Agency Education Department

Contractor ADVANCE CONSULTING LLC

SWIFT Contract Number 187815

Project Name mitigation of early childhood educators

Project Number (if applicable) {Empty}

Summarize purpose of the contract, including why it was necessary: Assist with the mitigation of the surmounting shortage of early childhood educators, and ensure the State’s success in implementation of the Preschool Development Grant, Strategic Plan, as well as reaching overall State goals in creating a more coordinated system and supporting children and families in accessing what they need to thrive.

Project Duration

Start Date Fri, 01/08/2021 - 00:00

Original end date Wed, 06/30/2021 - 00:00

Actual end date Wed, 06/30/2021 - 00:00

Did project finish on time? Yes

Total billable hours utilized (if applicable) {Empty}

Contract Amounts

Original contract: $62500.00

Amendments {Empty}

Contract total $62500.00

Did project finish within budget? Yes

What was the funding source? Federal

Is this a sole source contract? Yes

If this was a single source contract, explain why the agency determined there was only a single source for the services (if applicable) Minnesota’s B8 Workforce Committee, facilitated by Christa Anders of Advance Consulting LLC, named in the PDG Renewal Grant on page 26, has been working over the past four years to implement five of the thirteen recommendations found in the report Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation created by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The Committee was written into the PDG Renewal Grant because continuation of the Committee’s work is one of the goals of the PDG Renewal Grant.

The Committee is a public-private partnership with representation from state agencies, Child Care Resource and Referral, Institutions of Higher Education, philanthropy, and Voices and Choices (a Minnesota Children’s Defense Fund coalition focused on the needs of children of color and American Indian children from a race, ethnicity, and equity perspective). This Committee has a 10 year strategic plan outlining the necessary actions for developing and implementing comprehensive pathways with multiple entry points that allow individuals to join the early childhood workforce and continue improving their knowledge and skills through an established educational continuum.

This Committee is the only group of its kind working collaboratively across the state of Minnesota on the specific recommendations from the NAS report, identifying the actions required to address the shortage of qualified, diverse, well compensated early childhood education professionals needed throughout the state of Minnesota. The work of this Committee includes:
• Developed a ten member B8 Workforce Core Team was developed and received technical assistance from the National Academy of Medicine.
• Targeting five of the thirteen recommendations from the NAS report Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation in a comprehensive plan specifically to address the unique needs of Minnesota’s early childhood workforce.
• Extensive community engagement and outreach including development of a website and Facebook page, learning modules for existing child care educators to review materials around the efforts of the group with opportunities for feedback, and presentations to stakeholder groups.
• Subcommittee work that involved area subject matter experts.
• Extensive relationship development spanning the entire state including state agencies, local organizations, and many other various service providers and individuals from within the early childhood workforce.
The value of the work that has been done would be irreplaceable without requiring extensive time and money. Trying to replicate the work that has already taken place would cost Minnesota hundreds of thousands of more dollars beyond the scope of this contract’s budget.

The work that has been completed by the subcommittees, i.e. the proposed Minnesota Salary Scale recommendations and the Financing Plan, is essential in determining the next steps for advancing the recommendations set forth by the NAS report Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation as identified in the PDG Renewal Grant.

As Advanced Consulting LLC has been a part of the work described above and the Committee since its inception, it is an integral part of the Committee, and it is necessary for MDE to contract with Advanced Consulting LLC to build upon that work

Evaluator Name Kelly Kazeck

Evaluator Email Address Kelly.Kazeck@state.mn.us

Evaluate the contractor's timeliness Everything was on time.

Evaluate the contractor's quality Very satisfactory. Thorough and complete. High quality.

Evaluate the contractor's cost Reasonable and meets expectations.

Evaluate the contractor's overall performance Very satisfactory. Advance Consulting was highly professional, very responsive to needs, questions, and suggestions. The work completed was beneficial and well organized.

Would you engage the contractor's services again? Yes

Describe any negative action taken during the duration of this contract (i.e., termination, pursuit of suspension, etc.): None

Please rate the overall experience with the contractor 5 - very satisfied