement Initiative

Posted by William Penn Foundation on March 13, 2017

WPF requests Letters of Inquiry for three-year projects that aim to enhance family engagement efforts in ECE centers by helping to support caregivers’ roles as their children’s first teachers.

WPF seeks to fund 7-10 programs that focus on implementing evidence-based interventions in ECE centers that will engage caregivers of children enrolled in those programs. These programs must be provided in partnership between social service organizations and ECE centers. Examples of eligible applicants include:
 Social service organizations: Organizations that provide social or health services and have a track record of delivering caregiver supports to low-income families with young children in Philadelphia.
 High-quality ECE centers that are rated as a Keystone STARS 3 or 4 and/or are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), or are certified Head Start providers. ECE centers must primarily serve low-income families (serving a population at least 50% of whom are students supported by child care subsidy, Head Start, or Pre-K Counts) in Philadelphia.

The lead applicant must have a legal status as a 501c(3) public charity.

The objectives of the three-year (August 2017-August 2020) initiative are to:

 Select evidence-based interventions based on data on community needs and caregiver input.

Implement evidence-based high-quality interventions for caregivers of children from birth to five in underserved communities in Philadelphia;
 Evaluate the impact of interventions on children and caregivers;
 Build a network of ECE centers and social service organizations to foster peer learning, collaboration, and resource sharing related to the effective implementation of caregiver interventions; and
 Disseminate evaluation findings to relevant stakeholders, including the early childhood and social service communities, education sector leaders, and funders.

Process
The application process begins by submitting an Inquiry Form through the WPF website by March 17. WPF will review all Inquiry Forms and invite select applicants to submit a full proposal.

http://williampennfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Caregiver%20Engagement%20RFI%20_1.pdf