Saluda County First Steps Annual Report 2020-2021 by scfirststeps1

To help f a m i l i e s a n d caregivers prepare children to s u c c e e d in s c h o o l by m a x i m i z i n g public a n d private c o m m u n i t y resources to deliver, e nh a n c e d a n d e x p a n d e d h i g h quality diverse early childhood s e r v i c es.

1. Inc r e a s e the reach of First S t e p s services 2. Reduce the racial/ethnic g a p in kindergarten r e a d i ne s s

The ye a r s of early childhood are a critical window of development during which m u c h of h u m a n potential i s s h a p e d .

S c h o o l r e a d i n e s s i s the result of a child’s development in m a n y a r e a s , with e a c h contributing to the child’s s u c c e s s . #1. Inc rea se the number of children 0-5 yea rs a n d their f a m i l i e s served by h ig h quality early educational s e r v i c es .

#2. Improve the s a f e t y a n d well-being of children in S a l u d a County by strengthening f a m i l i e s .

#3. Inc r e a s e c o m m u ni ty a w a r e n e s s a n d support of S a l u d a County First S t e p s programs.

103 South Rudolph Street Saluda, SC 29138 | 864-321-1441 | kim@saludafirststeps.org

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

KIM CHARIKER Executive Director Saluda County First Steps

As the Executive Director of Saluda County First Steps, I have had the opportunity to find creative ways to impact the early education of young children in Saluda County. Saluda County First Steps programs along with our collaboration with other county agencies, Saluda County School District One, Carolina Health Centers, Inc., Saluda County Library, Saluda DSS, SC Endeavors, and other county agencies have brought about new and inventive ways to provide the highest quality of care and education for our youngest children and their families.

As we continue to deal with service delivery issues due to the restrictions of Covid-19, we have found alternative measures to continue to provide exceptional programs and services to our families. We

look forward to enhancing our services for our young children and their families a s we navigate best practices and provide the highest quality of care and education in Saluda County.

Kim Chariker

Every Saluda County child will be prepared to succeed in school.

Saluda County AmeriCorps Member

1 Family Support AmeriCorps member(s)

Hours served in the community

546 The Family Support AmeriCorps member supported Saluda County First Steps through her assistance with our Backpack assembly for distribution to children in 3K, 4K, 5K students to provide supplies for summer continued early educational activities and books. She also assisted in distributing books, program brochures, and promotional items at the Spring Fest Family Event for recruitment of children 0-5 years and their families.

hours served by Family Support AmeriCorps member(s)

$3,097.50 Segal Education Award total in Seg al Education Awards received by all members serving at the Local Partnership

$4,971.69

In-Kind from AmeriCorps

FIRST STEPS 4K IN SALUDA COUNTY 2020-2021

8 1

PREPARING FOR STATEWIDE EXPANSION With First Steps 4K, families are in the driver’s seat. They choose the program that best meets their needs. Families can enroll their child in any of the 244 private, nonprofit, or faith-based child care centers or schools participating in the program. The majority of First Steps 4K providers offer 8-hour day and year-round instruction, including summers, which is at no cost to parents.

LITERACY-LIBRARY PROGRAM In c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h S a l u d a C o u n t y L i b r a r y, S a l u d a C o u nt y F i r s t S t e p s c o n t r i b u t e d c u r r i c u l u m m a t e r i a l s , other m a t e r i a l s , b o o k s , a s u m m e r i nt e r n a s s i s t a n t a n d p e r f o r m e r s / e n t e r t a i n e r s to p r o v i d e h i g h q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n a l p r o g r a m s for c h i l d r e n 0 - 5 y e a r s o f a g e a n d their f a m i l i e s in S a l u d a C o u nt y. With c o n t i n u e d r e s t r i c t i o n s d u e to t h e Covid- 1 9 p a n d e m i c , t h e s e p e r f o r m a n c e s w e r e p r e s e n t e d u s i n g in p e r s o n a n d v i r t u a l m e d i a o u t l e t s . T h i s a l l o w e d u s to r e a c h m o r e c h i l d r e n a n d f a m i l i e s in S a l u d a C o u n t y a n d p r o v i d e s e r v i c e s to f a m i l i e s in n e e d .

LITERACY-LIBRARY PROGRAM BY THE NUMBERS 2020-2021

728 families served

975 children served

I love working with Edwina [NFP Nurse], she’s great and the program is too. I’ve learned so much. My baby gets BabyNet. My nurse referred her to them. I had never heard of BabyNet before. They help with her speech. She ha s an early interventionist. She loves when I read a book to her. She tries to open the book herself and “read” it. Pretty good for a one - year old! NFP Mother from Saluda, SC

NURTURING PARENTING PROGRAM

Saluda County First Steps in collaboration with Saluda County Department of Social Services provides Nurturing Parenting Program s e s s i o n s to DSS identified, Family Literacy, and Enhanced Early Education program f a m i lies. The purpose of the Nurturing Parenting program is to provide high -quality parenting support s e r v i c es, identify best practices for children developmentally, and make any n e c e s s a r y referrals for Saluda County families of children 0 -5 years of age.

NURTURING PARENTING BY THE NUMBERS 2020-2021

families served

total sessions

EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM

The Saluda County First Steps Enhanced Early Education program collaborated with Saluda School District One for Saluda Primary School and expanded to Hollywood Elementary School to provide high quality educational support for 4K and 5K students in English and S p a n i s h . The students are identified b a s e d on a s s e s s m e n t s and noted a s in need of additional a s s i s t a n c e to master s k i l l s . We continued to offer these s e r v i c e s in person and small group or one -on-one a s our s c h o o l district came together to provide the s a f e t y protocol measures to a d d r e s s the needs of Saluda County children.

ENHANCED EARLY EDUCATION BY THE NUMBERS 2020-2021

children served

providers served

Was I Ex po s ed?( BBP)

Ge t Yo u r Bo dy M o v in g

Little Fe e lin gs M atte r To o

Ch i ldc are M e al Tim e Su c c e s s

On e Bo o k , All M o n th , I n f in i te Po s s ib i l i tie s

I t Tak e s Little M u s c le s To Bu i ld Big Th in gs

Clas s ro om Adv e ntu re s

En gagin g I n Co n tin u o u s Qu ality I m p ro v e m e n t

Are We Th e re Yet?

Fo c u s in g On Ce n te r An d Fam i ly Re latio n s hip s

Us in g Re dire c tio n To En f o rc e Lim i ts

Gro win g A H e alth y Brain

M y Su p e r Po we r I s Se l f - Co ntro l

Py ram id M o de l : Se ttin g Th e Stage Fo r So c ial Em o tio n al De v e lo p m e nt

Us in g STEM To De s ign Sto ry Bo o k So lu tio n s Wh at Stre s s ?

200

PUBLIC AWARENESS

Saluda County First Steps collaborates with other county a g e nc i e s through Saluda Chamber of Commerce sponsored e v e n t s / f e s t i v a l s , Town of Saluda Mayor Herlong, interagency meetings, s p e c i a l events, and other related opportunities. We promote Saluda County First Steps programs, distributes books to young children, and provide resource information, referrals, and educational materials a s needed.

SALUDA COUNTY FIRST STEPS COMMUNITY AWARENESS BY THE NUMBERS 2020-2021

1343 materials distributed

16 events held

1618 total event attendance

A d d r e s s i n g t h e n e e d s o f y o u n g c h i l d r e n i s a s h a r e d e n d e a v o r . In a d d i t i o n to p r o v i d i n g s e r v i c e s to f a m i l i e s a n d s u p p o r t for c h i l d c a r e p r o v i d e r s , S a l u d a C o u nt y F i r s t S t e p s m o b i l i z e s p a r t n e r s a n d c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s to e n s u r e a l l c h i l d r e n in S a l u d a C o u nt y b e g i n s c h o o l r e a d y to s u c c e e d . We s e r v e a s a :

1272 Materials Distributed

5952 Books Distributed

Through part ne rs hips a n d co llabo rat io ns , a s well a s f i n a n c i a l support from g r a n t s a n d c o n t r i b u t i o n s , S a l u d a C o u n t y F i r s t S t e p s l e v e r a g e s s t a t e d o l l a r s to e n h a n c e a n d e x p a n d s e r v i c e s to c h i l d r e n a n d f a m i l i e s .

FUNDING SUPPORT S t a t e of S o ut h Carolina (through S o ut h Carolina First S t e p s ) :$ 200 , 000 S o u t h C a r o l i n a E n d e a v o r s : $2 ,0 0 0 P r e s c h o o l D e v e l o p m e n t G r a nt : $1 ,0 0 0 M i d l a n d s G i v e s C a m p a i g n : $1 ,2 0 8 P r i v a t e D o n a t i o n s : $2 2 5 1 0 0 % of S a l u d a County First S t e p s Board M e m b e r s S up p o rt

IN-KIND SUPPORT S a l u d a C o u nt y S c h o o l D i s t r i c t One S a l u d a Chamber of Commerce S a l u d a Town Hall – Mayor’ s Office S a l u d a C o u nt y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n S a l u d a C o u nt y L i b r a r y S a l u d a County Department of S o c i a l S e r v i c e s First Books S c h o l a s t i c Book Clubs Amazon, Lakeshore, and Kaplan Learning Company

JOIN US For m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n on p a r t n e r s h i p o p p o r t u n i t i e s , c o n t a c t u s

kim@s a l u d a c o u n tyf ir stst ep s. o r g

Expenditures of State Funds by Program Type 13%

Since inception, Saluda County First Steps ha s leveraged $1,814,912 from sources outside of state government. That’s $0.45 for every state dollar.

87%

State Funding

Federal Funding

Private Funding

In-Kind Contributions

Total

Administrative Support

$17516

$2100

$19616

Core Functions

$18914

$1000

$2232

$22146

Library Based Program

$21186

$500

$3608

$25294

Nurse Family Partnership

$35640

$7132

$42772

Nurturing Parent

$23086

$104

$3638

$26828

Enhanced EarlyEducation

$62386

$23472

$85858

Childcare Training & Pro. Dev.

$23899

$536

$2412

$26847

$202627

$1000

$1140

$44594

$249361

Total Expenses

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Hug h G ray, Chair

Elizab eth G uevara

Heath W ard, Vice Chair

Cynthia Howard

Lynn Padgett, Secretary

Freda Gantt

Candace Bush

Becky Paul

Perrin Bryan

Dr. Harvey Living ston

Dr. Ab b y Dug g ins

Shanna Myers

Jennifer Camp b ell

Christy Marshall

STAFF Kim Chariker, E x e c u t i v e Director

J o y Burge, Pr o g r a m S p e ci a l i s t Ali H a r r i s o n , P r o g r a m S p e c i a l i s t (Bi- L i n g u a l ) Deb P a d g e t t , Nurturing P a r e n t i n g S p e c i a l i s t S a n d y Butler, Nurturing P a r e n t i n g S p e c i a l i s t (Bi -L i n g u a l )