Member Spotlight: Child Care Information Services of Columbia, Montour & Northumberland Counties
“Membership in the Columbia Montour Chamber has allowed us to network with area businesses and agencies to present ourselves and our services as a resource for employees to maintain employment and for clients involved with other human service agencies.”
– Joanne Blass, Director, CCIS of Columbia, Montour & Northumberland Counties.
The Child Care Information Services (CCIS) agencies are the hub of child care information for all citizens of Pennsylvania. The CCIS helps to educate families on what to look for in quality childcare, including the Keystone Stars program, and how to access other needed services. The CCIS also administers the Child Care Works subsidized child care program for eligible working families from the PA Department of Human Services (DHS), working closely with all area child care providers to maintain agreements to accept subsidized funding and provide valuable services to families and children.
There is a CCIS office for each county in the state. Locally, that office is located in Danville at the Danville Child Development Center (DCDC), which has held the DHS grant for CCIS agencies in Montour County since 1992. In 2013, it changed from CCIS of Montour County to CCIS of Columbia Montour and Northumberland Counties, and now serves families in all three counties. It is the only agency that provides subsidized child care funding through DHS.
The CCIS has membership in both the Columbia and Montour County Human Services coalitions and is a member of the Northumberland County Head Start Policy Council. The CCIS participates in the annual Children’s Fair at the Columbia Mall and organizes annual events to celebrate Week of the Young Child and PA Promise for Children month.
For more information about CCIS, visit its website.
Member spotlights run monthly and are chosen via a random drawing from members that submit their business cards at a Business After Hours event. The next Business After Hours is scheduled for May 17 at the Columbia County Christian School.