Our History

In the early 1980’s Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Human Ecology Department had interested staff that provided a number of workshops regarding child care issues. As a result of these workshops a number of interested community members began to meet on a regular basis to discuss local child care concerns.

The group’s main concern began to focus on the lack of adequate childcare in Sullivan County. Head Start and Cornell Cooperative Extension applied for and received a grant to provide training to family child care providers.

In the late 1980’s the Sullivan County Child Care Council, Inc. was created to expand services to and in the child care community. The Council applied for a grant to continue to provide training services to Sullivan County child care providers. As things evolved it was discovered that parents were in need of a mechanism to provide appropriate child care referrals.

In 1990 the Council hired its first executive director and in 1992 the Council was awarded its first contract to provide child care resources and referral services (CCRR) to the children and families of Sullivan County.

Subsequently the Council has been facilitating the CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program), providing registration and legally exempt services for most of the past thirty years.

In 2011 the Council expanded their partnership with the Sullivan County Division to Health and Human Services to include direct support to families in need of child care assistance. This includes technical and payment support for child care providers as well. And in 2020, due to COVID 19 Pandemic the Council began facilitating disbursement and receiving CARES funding, Essential Workers Scholarships and Stabilization Funds.

In 2022, due to the fallout from the COVID-19 Pandemic our partnership with the NYS Office of Children and Family Services expanded to better support our child care workforce and address the child care deserts in Sullivan County. A child care desert is three or more children under the age of five per available child care slot in local day care centers, family day care, or group family day care programs. Desert areas are defined by US Census tracts. The Stabilization Contract allows us the opportunity to offer business support and training to new and existing child care providers and programs. Desert Contract provides in-depth support to people opening new child care programs and meeting the expectations of their own grant desert grant awards.

In 2023 the Office of Children and Family Services expanded their outreach and facilitated an additional grant with the focus on staff retention and expansion in the child care field. And as anticipated, they have rolled all COVID pop-up grants into the Child Care Resource and Referral RFP that was issued in December 2023 with an award date of April 2024 and start date of July 1,2024 for five years. Additionally, legally exempt enrollment services will continue through June 2029.