PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services recently discovered unauthorized access to the information of individuals enrolled in the Child Care Works program. The incident affected primary parents or caregivers in several counties, potentially exposing their CCW case numbers and full names. Additionally, one individual’s salary and children’s names were accessed. The department took immediate action to address the issue and has notified the affected individuals, offering options for free credit reports.
The potentially affected individuals are the primary parents or caregivers of children who are, or were previously, enrolled in the Child Care Works (CCW) program in Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, and Warren counties.
In most cases, only the CCW case number, which is a number only used internally by the Commonwealth, and full name of the primary parent or caregiver may have been viewed. One individual’s annual salary and children’s full names were viewed.
The unauthorized access occurred on June 26 and June 27, 2023, in a system test website for the CCW Program. The system test website is used by DHS staff to test software updates, patches, and enhancements before they are deployed. DHS became aware of the potential access on June 28, 2023. The Office of Administration conducted an investigation and has already taken corrective action, including strengthening user credentials used within system test websites.
DHS has sent letters to 11,687 affected individuals to notify them of the potential unauthorized access and options to obtain free credit reports.
Individuals with questions can contact the Office of Child Development and Early Learning. The office number is (717) 346-9320, which is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and Microsoft Start.