Coronavirus Resources
South Carolina First Steps continues to monitor information and updates from the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Office of the Governor about the emerging coronavirus outbreak. This page contains resources relevant to our state’s providers of child care and early childhood services. It…
Read MoreA Guide to Conscious Parenting
Parenting is sometimes considered an innate process to raise one’s children to be capable adults—that everything is straightforward and will easily fall into place over the years from birth to adulthood. Conceiving children does not properly prepare us for the nurturing, physical and emotional, needed to raise healthy children. An innate ability implies that we…
Read MoreSouth Carolina is on the Map
South Carolina is now a recognized member of the State Children’s Cabinet Network, the nation’s only network of state children’s cabinets. According to The Forum for Youth Investment, “Children’s Cabinets are typically made up of the heads of all government agencies with child- and youth- serving programs. They meet regularly to coordinate services, develop a…
Read MoreSupporting the Family: Parents as Teachers
Parents as Teachers (PAT) is an internationally-recognized organization that started in Missouri in the early 1980s to get children ready for school and increase parental awareness of their role in being their child’s first teacher. Since its inception, PAT’s objective has been to build strong communities, thriving families, and children that are healthy, safe and ready to learn by…
Read MoreSC First Steps Turns 20!
South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness is officially 20 years old today! On June 28, 1999, The Honorable James H. Hodges, Governor of South Carolina (1999-2003), established First Steps as a statewide public-private partnership charged with getting South Carolina’s children ready for success in school and life. Two decades later, as the state’s only…
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