Child Care Scholarship Case Management And Payment Processing Functions

Background
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to procure services for the Child Care Scholarship (CCS) Program. The goal is to select an Offeror that will provide case management, customer service, and payment processing functions for child care customers and providers. The CCS program aims to authorize financial assistance in the form of scholarships for child care costs to eligible working families in Maryland.

In 2025, the CCS program served over 30,500 families, 45,000 children, and 3,600 child care providers.

Work Details
The selected Offeror will be responsible for:
1. Providing a team of trained professionals for eligibility determinations, payment processing, and customer service functions across all 23 counties and Baltimore City.
2. Maintaining a fully paperless case management system integrated with existing systems such as the Child Care Administrative Tracking System (CCATS).
3. Processing payments issued by the State's payment system via CCATS.
4. Ensuring compliance with federal and state audit requirements.
5. Implementing automated solutions to enhance operational efficiency.
6. Managing document submissions through the CCS Family Portal and Child Care Provider Portal.
7. Conducting call center operations with qualified staff trained in eligibility determination and administrative support.
8. Retaining historical records for a minimum of five years from the last CCS payment or closure of any CCS investigation.

Period of Performance
The contract will have a base period of three years with two one-year option periods, commencing from the effective date.

Place of Performance
Services must be conducted either entirely within a 50-mile radius of MSDE or through a hybrid model with primary operations within that radius and remote staff located within the Continental United States.

Bidder Requirements
Offerors must demonstrate at least ten years of experience providing eligibility determinations and case management services for public assistance programs. They must also have three years of experience operating paperless document management systems capable of high-volume processing and meeting state cybersecurity standards. Additionally, there is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) participation goal of 30% and a Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise (VSBE) goal of 5%.