The SC General Assembly created the First Steps to School Readiness initiative in 1999 to address the need for high-quality early care and education in our state. The First Steps to School Readiness Act was signed into law by Governor Jim Hodges on June 28, 1999 with Marie-Louise Ramsdale named as the Executive Director.
SC counties formed local First Steps partnerships, with the first grants awarded in December to Anderson, Clarendon, and Greenville counties.
Partnered with the Duke Endowment, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Foundation of South Carolina, Children’s Trust of South Carolina, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control and other local funding partners to bring the Nurse-Family Partnership program to SC.
Partnered with Save the Children’s Early Steps to School Success, bringing new parenting programs to rural communities.
Adopted the first implementation plan.
Established local First Steps offices in all 46 counties.
Enabling legislation called for an external evaluation of the initiative to be reported to the legislature every three years with the first evaluation conducted by Child Trends. Rita Paul served as interim executive director, and Susan DeVenny was named executive director.
Designated as the lead agency for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C program, known in SC as BabyNet through Executive Order 2009-12 from Governor Mark Sanford.
Adopted a new strategic plan, Vision 2013.
Adopted second strategic plan, Blueprint for SC’s Children. Designed and launched the nationally recognized Countdown to Kindergarten program, offering home visits to improve school readiness which established a long-term partnership with EdVenture Children’s Museum to celebrate rising kindergartners and their families.
Executive Order 2010-06 establishes South Carolina’s Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC).
Received $3M in lottery funding, raising a dollar-for-dollar match to invigorate state and local private funders around locally generated, regional plans to support early childhood.
Named SC’s state office for Parents as Teachers.
Proviso 1.83 expanded First Steps 4K program through Child Development Education Pilot Program (CDEPP) to serve eligible children residing in 17 additional school districts.
Act 412 reauthorized the First Steps initiative until July 1, 2013.
Proviso 1.75 created the SC Child Development Education Pilot Program (CDEPP) in response to the state’s school equity funding lawsuit (Abbeville County School District et. al. vs. South Carolina). First Steps was charged with responsibility of overseeing the private sector providers, creating First Steps 4K, providing free, full-day four-year-old kindergarten to lower income children residing in the 37 school districts named in the lawsuit.
Convened the SC Task Force on Early Childhood Quality Standards, leading to enhanced quality awareness and interagency child care outcomes.
The Read to Succeed Act signed by Governor Nikki Haley, codified the state’s full day-four-year-old kindergarten program as the Child Early Reading and Development Education Program (CERDEP) and expanded to serve children in 64 school districts.
Act 287 reauthorized First Steps until July 1, 2016, making changes to the state and local boards, and increasing the responsibility of local boards by adding core functions and requiring all local partnerships to serve as referral portals for families, conveners of public and private stakeholders, and supporters of state priorities. The Act adopted the state’s firstever legal definition of school readiness.
First Steps 4K hosted its first 4K Academy.
Proviso 1.78 expanded the First Steps 4K program through CERDEP to include eligible children who resided in school district with a poverty index of 70% or more.
2015
Created SC’s Profile of the Ready Kindergartner, which was designed in collaboration with the SC Department of Education. and was adopted by both the SC First Steps Board of Trustees and SC Board of Education.
Designated as an Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership grantee by the federal government.
Inaugural annual Summit on Early Childhood was held in Columbia.
Julia-Ellen Davis was named interim director. Adopted five-year strategic plan, Vision 2020.
2021
First Steps 4K launched first-ever online student application.
First Steps 4K+ was introduced in partnership with the SC Department of Social Services providing care and education for the whole family.
Proviso 1.56 further expanded First Steps 4K program through CERDEP to include any eligible student in any school district.
ECAC’s Family Voice Council launched with eight founding members to give families a platform to share feedback on early childhood programs.
2022 2016
Proviso 117.128 reauthorized First Steps for the duration of fiscal year 2017-2018.
ECAC launched First Five SC (first5sc.org), a comprehensive information portal and eligibility screener for the full spectrum of state and federally funded early childhood programs in SC.
Proviso 117.119 reauthorized First Steps for the duration of fiscal year 2018-2019.
SC Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) assumed the lead agency designation for BabyNet.
Georgia Mjartan became named executive director.
Act 152 (H. 3591) reauthorized First Steps until June 30, 2025, and included a new requirement for the reporting results of the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment by state and county.
2018 2017 2019
Hosted inaugural Palmetto Pre-K Jamboree, funded by the Preschool Development Grant, a twice-yearly free professional development offered to all educators across the state’s publicly funded preschool programs.
Adopted Infants and Workplace agency-wide Policy, allowing parents to bring babies to the office until the age of six months.
First Steps 4K enrollment surpassed 3,000 for the first time.
2020
Adopted a new strategic plan, Every Child Ready. ECAC launched palmettoprek.org, an online portal designed to help families in SC find publicly funded preschool options for their 3- and 4-year-old children.
Launched an AmeriCorps program and brought HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters) peer-to-peer parenting model to SC.
Survey by First Steps, the ECAC and United Way assessed how families with young children were managing child care, work and parenting during the pandemic.
ECAC presented For Our Future: South Carolina’s Birth through Five Plan to Governor Henry McMaster outlining four goals for SC’s youngest learners: (1) South Carolina’s youngest children are healthy and safe, (2) South Carolina’s youngest children are actively supported by their families and communities, (3) South Carolina’s youngest children arrive at school ready to reach their highest potential, and (4) South Carolina’s early childhood system is aligned, coordinated, and family-centered.
Launched CountdownSC.org, a dedicated platform for the Countdown to Kindergarten initiative.
General Assembly created and passed Resources for Early Acceleration and Development in Youth (READY), allocating $3 million in recurring funds to be awarded to local First Steps partnerships through a grant-making process.
First Steps AmeriCorps program expanded with the addition of VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America).
Reported 57,435 children were directly served in fiscal year 2021-22, more than ever before in the history of the organization.
2023
First Five SC common application launched, including the first comprehensive, statewide online application which included First Steps programs, WIC and DSS Child Care Scholarships.
Permanently authorized with the passage of Act 81. The legislation, which received unanimous support in both the House and Senate, took effect on June 19, 2023. Governor Henry McMaster held a ceremonial bill signing on August 10, 2023.
2024
First Steps celebrates 25 years of service to South Carolina’s children and families.
2024 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Representative Terry Alexander, SC House of Representatives
Robert Bank, MD, DMH, Acting Director
Jacque Curtin, Business Community
Mary Lynn Diggs, Head Start Collaboration Office
Representative Shannon Erickson, SC House of Representatives, Education and Public Works Committee Chair
Matthew Ferguson, Ed.D, Esq., Superintendent of Education Designee
John Hayes, Early Childhood Educator
Senator Greg Hembree, SC Senate Education Committee Chair
Constance Holloway, JD, DDSN, Director
Robert Kerr, DHHS, Director
Michael Leach, DSS, Director
Jesica Mackey, Parent of Young Child
Senator Gerald Malloy, SC Senate
Jack McBride, Business Community
Dave Morley, Chairman, Governor Designee
Janie Neeley, Parent of Young Child
Roger Pryor, Jr., Child Care Provider
Mary Anne Scott, Early Childhood Educator
Edward Simmer, MD, DHEC, Director
Amy Williams, DPN, Vice Chair, Medical Provider
Brenda Williams, MD, Medical Provider
Sue Williams, Children’s Trust of SC, CEO
Wes Wooten, Child Care Provider
Dorothy Priester (ECAC), Local Partnership
Executive Director
David Lisk (ECAC), Local Partnership Executive Director
OUR MISSION
South Carolina First Steps works collaboratively to ensure that all children start school ready to reach their highest potential with engaged support from their parents, caregivers, and communities.
