2021-2022 ANNUAL REPORT
In collaboration with other entities, Laurens County First Steps will help local families and caregivers prepare their children for school success by maximizing public and private community resources to deliver, enhance and expand highquality early childhood services
Increase the reach of Laurens county first steps services.
Laurens County First Steps will:
• Deliver high quality evidence base services
• Engage collaborative community partners
• Support parents as their child’s first teacher
• Support diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Serve as a community portal and convener for services available to families
• Support all state school readiness priorities
Children have access to high quality literacy materials
Parents will have access to resources that meet the needs of their children
Families are supported as their child’s first and most important teacher.
1029 West Main Street Laurens, SC 29360 | 864-984-8130 | laurensfirststeps.org
FIRST
IS HERE
Last year, because of Laurens County First Steps: 74% more likely to score at the highest level on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment 34% less likely to be chronically absent in kindergarten PROVEN RESULTS A 2019 study found that children who received First Steps local partnership services were: $1 = $1.13 Laurens County First Steps leveraged $25,687 from sources outside of state government, providing a match of $0.13 for every state dollar invested 36 educators participated in First Steps training and professional development, benefitting 500+ children 1,353 parents & caregivers received services and support to be their child’s first and most important teacher 1,361 children directly served in Laurens County
STEPS
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Toni Able Executive Director Laurens County First Steps
Laurens County First Steps (LCFS) Board of Directors would like to thank the former director, and retired staff members Rosemary Patterson, Sandra Owens, and Carolyn Barker for their years of service to First Steps. I would also like to thank Katheryn Meadows, the Director of Child Care Provider Training, and Parent Educator. With their leadership, LCFS met and exceeded all the standards for programs and governance for FY22.
I am very thankful to have returned to Early Childhood Education with a non-profit as the Executive Director for First Steps of Lauren County. I am thrilled to be an integral part of ensuring all children from birth to five are ready to be successful in their personal educational and life journey. As the new executive director, I am eager to grow our programs and services for the infants through 5-year-olds of Laurens County.
LCFS will expand the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program with Partnering with Teen Parents to include the adolescent parents from LDHS 55 and Clinton 56 High School. With this expansion, we will have a 50% increase in PAT services for families. Lisa Crisp and Katheryn Meadows will lead the PAT programs. We estimated the partnership with Reach Out and Read to grow 20% as well. We are thankful to the pediatric offices in Laurens County for their participation in this program. Collectively, we will make reading a part of each child’s life, building a healthy foundation for success.
Laurens County is growing! Having High-Quality Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is vital for a community to thrive and sustainably grow for future generations. Laurens County is an Early Childhood Care and Education desert. LCFS will conduct a formal Needs and Resource Assessment, including an Early Childhood Care and Education needs assessment this fiscal year. This will benefit not only LCFS in providing additional Child Care Provider Training, it will statistically validate the need for additional ECCE in our community, as well as highlight the challenges and tough decisions families make with finding ECCE. The result of the assessments will create a new strategic plan to guide our work for 2024- 2026.
LCFS is thankful for the partnerships it has maintained over the past year. Strengthening current partnerships and building new ones will enhance our program footprint in Laurens County. We continue will keep the very young children in the forefront of all decisions made.
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MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
Kena Cox Chair
Laurens County First Steps Board of Trustees
Laurens County First Step Office has been very busy this year. Our Executive Director Rosemary Patterson retired after ten years serving as our director. The board quickly formed a committee to find a replacement. We were lucky to find a very qualified candidate in Toni Able. We hired her to start on the first of July. We also had an opening in our Parents as Teachers position and were able to also fill that position with Lisa Crisp. Both Toni and Lisa have taken PAT training and are now certified. We were very fortunate to receive the ESSR grant this year to expand our PAT program. Many changes have taken place this year and we are looking forward to new and exciting things to come this year.
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Every Laurens County child will enter school healthy and ready to succeed.
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6 3 67
My life currently would not be possible without the first steps program. From childcare to help with food, to just being able to vent to the staff. It's an all around amazing program.
SINGLE PARENT FATHER
15 3 25
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116 36 20 8 230
“We have been working with Laurens County First Steps since 2003. With our staff needing 15 hours training annually it can be very hard to find classes that meet the SC DSS standards. LCFS has always made it a priority that our staff have credited hours in the areas they need. I could not have qualified trained staff without them.”
Nikki Stewart, Director at Stepping Stones Learning Academy
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11 224 13
The PAT program is good at helping you with things you need in order to be sure my child is meeting milestones. My parent educator is great at helping me to connect to resources I need to help me and my child.
PAT PROGRAM PARTICIPANT
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4 Thank you to our Pediatric Offices who participate in our Reach Out and Read Program. Piedmont Pediatrics Hometown Pediatrics Laurens Family Medicine Laurens Family Medicine – Gray Court
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Addressing the needs of young children is a shared endeavor. In addition to providing services to families and support for child care providers, Laurens County First Steps mobilizes partners and community members to ensure all children in Laurens County begin school ready to succeed. We serve as a:
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1,637
given to
serve as
as
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informational materials
Books
families we
well
community members
Early Childhood Education
distributed
Through partnerships and collaborations, as well as financial support from grants and contributions, Laurens County First Steps leverages state dollars to enhance and expand services to children and families.
FUNDING SUPPORT
AmTrust North America, Inc. Federal PDG Funds FrontStream Greenville Technical College Private Donations
State of South Carolina
TH Foods, Inc. - Pecan Sales United Way of Laurens County
IN - KIND SUPPORT
Laurens County School District 55
Laurens County Lifelong Learning/Family Literacy
Jenn Adams – Certified Trainer for Child Care Providers
The Lakelands Region YMCA of SC, Laurens Facility
JOIN US
For more information on partnership opportunities, visit our website at laurenscountyfirststeps.org or call 864-984-8130
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0% 100% Since inception, Laurens County First Steps has leveraged $2,613,278.84 from sources outside of state government. That’s $0.44 for every state dollar. 13 Expenditures of State Funds by Program Type State Funding Federal Funding Private Funding In-Kind Contribution s Total Administrative Functions $16,588 $0 $0 $5,154 $21,742 Partnerships & Community Education $17,299 $2,281 $339 $692 $20,611 Parents as Teachers $58,644 $2,400 $268 $3,814 $65,126 Reach Out & Read $367 $0 $9,500 $29 $9,896 Childcare Training & Professional Dev. $10,888 $0 $2,098 $8,642 $21,628 Scholarship Initiatives $79,674 $0 $10,415 $1,369 $91,458 Total $183,459 $4,681 $22,620 $19,700 $230,460
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Kena Cox, Chair
Laurie Counterman, Secretary
Jennifer Abercrombie
Jenn Adams
Dr. Shebby Neely Aiken
Renita Barksdale
Carol Anne Barnes
STAFF
Farrah Benson
Christy Coates
Melodie Edwards
Jervelle Fort
Valerie Gaines
Meredith Hutchinson J. C. Whitmire
Toni Able, Executive Director
Lisa Crisp, Parent Educator
Katheryn Meadows, Director Child Care Training & Parent Educator
CONTACT US
West Main Street | 864 - 984 - 8130 |
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laurensfirststeps.org
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