UVA seeking one firm to consolidate child-care services

Plus: A look at other items discovered through reading required public notices

The University of Virginia is seeking a firm to operate child care facilities and backup care for faculty, staff, team members, students, and other UVA designees. 

“Data from Charlottesville/Albemarle and the surrounding areas indicate there are over 8,000 child care slots needed to meet current demand and there has been over $100 million in lost business revenue due to inadequate availability of child care,” reads a request for proposals for the service. 

The public notice itself doesn’t have very much information, but points to a procurement website. According to the notice, UVA and its personnel spent $6 million on childcare services in 2023. One of President Jim Ryan’s working groups is to improve the state of early childhood education. 

In 2000, the Provost’s Office and the Human Resources department began working on ways to improve the situation through something called the Family Support Collab which took a look at service gaps and ways to be more efficient. 

Currently UVA offers four child care facilities in the community, each of which is independent from the other. These are all managed under separate agreements. A fifth one is expected to be open by the time this RFP is awarded. 

“The University, in response to the needs of its physicians, faculty, staff, team members, students, and other designees, are coordinating efforts to structure management of existing child care facilities under one Selected Firm to standardize the policies and practices of the University-affiliated childcare centers and to maximize the value proposition of child care services offered collectively by the University,” the RFP continues. 

Last November, the UVA Foundation purchased the property that houses the Earheart Child Development Center as I reported in C-Ville Weekly.

Proposals are due on June 14. 

The above information came through looking through public notices published in what Virginia considers newspapers of public record. But you don’t have to buy a newspaper to review them. There’s a central repository called Public Notice of Virginia that’s worth reviewing. Or just wait for another installment of this regular feature of Charlottesville Community Engagement.

To read the links, you may need to log in once to prove you’re not a bot. If you’re a bot, I’m sure you have other ways. 

In other public notices:

• There will be a public auction on May 20, 2024 on the steps of the Albemarle County Circuit Court at 1:15 p.m. for 6883 Rabbit Ridge Road. (April 23, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
• On April 24, 2024, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will kick off a month of public comment for the new Long Range Transportation Plan which goes by the name of Moving Toward 250. The full document is available here. How many people will comment on it? How many will do so because an advocacy group told them what to say? (April 23, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
• An entity called Las Lenas is seeking a license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages in the restaurant known as Cumbre Bakery at 820 E. Jefferson Street. The restaurant is already open in a former barber shop. (April 18, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
• Virginia Winery Winery Distribution seeks a wholesale wine license to produce up to 30,000 gallons a year. This is for 2640 Rock Island Road, which traces to the portion of Scottsville that’s in Buckingham County. It’s also the address of Muddy Paws Winery which is already open. (April 16, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
• An entity called El Makinon LLC seeks a mixed beverage license for operations at 1309 Belleview Avenue. (April 16, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
• The space formerly occupied by Guarijos at 817 West Main Street may be getting a new tenant. Phoenix Collective LLC has filed for retail wine and beer license for on and off premises for a business that will trade as Ethos Wine & Tea. (April 13, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)
• The University of Virginia also seeks a firm to provide marketing strategy and creative services. This is also a public notice with very little information in it except a link to another website. (RFP) (April 13, 2024, Charlottesville Daily Progress)

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