To: Board of Supervisors
From: Marla Stuart, Employment and Human Services Director
Report Title: Young Men’s Christian Association of the East Bay
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Employment and Human Services Director, or designee, to execute a contract amendment, effective July 1, 2026, with the Young Men’s Christian Association of the East Bay to increase the payment limit by $9,371 to a new payment limit not to exceed $7,409,780, to implement a Head Start and Early Head Start Program cost of living adjustment with no change to the term of September 1,2024 through June 20, 2027.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$7,409,779.27: 100% Federal funds, of which $2,178,944 was budgeted in FY 24-25, $2,610,732 was budgeted in FY 25-26, and $2,620,103.27 is budgeted in FY 26-27.
BACKGROUND:
On December 28, 2023, Request for Proposal #1202 was posted in selecting Head Start Program Childcare Partners. The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of the East Bay was selected through the bidder’s process for a term of September 1, 2024, to June 30, 2027. This contract will provide a minimum of 211 to 254 childcare program slots for children in Head Start, a minimum of 46 to 56 childcare program slots for children in Early Head Start, and a minimum of 257 to 309 Comprehensive Services to eligible children and families enrolled in Head Start programs per year.
On December 17, 2024, the Board of Supervisors approved consent item C.94, authorizing a contract in the amount of $7,400,408 for Fiscal Years 2024 to 2027.
A contract amendment was approved by the Board on April 27, 2026, to revise the language regarding the total number of childcare program slots. This contract initially provided up to 46 childcare program slots for children in the Early Head Start program, but the contract amendment allowed for an increase of up to 10 additional program slots, for a maximum of 56 program slots, upon sole discretion and prior approval of the County. This contract also initially provided up to 257 Comprehensive Services to eligible children and families enrolled in Head Start programs, but the contract amendment allowed for an increase of up to 52 additional program slots, for a maximum of 309 program slots, upon sole discretion and prior approval of the County. Additional language regarding the requirement for personnel background checks and lead testing were also added to ensure contractor compliance with Head Start Program Performance Standards. There were no changes to the payment limit or contract term.
This action seeks approval to amend the contract to reflect the 0.635% Head Start federal funding increase for FY 26/27 by increasing the payment limit by $9,371 to a new payment limit of $7,409,780 and increasing the Head Start monthly rate per program slot from $312.59 to $314.57 and the Early Head Start monthly rate per program slot from $694.66 to $699.07, effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. This vendor was selected per procurement requirements outlined in Administrative Bulletin 600.3.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
This Contract supports three of the community outcomes established in the Children’s Report Card: (1) "Children Ready for and Succeeding in School"; (3) "Families that are Economically Self-Sufficient"; and (4) "Families that are Safe, Stable and Nurturing."
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Should the proposed action not be approved by the Board of Supervisors, Contra Costa County will be unable to increase funding to reflect the 0.635% Head Start funding increase for its community-based agency partner, YMCA of the East Bay, preventing the Contractor from receiving the additional federal funding to support continued Head Start and Early Head Start services.