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Seattle Human Services news and events

HSD Announces Funding Awards for Youth Behavioral Health Services

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The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the results of the Youth and Young Adult Behavioral Health RFP which closed May 16, 2022, releasing $938,841 of HSD General Fund dollars for organizations to provide behavioral health support to young people.

Positive young black guy laughing near graffiti wall with rainbow flag
[Photo by Anete Lusina on Pexels]

Funding of these services was last released in 2016 and only allowed for the provision of evidence-based mental health services. For this RFP, HSD responded to community feedback and expanded the scope to include non-residential behavioral health via clinical, evidence-based treatment methods and/or non-clinical, culturally specific approaches that contribute toward holistic mental and behavioral health and wellness.

HSD received 17 proposals totaling $3.57 million in requested funds. Rating committee members had knowledge and professional and lived experience in youth-centered programming, counseling, and chaplaincy work.

The seven-member rating committee supported funding the top eight scoring proposals. All provide services to both BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth via either clinical treatment and/or non-clinical, culturally specific behavioral health approaches:

  1. Southwest Youth and Family Services
  2. Southeast Youth and Family Services
  3. Neighborcare Health
  4. Therapeutic Health Services
  5. Northwest Credible Messenger
  6. Atlantic Street Center
  7. Boys and Girls Clubs of King County
  8. WAPI Community Services

Thank you so much for this welcome news! We look forward to continuing our work to bring behavioral help support to our community.

Steve Daschle, Executive Director, Southwest Youth and Family Services

Southwest Youth and Family Services will provide services that include individual, family, or group therapy and that will be culturally attuned and linguistically appropriate to increase access and reduce disparities for BIPOC youth. Close coordination with Seattle Public Schools in West and South Seattle is designed to improve accessibility for students seeking counseling.

Northwest Credible Messenger will support BIPOC young people through a culturally responsive, behavioral health approach. The program will provide culturally responsive peer support services, counseling for individuals, groups, or families, triage services for youth awaiting treatment, and Healing Centered Engagement that includes meditation, mindfulness, and art-based sessions.

Atlantic Street Center developed the CoRe (Courage, Cooperation, Respect and Resourcefulness) program, an innovative 10-week group workshop using video games to deliver evidence-based therapy that builds interpersonal and emotional regulation skills among diverse, at-risk youth. Interactive games in a peer-learning environment encourage youth to practice coping mechanisms without the normal resistance.

Look for future blog entries highlighting the work of these agencies and the other awardees after contracts begin next year.

SYEP Applications Open now for Fall!

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Foundations and Pathways Program application is open now and will close at 3 PM on Friday, September 23, 2022.

SYEP logo featuring the Seattle skyline in black silhouette, the four capital letters, and the words Seattle Youth Employment Program

The Foundations and Pathways program is a new, redesign of our previous Learn and Earn program, where participants received 1:1 support and weekly cohort-based sessions on pre-employment soft skills. Our new program will offer two different offerings, to best support your career development journey (see information below)!

How to Apply and Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible, an applicant must be between the ages of 16 and 24, meet the City of Seattle Residency requirement, and live in a household with income at or below 80% Area Median Income. To apply to the program, click here to access the Youth Portal where you will create an account, fill out your application, and submit all documents to be considered for the program. For how to’s and acceptable documents, please refer to the links below.

Program Information:

Foundations: for participants with limited or no previous job readiness trainings or backgrounds and need pre-employment trainings and mentorship. Get paid to attend trainings while preparing for your first or next job and making new connections along the way.

  • Get support from an SYEP staff member throughout the program to develop skills and interact in small groups with peers
  • Gain practical tools to build your resume, cover letter, etc.

In order to be eligible for this section of our program, you will have a willingness to engage with our staff and curriculum, be able to attend all cohort-based sessions, and have NOT participated before in SYEP’s Learn and Earn program, Foundations or Job Readiness Bootcamp.

Pathways: for participants who have had previous job training experiences but need intermediate or certified trainings, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship internship opportunities. Participate in professional training and programs to gain skills & credentials for specific career tracks, which can lead to professional level internship(s).

  • Get support from an SYEP staff member throughout the program to navigate career fields and develop your career portfolio
  • Receive networking and interviewing opportunities with leading industry professionals

In order to be eligible for this section of our program, you will have participated in SYEP’s Learn and Earn programming, Foundations program or Job Readiness Bootcamp (during school year and/or summer 2020; 2021).

Once you submit your application with all necessary documentation, our dedicated staff members will follow-up with you regarding your application status. Those selected to move forward will be invited to participate in our intake process, where we will spend time getting to know you and help determine fit for program. You can always check the status of your application via the Youth Portal.

Please reach out to us directly if you have any questions or concerns. We can be reached at SYEP@SEATTLE.GOV.

Apply via the Youth Portal

Mary Mitchell Announced as HSD’s Aging and Disability Services Division Director

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The City of Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) recently announced the hire of Mary Mitchell as director of its Aging and Disability Services (ADS) division. Mary has served in an interim capacity for the past year. The hire was the result of a nationwide search and competitive hiring process, with significant community input.

Headshot of Mary Mitchell

Mary has over 30 years of experience in organizational development, conflict resolution, and race and social justice work. She is a certified mediator.

Prior to joining HSD as interim ADS division director, Mary served as the director and deputy director of the Consumer Protection Division of the Seattle Department of Finance and Administrative Services, where she was instrumental in starting the Racial Equity Toolkit to examine developing a Marijuana Equity Program to increase diversity in the newly regulated industry.

Mary began her career in the Seattle Police Department (SPD), where she served as an SPD Change Team co-lead (a component of the City of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative) and a discussion facilitator of the “Race: The Power of an Illusion” course.

I’m pleased to announce that, after a competitive hiring process, Mary emerged as the most qualified person for the job. I trust that she will continue to make a difference for our community.

Tanya Kim, Acting Director of Seattle Human Services

HSD’s Aging and Disability Services (ADS) division is designated by the State of Washington as the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for King County and maintains a separate website at www.agingkingcounty.org. As such, it receives federal and state funds for planning and the delivery of supportive home and community-based services throughout Seattle and King County. ADS provides direct services and also subcontracts with more than 80 agencies to provide a network of in-home and community services, support programs, and assistance to older people, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers. Currently, the agency is serving more than 51,000 people each year (an unduplicated count).

“Directing HSD ADS during the pandemic helped me see true staff dedication and determination in meeting client and community needs,” said Mary. “I couldn’t ask for a better team.”

Seattle Human Services is one of the largest contributors to Seattle’s safety net. The department invests hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to more than 200 community-based organizations and programs that support strong and healthy communities. Learn more at www.seattle.gov/humanservices.

HSD Announces Funding Awards to Organizations Interested in Food Equity for Seattle Preschool Programs

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The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the results of the Farm to Table Support Services RFP which closed May 5, 2022, releasing General Fund and Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) funding for proposals from organizations and farmers interested in food equity in Seattle Preschool Programs serving low-income children and families.

Image of freshly picked orange and yellow carrots

The Farm to Table Support Services RFP was the result of a year of community engagement with families, children, and preschool staff. It invests in healthy, local, sustainable, culturally relevant food access and education and has two program components: nutrition education and Farm to Family Food Bags.

In response to this RFP, HSD received seven proposals totaling $1,077,104 in requested funds from agencies. One agency, Tilth Alliance, applied to both program components which for the purposes of this RFP counted as two separate proposals. Of the seven proposals received, all were eligible for review and were rated by the rating committee.

The rating committee was diverse in terms of gender, age, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity, as well as representation from first generation immigrant and refugee communities. Rating members had knowledge and experience in farming, preschool settings, social services, food access, and nutrition education. The rating committee was comprised of Seattle City employees, Renton School District staff, and community leaders.

The committee supported all of the proposals for funding, although none of the agencies received the full amount requested due to funding limitations. Read more below about a few of them:

  • Dinner Table Ideas dba Pacific Coast Harvest
  • Family Works
  • Lifelong
  • Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority (PDA)
  • Solid Ground
  • Tilth Alliance

Hoorah! We’re very honored to continue working with the City…. I look forward to working with all of you, our agency co-partners, the pre-school sites, and City staff to implement a plan for the coming year.

Chris Teeny, Managing Owner, Pacific Coast Harvest

Pacific Coast Harvest (PCH) is a Seattle-based food hub with a mission to support the strengthening of the food system through equity, accessibility, and sustainability. They have over 150 direct connections to local farmers using sustainable growing practices, many of whom are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC); women, immigrant, or first-generation farmers; or have twenty acres of production or less. Every other week, preschool families will receive four food items, consisting of 3 vegetables (at least one leafy green) and 1 fruit in a compostable bag. Each delivery will also include an information sheet (offered in Spanish as well) featuring product storage tips, a relevant recipe, a product of the week, and information about the farms where each food item came from.

Wonderful news! Thank you so much for all your hard work, and we look forward to providing Washington’s best produce to our local preschoolers!

Ivy Fox, Farm Program Manger, Pike Place Market PDA

Pike Place Market PDA Farm to Family Bag program connects 70+ farmers directly with community. The agency values incubation and access as part of the PDA’s Charter. The majority of the farmers are BIPOC (75%), immigrants and refugees (68%), women-run (75%), and over 35% are from King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties. Their program works exclusively with Washington farmers and provides bi-weekly produce bags with one fruit and three vegetables in biodegradable bags for families to take home.

A young boy lifts a prepackaged bag of produce off a table full of bags
Seattle Preschool Program student picks up his family’s Good Food Bag. Photo provided by Tilth Alliance

Historically, Tilth Alliance’s Youth + Family Education and Market Programs teams had separate programs. Their application proposes connecting the food bag work with nutrition education to more holistically serve preschool sites. This internal partnership will bring families, students, and teachers a deeper and more coordinated connection to the education, food, and food system in addition to strengthening and leveraging Tilth Alliance’s organizational resources.

The Farm to Table Program started in 2011 when a southwest Seattle preschool chef came to HSD with a challenge: “help us find affordable, local, culturally appropriate produce to feed our babies.” That year, the program started as a pilot with eight preschool and afterschool programs. In 2022, there are approximately 50 Seattle preschools, serving 2,000 children ages 3-5 years old. The original preschool and chef are still a part of the program.

HSD is Seeking Applications to Provide Nursing Services

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The Aging and Disability Services (ADS) division of the City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD), the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for Seattle-King County, is seeking applications in response to a Nursing Services request for qualifications (RFQ)

Image of white woman with a stethoscope around her neck speaking with a black woman in a healthcare setting
Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash

This Nursing Services RFQ is focused on responding to referrals within specified timeframes for nursing services that include file reviews, nurse consultant home visits, telephone calls, care coordination, and follow-up.

Up to $165,755 in Federal/State Title XIX Funds is available through this RFQ. HSD intends to fund a maximum of two proposals. Initial awards will be made for the period of October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2023. While it is the City’s intention to renew agreements resulting from this funding opportunity on an annual basis through the 2023 program year, future funding will be contingent upon performance and funding availability.

HSD seeks to contract with a diverse group of providers to help ensure that the result of HSD’s Nursing Services investment improves the health and quality of life for the clients.

For more information, and all RFP materials, please visit HSD’s Funding Opportunities web page: http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/funding-and-reports/funding-opportunities. Completed application packets are due by 12:00 Noon PDT, on Thursday, August 4, 2022.

Questions?

Please contact Mary Pat O’Leary, Funding Process Coordinator, via email with any questions about this RFP or to request an accommodation for the information session: Mary.OLeary@seattle.gov

HSD Selects University of Washington to Conduct Comparable Worth Wage Analysis of Human Services Work in Seattle and King County

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A man and a woman hold posters at a raise the minimum wage rally in Kansas which say "Jobs with Justice" and "Raise the Wage."
Photo: UUSC on Flickr

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the results of the Comparable Worth Wage Analysis of Human Services Work RFQ which closed May 31, 2022.

The University of Washington School of Social Work was awarded $498,278 to conduct a comparable worth wage analysis of the City of Seattle and King County human services sector.

HSD called in May for applications from individuals, teams, and organizations interested in conducting this wage analysis with General Funds from City Council add CBA HSD-002-B-001. Working with the  Seattle Human Services Coalition (SHSC) and regional human services workers, the University of Washington will produce a report that will include recommendations for an updated pay structure for human services organizations. Presentations to regional stakeholders, including funders and human services organizations will take place after the report is completed.

As the cost of living in our region continues to soar, it’s getting more challenging for human services workers to live in our communities and stay in human services jobs. We must act to ensure human service workers – and the difficult work they do – is recognized through equitable wages.

Michelle McDaniel, Crisis Connections CEO and Co-Chair of the Raising Wages for Changing Lives campaign

Governments at all levels rely on the skills and expertise of nonprofit organizations to support well-being in communities so that individuals can reach their potential at every stage of life. Recruiting and retaining effective, experienced human services workers is essential for meeting the goals shared by funders and human service providers. These goals include supporting people to build well-being in communities across Martin Luther King County. Significant pay gaps create hurdles for recruitment and retention of human services workers.

Human service providers and elected officials agree that human services workers are significantly underpaid for the difficult work they do, which puts the whole sector in a precarious position. “The people who take care of our children, provide healthcare in community-based clinics, help people without homes connect with resources, engage our elders, support our youth, and care for people with disabilities are often paid at such low levels that they qualify for public support programs themselves,” said Janice Deguchi, Executive Director of Neighborhood House and Co-Chair of the Raising Wages for Changing Lives campaign. “Their pay doesn’t reflect the education required, difficulty, or value of their work to build economic, emotional, physical, developmental, and social well-being for all community members.”

City residents and visitors rely on our social sector workers to do extremely difficult and demanding work. They show up every day ready to help folks find safe housing, heal from trauma, and get connected to services. But low wages lead to high turnover. The University of Washington’s work on this wage equity analysis is the first step in appropriately investing in service providers and valuing this vital work.

Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold (D-1), Chair, Public Safety & Human Services committee

Rating committee members were selected by the SHSC and included leaders from the nonprofit community, Seattle City Council staff, and content experts on wage equity analyses. They recommended funding the University of Washington School of Social Work at the full amount available. The rating committee was impressed with the University of Washington’s experience with comparable worth wage analysis, their work on public policy issues, and the team they assembled—including national and international leaders in research who can provide critical checks and balances in the study.

“We applaud the City of Seattle for working with human service providers to take this first step to correct the long-term legacy of under-paying human service workers. This analysis will compare positions in the human services sector with jobs in different fields that require similar levels of skills, education, and responsibility giving us all a better understanding of what equitable wages should be for this difficult, valuable work,” said Steve Daschle, director of Southwest Youth and Family Services and Co-Chair of the SHSC.

The final report will be due no later than January 31, 2023. Follow this blog and HSD’s social media for any updates on the progress of this proposal.

HSD is Seeking Applications from Agencies to Provide Services for Persons with Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Charges

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HSD’s Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) is seeking applications from agencies interested in providing assessment and treatment services for persons with misdemeanor domestic violence charges referred by the Seattle Municipal Court.

Purple Ribbon symbolizing Domestic Violence Awareness

Approximately $147,229 in HSD General Fund is available through this RFQ. Initial awards will be made for the period of January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023, with the possibility of renewal. While it is the City’s intention to renew agreements resulting from this funding opportunity on an annual basis through the 2026 program year, future funding will be contingent upon performance and funding availability.

HSD seeks to contract with one or two provider(s) who are certified by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and are required to provide domestic violence perpetrator intervention in accordance with Washington State laws and rules that were specifically designed for domestic violence perpetrator intervention program. The rules that pertain to domestic violence perpetrator intervention programs can be found at: Washington Administrative Code Title 388, Chapter 60B or https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=388-60B.

For more information, and all RFP materials, please visit HSD’s Funding Opportunities web page: http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/funding-and-reports/funding-opportunities. Completed application packets are due by 12:00 Noon PDT, on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Questions?

Please contact Karmen Schuur-Coraggio, Funding Process Coordinator, via email with any questions about this RFP or to request an accommodation for the information session: Karmen.Schuur2@seattle.gov

HSD Announces Availability of Funding to Establish a Seattle-based Coordinated Regional Network of Services for Victims and Survivors of Gender-based Violence

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HSD’s Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) is seeking applications from agencies interested in providing survivor-centered, gender-based violence victim services for the diverse communities and geographic areas of Seattle.

Seattle logo with the words Love Shouldn't Hurt written across it

The purpose of this RFP is to establish a Seattle-based coordinated regional network of services under the umbrella of gender-based violence (GBV) for survivors of interpersonal violence including domestic violence (DV), sexual assault (SA), and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE).

Service strategies included in this RFP are

  1. Mobile Flexible Advocacy,
  2. Shelter and Housing,
  3. Therapeutic Services,
  4. Civil Legal Aid, and
  5. Specialized Services for Marginalized Populations.

The term “gender-based violence”, as referred to in this RFP, is defined as, “any form of violence that is rooted in rigid gender roles that reinforce the power imbalance between men and women. Any time anyone does not conform to what’s expected of their gender, they run the risk of being targets of violence.” For this RFP, domestic violence, sexual assault, and commercial sexual exploitation are defined as forms of GBV.

Approximately $10,908,306.00 in HSD General Fund is available through this RFP. HSD intends to fund approximately 30-40 proposals. Initial awards will be made for January 1, 2023-December 31, 2023; and up to a period of four years (2023-2026).

For more information, and all RFP materials, please visit HSD’s Funding Opportunities web page: http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/funding-and-reports/funding-opportunities. Completed application packets are due by 12:00 Noon PDT, on Monday, August 8, 2022.

Questions?

Please contact Michelle Smith, Funding Process Coordinator, via email with any questions about this RFP or to request an accommodation for the information session: Michelle.Smith2@Seattle.gov

HSD Announces Availability of Funding to Increase Licensed Capacity in Preschool and Child Care Facilities Across the City of Seattle

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**Updated June 23, 2022 to reflect an amendment to the funding availability

Photo of Back to School Corner with books and tables in an empty child care facility
Photo by Pavel Verbovski

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the availability of up to $5,000,000 of Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery (CLFR) Funds and up to $1,000,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to increase licensed capacity in preschool and child care facilities across the City of Seattle. Providers interested in applying for this RFP must have experience in:

  • providing developmentally and culturally appropriate early learning programming;
  • working with Seattle children and families most disproportionately impacted by the effects of COVID-19; and
  • working with Seattle children 0 – 5 years old.

The American Rescue Plan Act states that “the pandemic and the necessary actions taken to control the spread had a severe impact on households and small businesses, in particular low-income workers and communities and people of color.” As a result, CLFR funds should provide “assistance to those households, businesses, and non-profits in communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”

At the national level, mothers of children aged 12 years and younger lost jobs at a rate three times greater than fathers of young children between February and August 2020. Throughout the pandemic, women, particularly women of color, have experienced higher levels of unemployment, threatening to undo decades of progress towards gender equity. Early learning programs are vital to an equitable COVID-19 recovery. Seattle Ordinance 126371 allocated CLFR funding to be invested specifically toward child care capital improvements.

In working with community to identify the challenges of participating in the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP), the Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) received feedback from partners citing the following as ongoing challenges for sustainability: (1) the lack of available and licensable space as a barrier to SPP program expansion, and (2) organizational capacity related to board development, fundraising plans, human resources, and financial management.

HSD is supporting the expansion of early learning facilities and environments by investing in the capacity of licensed early learning programs across Seattle:

  1. Nonprofit and for profit, center-based providers and preschools are eligible to apply for $25,000 (min) to $2,000,000 (max)
  2. Nonprofit and for profit, home-based agencies are eligible to apply for $10,000 (min) to $75,000 (max)

For more information, and all RFP materials, please visit HSD’s Funding Opportunities web page: http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/funding-and-reports/funding-opportunities. Completed application packets are due by 12:00 Noon PDT, on Tuesday, June 28, 2022 July 19, 2022.

Questions?

Please contact Ken Astrein, Funding Process Coordinator, via email with any questions about this RFP or to request an accommodation for the information session: childcarefacilities@seattle.gov

HSD Seeks Consultant to Conduct Comparable Worth Wage Analysis of Human Services Work in Seattle and King County

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**Updated May 11, 2022

The City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD), in partnership with the Seattle Human Services Coalition (SHSC) is seeking applications from individuals, teams, and organizations interested in conducting a comparable worth wage analysis of the City of Seattle and King County human services sector.

Governments at all levels rely on the skills and expertise of nonprofit organizations to support well-being in communities so that individuals can reach their potential at every stage of life. Recruiting and retaining effective, experienced human services workers is essential for meeting the goals shared by funders and human service providers. These goals include supporting people to build well-being in communities across Martin Luther King County. Significant pay gaps create hurdles for recruitment and retention of human services workers.

Human service providers and elected officials agree that human services workers are significantly underpaid for the difficult work they do, which puts the whole sector in a precarious position. The people who take care of our children, provide healthcare in community-based clinics, help people without homes connect with resources, engage our elders, support our youth, and care for people with disabilities are often paid at such low levels that they qualify for public support programs themselves. A 2017 report on nonprofits in New York State revealed that pay was so low that 60 percent of those working in the sector were utilizing or had a family member utilizing some form of public assistance benefit such as Medicaid or food stamps. Their pay does not reflect the education required, difficulty, or value of their work to build economic, emotional, physical, developmental, and social well-being for all community members.

Substantial literature on job gendering in economics and sociology indicate that one of the reasons such work may be undervalued is the extent to which care work and the field of human services is associated with feminized labor. Because this work has historically been accomplished by women and people of color, gender and racial discrimination may have had an ongoing impact on human services sector pay.

One policy strategy to address this issue is basing salaries on a comparable worth analysis. This type of analysis looks at wages and benefits paid in jobs and industries that require equivalent levels of skill, education, responsibility, and difficulty as those found in the nonprofit sector. This can provide an opportunity to correct low wages found in the nonprofit sector by providing an alternative to continuing to align wages with a market rate that has been historically suppressed by gendered and race-based discrimination.

Approximately $496,000 in HSD General Fund is available through this RFQ from City Council add CBA HSD-002-B-001. HSD intends to fund one proposal. The award will be made for the period of August 1, 2022–September 30, 2023 July 15, 2022–June 30, 2023. The final report will be due no later than January 31, 2023 October 31, 2022.

All materials and updates to the RFQ are available on HSD’s Funding Opportunities web page: http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/funding-and-reports/funding-opportunities. Completed applications are due by 12:00 Noon PDT, on May 31 May 24, 2022.

Questions?

Please contact the Funding Process Coordinator Ann-Margaret Webb via email with any questions about this RFQ at ann-margaret.webb@seattle.gov.