Chicago Child Care society to expand services to eight Cook Country communities

On July 1, the Chicago Child Care Society, a multi-service child welfare agency based in Hyde Park, expanded its early childhood in-home visiting services to eight south suburban communities in Cook County: Calumet City, Chicago Heights, Dixmoor, Dolton, Ford Heights, Harvey, Posen and Riverdale.

The CCCS aims to ease obstacles young families face with its in-home initiative. The organization will provide weekly 90-minute home visits, developmental screenings, child development education and activities to stimulate parent-child bonding.

Among mothers in the new communities CCCS will aid, almost 70 percent are single and 18 percent are teenagers, according to the Cook Country Department of Public Health. Over 16 percent of those mothers do not receive prenatal care during their first trimester. CCCS promotes prenatal and postnatal care.

They currently serve 459 families.

As impoverished families move out of the city and into south suburban areas, the Chicago Child Care Society plans to follow and address needs as they emerge and foster a stronger, healthier community. herald@hpherald.com