YOUTH SPORTS AND EDUCATION FUNDING

Agency:	Erie County
State:	New York
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	611620 - Sports and Recreation Instruction 611710 - Educational Support Services 711219 - Other Spectator Sports
Posted Date:	Feb 18, 2026
Due Date:	Mar 18, 2026
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ERIE COUNTY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

TO PROVIDE

YOUTH SPORTS AND EDUCATION

PROGRAMS

RFP # 2026-011VF

Erie County Department of Social Services

EDWARD A. RATH COUNTY OFFICE BUILDING

95 FRANKLIN STREET

BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14202

I. INTRODUCTION

The County of Erie, New York (the “County”) is currently seeking proposals from qualified agencies

(“Proposer”) interested in providing Youth Sports and Education Services to at-risk youth ages 6-17

residing in Erie County f or the period 10/1/2026– 9/30/2027. Proposers interested in providing this

service are invited to respond to this request.

Erie County Department of Social Services (ECDSS) utilizes a Solutions Focused Principles-Trauma

Informed Care system of care framework when serving the citizens of Erie County.

In responding to this RFP, Proposers must follow the prescribed format as outlined. By so doing, each

Proposer will be providing the ECDSS comparable data, and thus, be assured fair and objective

treatment in the ECDSS review and evaluation process. It is the ECDSS’ intent to select the Proposer

that provides the best solution for the ECDSS’ needs.

The County reserves the right to amend this RFP, reject any or all of the proposals, or any part

thereof, submitted in response to this RFP, and reserves the right to waive any irregularities or

informalities, if such action is deemed to be in the best interest of the County. The County reserves

the right to request additional information from any Proposer, and to award negotiated contracts to

one or more Proposers.

This RFP is not intended and shall not be construed to commit the County to pay any costs incurred

in connection with any proposal or to procure or contract with any firm.

The County will only contract with firms that do not discriminate against employees or applicants for

employment because of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual

orientation, citizenship status or any other status protected by New York State and Federal laws.

II. FUNDING AND BUDGET

A total of $596,190 is potentially available to support Sports and Education Programs for underserved

youth from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

A maximum of $50,000 is potentially available per funding request for local not-for-profit agencies. All

applications, regardless of type of entity and past funding allocations, will be subject to the same

competitive scoring criteria and process.

Initial award and renewals are subject to inclusion of funding in the County Executive Recommended

Budget and as adopted by the Erie County Legislature, as well as, contingent upon availability of New

York State funds appropriated for this purpose. All contract appropriations are subject to Legislative

approval.

Future awards will be dependent on available funds and subject to the demonstrated fiscal and

programmatic stability of the applicant agency, as well as their meeting all of the Erie County

Department of Social Services (ECDSS) requirements. More than one provider may be selected for

funding for 2026 – 2027.

III. PROPOSAL TIMEFRAMES

The f ollowing schedule is f or inf ormational purposes only. The County reserves the right to amend

this schedule at any time.

Issue RFP:

February 18, 2026

RFP Informational Meeting:

February 24, 2026 at 11:00 am

Via WEBEX – see instructions below

Join from the meeting link

https://erie.webex.com/erie/j.php?MTID=m3372d614c330d66dbff23021

41e79e95

Join by meeting number

Meeting number (access code): 2485 043 0288

Meeting password: c2P6tgZ4MM7

Tap to join from a mobile device (attendees only)

+1716-858-2250,,24850430288## United States Toll (Buffalo)

+1-415-655-0003,,24850430288## United States Toll

Join by phone

+1 716-858-2250 United States Toll (Buffalo)

+1-415-655-0003 United States Toll

Global call-in numbers

Join from a video system or application

Dial 24850430288@webex.com

You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number.

by contacting:

Judith.Kolmetz@erie.gov by XXXX.

Proposals Due:

March 18, 2026 by 4:00 PM.

Late proposals will not be accepted.

Selection Made by:

Summer 2026

Contract Signed:

Following all necessary County

approvals.

IV. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Each proposal shall be prepared simply and economically avoiding the use of elaborate

promotional materials beyond what is sufficient to provide a complete, accurate and reliable

presentation.

NOTE: THERE IS A LIMIT OF ONE PROPOSAL PER AGENCY.

2. Your proposal must be comprised of 3 sections:

Appendix A

• Appendix A Agency Information Sheet

• Proposal to Provide Service

• Signed Schedule A

• For agencies not currently contracted with ECDSS to provide the requested service:

References and data from similar work.

• Letter of commitment from sports facility to host program, if applicable.

Appendix B

• Signed Fiscal Form

• ECDSS Youth Bureau Program Budget Forms

Appendix C

• Most recent Audit Report prepared by an independent CPS

• A copy of the agency’s current Child Protection Policy

• Most recent Management Letter

• Listing of Officers and Board of Directors

3. Proposals MUST be signed using the attached Schedule A: Proposer Certification. Unsigned

proposals will be rejected.

4. Submission of the proposals shall be uploaded as three separate documents (Appendix A, B

and C) to: OnBase Unity Form. You may see an error at the end of the submission. You will

receive an email confirming if it has been submitted.

5. If unable to upload the proposal, a printed submission may be submitted to: Erie County

Department of Social Services, Attn: Judith Kolmetz, 95 Franklin Street Room 804, Buffalo, NY

14202. All proposals must be submitted on or before March 18, 20264:00 p.m. Proposals

received after the above date and time will not be considered. The County is under no

obligation to return proposals.

6. Requests for clarification of this RFP must be written and submitted to Judith Kolmetz at the above

address, or at Judith.Kolmetz@erie.gov no later than 4:00 pm on 02/27/2026. A list of questions

and answers will be posted on the County website by 3/6/2026, if applicable. No communications

of any kind will be binding against the county, except for the formal written responses to any

request for clarification.

7. Proposers may be required to give an oral presentation to the County to clarify or elaborate on

the written proposal. Those Proposers will be notified to arrange specific times.

8. No proposal will be accepted from nor any agreement awarded to any Proposer that is in arrears

upon any debt or in default of any obligation owed to the County. Additionally, no agreement will

be awarded to any Proposer that has failed to satisfactorily perform pursuant to any prior

agreement with the County.

9. Information on the Standard Insurance Provisions required of agencies selected as a contractor

of this service is included in this RFP. This document is for informational purposes only, and is

not to be submitted by the Proposer for the purposes of this RFP.

10. All potential contract-holders with Erie County shall agree to comply with Executive Order 13

(2014), and the Agency shall make such records available, upon request, to the County’s Division

of Equal Employment Opportunity for review. (A copy of Executive Order 13 is available here:

Executive Order 13). All contract holders will be required to sign the Erie County Equal Pay

Certification (attached). The County shall have the right, upon reasonable notice and at

reasonable times, to inspect the books and records of the Agency, its offices and f acilities, for the

purpose of verif ying inf ormation supplied in the Erie County Equal Pay Certif ication and f or any

other purpose reasonably related to confirming the Agency’s compliance with Erie County

Executive Order No. 13 (2014). Violation of the provisions of Executive Order 13 (2014), which

is attached hereto and made a part hereto and made a part hereof , can constitute grounds for the

immediate termination of a contract, and may constitute grounds for determining that a bidder is

not qualified to participate in future county contracts.

11. All potential contract-holders with Erie County shall agree that administrative costs may not

exceed 15% of the requested funds.

12. Certif ied Minority Business Enterprise/ Women’s Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE) proposers

shall include the Erie County MBE/WBE Certification letter with their proposal.

13. A business that is a certif ied Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB) under the New

York State Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act shall include the letter indicating their

company is 51% or more veteran-owned with their proposal.

14. All proposers must disclose the name, title, and department of any employee or of f icer who is or

was an employee or officer of Erie County within the 12 months immediately prior to the proposal.

15. If requested, proposers must provide a list of at least three ref erences f rom community partners

and collaborators or an individual with knowledge of and experience with the specific services

being offered.

16. All proposers must provide a list of all prime contractors and subcontractors that their agency

does business with related to the service in this RFP.

17. All proposers must include the name of their Language Access Coordinator. A copy of your

Language Access Policy is required at contracting.

18. All proposers must include the name of their Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator.

A copy of a written ADA policy is required at contracting.

V. SCOPE OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REQUIRED

INT RODUCT ION

The purpose of this Request is to solicit applications to the Erie County Youth Bureau for 2026-2027

Youth Sports and Education Programming. These awards are designed to promote positive youth

development and address long-termjuvenile delinquency preventionwithin Erie County. As a trauma-

informed organization, ECDSS incorporates the five principles of traumainformed care (collaboration,

saf ety, trustworthiness, empowerment, and choice) throughout its services to promote resilience and

healing. The mission of the Erie County Youth Bureau is to serve youth and f amilies through positive

youth development, advocacy, delinquency prevention and intervention programs that strengthen

families and communities. All grants are appropriated by the Erie County Youth Bureau and

Department of Social Services, and awarded to local applicants targeting ‘at risk’ youth 6-17 years of

age.

This page summarizes the opportunity, including an overview and a preview of the attached documents.

Department	Title	Submission Deadline	Additional files
SOCIAL SERVICES	YOUTH SPORTS AND EDUCATION FUNDING	Wednesday, March 18, 2026	appendix-a-for-ysef.docx , appendix-b-2026-011vf.pdf

YOUTH SPORTS AND EDUCATION FUNDING

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