In combination with a traditional voucher system, contracted slots can be utilized to serve vulnerable or underrepresented populations and help ensure a variety of child care choices are available for lowincome families. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has provided contracted slots to providers across the Commonwealth to serve Infants and Toddlers since the launch of a pilot program in 2018.

The Infant Toddler Contracted Slots (CS-IT) program has since expanded to serve additional children and families spanning 18 of the 19 Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) regions. This program is mutually beneficial to families, children, and early learning providers as it offers guaranteed payment for a oneyear service period to the provider and does not require co-payment from the family.

In April 2024, the Administration of Children and Families’ (ACF) – Office of Child Care (OCC) issued a final rule with regulatory changes to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) which is the primary federal funding source devoted to supporting child care for families with low incomes and to increasing the quality of child care for all children. The Final Rule amends the CCDF regulations to: (1) lower families’ costs for child care, to increase access to child care and improve family well-being; (2) strengthen CCDF payment practices to child care providers, to expand parents’ child care options and better support child care operations; and (3) reduce program bureaucracy for families, to make it easier for families to enroll in CCDF programming. (federalregister.gov)

The rule requires Lead Agencies to use some grants and contracts for direct child care services to enable CCDF to better address child care supply issues for participating families. The rule specifically requires “Lead Agencies to use some grants and contracts for children in underserved geographic areas, infants and toddlers, and children with disabilities.” (federalregister.gov)

Pennsylvania’s Contracted Slots program aims to improve access to high-quality early childhood education and services to vulnerable populations, including infants, toddlers, and children with differing abilities. This initiative is designed to enhance access to early learning and support long-term developmental outcomes for children and families. These programs will allow Pennsylvania to be compliant with the Final Rule as it relates to grants and contracts for specific populations. The Contracted Slots program will benefit providers, children, and their families.

Contracted Slots Infant Toddler (CS-IT) Request for Applications-Early Learning Resource Center Region 8 ONLY

Child care providers in the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 8 are encouraged to apply for Contracted Slots Infant Toddler (CS-IT) slots to be served in FY 2026-2027. Eligible providers must meet the following criteria:

• Have a regular certificate of compliance issued by the Department of Human Services
• Have a current CCW provider agreement with ELRC 8
• Participate in Keystone STARS as a STAR 3 or STAR 4 child care center, group child care home, or family child care home provider.

Applications for providers located outside of the ELRC Region 8 are not eligible for scoring and will not be accepted.

Applications are due by Thursday, June 25^th at 3:00 pm. Please refer to the FY 26-27 Contracted Slots RFA ELRC Application Guidance slide deck for application instructions. A pre-application webinar will be held on June 10^th at 2:00 pm for interested providers.

The application MUST be submitted by the due date via SurveyMonkey. Emailed copies of the application will not be accepted.

NOTE: An in-process application CANNOT BE SAVED in SurveyMonkey and must be completed in its entirety before you submit it. The recommended strategy is to prepare responses in advance, using the posted application copy as a reference, and copy/paste responses into the SurveyMonkey application.

Important upcoming dates:

• Pre-application webinar – Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Deadline for submitting questions – Friday, June 12, 2026
• Application due – Thursday, June 25, 2026, by 3:00 pm

The point of contact for this RFA is:

Megan Penson, M.Ed.
Assistant Director of Early Childhood Education Programs
717-992-0760
Email Megan

The Pennsylvania Key
200 North 3rd Street, 2nd Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17101
1-844-569-7253
The Pennsylvania Key Website

Pre-application Webinar Link

Topic: Contracted Slots Infant Toddler RFA for ELRC 8

Time: Jun 10, 2026 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

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