Cincinnati (Sept. 21, 2009) Residents interested in becoming home child care providers or obtaining financial assistance for child care can learn more about subsidized child care in a Sept. 23 online chat with Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services.

The chat is an opportunity for both parents and providers – or potential providers – to ask questions about the county’s subsidized child care program. Parents can get information about finding child care and the financial assistance available to them, while providers can learn about starting a home day care and/or caring for children who receive financial assistance through Hamilton County. Amy Story, a manager in the agency’s Child Care section, will answer questions from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Sept. 23

“Affordable child care is crucial to helping low-income families stay the course when it comes to finding and keeping employment,” said Moira Weir, director of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services. “Many people are unaware of what help is available. This is a convenient way to learn about obtaining or providing subsidized child care.”

To participate, visit www.hcjfs.org and click on the link posted under Today at HCJFS. Also, an e-mail will be sent to subscribers to the HCJFS Update newsletter and to followers of the agency on Facebook and Twitter (hamiltoncojfs). To sign up for the newsletter, visit www.hcjfs.org.

The chat is part of ongoing attempts by the Department of Job and Family Services, which handles child support collection, child welfare and public assistance programs, to be more accessible and open to its consumers and the public at large. It follows recent moves such as stationing employees in neighborhood non-profits for easier access to services and establishing a Speaker’s Bureau to help educate the public on how the agency does business.

About Hamilton County’s Department of Job and Family Services
The Department of Job and Family Services administers federal, state and local programs for those in need. The Department helps with local child protection, elderly protection, child care, child support enforcement, workforce development, cash assistance, food stamp disbursement and Medicaid disbursement. Servicing Hamilton County since 1947, the Department helps hundreds of thousands each year and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation, an international, independent, not-for-profit child and family service accrediting organization

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