Abbeville County First Steps Partnership

Board Chair: Barry Jacks

Executive Director: Angela Pruitt

Contact Information:

Address: PO Box 280 or 706 Carolina Circle

Abbeville, SC 29620

Phone: (864)366-0656/366-6117

Fax: (864)366-6127

e-mail: apruitt@acsd.k12.sc.us

Allocation Amount: $332,415 FY 2003 state funds; $9,090.80 in state private funds and $8,403.44 in local private funds. Number Served: 97children completed the 4K Program; 77 children and 66 families in the Parents As Teachers Program; 3 child care facilities and 4 in-home childcare providers, with 225 children total at those facilities and homes; 733 developmentally-appropriate books were distributed through the Parents As Teachers Program

Mission Statement: To prepare children for school and to work together to achieve this goal.

The State of Abbeville County:

In FY 02, more than 37 children were on the 4K waiting list, at least 80 families were in need of parenting services and only 3 child care facilities in the county were ABC-enhanced or equivalent. Kids Count figures indicated that more than 46.1% of children have both parents in the workforce more than 35 hours a week, with 20.5% of the parents’ annual income being less than $12,000. There were 3,679 children reported as being below poverty level. In 2000-2001, 11.3% of children were reported as not ready for first grade, and 22.5% of mothers in Abbeville County had not completed the twelfth grade. Many risk factors in our community support the need for 4K to help improve test scores and school readiness. Also quality and affordable childcare is needed for working parents. With 46.1% of parents working more than 35 hours a week, and 50% of parents reporting childcare cost as being high, this service is greatly needed. According to a recent parenting survey, 43.2% of parents reported needing childcare while they worked, and 27.3% of parents reported needing parenting skills. Also in 1998, there were 10.7% of babies with low birth weight and 14.6% of women who had no prenatal care their first three months of pregnancy. These factors are justification for our Parents As Teachers Program, and also for our Health Services. Abbeville County First Steps is working to meet the needs in the community and prepare children for school.

Strategy 1: EXPAND THE FOUR YEAR OLD KINDEGARTEN PROGRAM IN ABBEVILLE COUNTY

· 97children were continually enrolled in these programs

· 9 children dropped out over the course of the year, but other children filled vacancies

· 96 children successfully completed the full school year

· All lead teachers were certified in early childhood education

· 97 Family Satisfaction Surveys were sent out, and the results were positive

Strategy 2: INCREASE ACCESS TO AND AFFORDABILITY OF QUALITY CHILD CARE FOR CHILDREN AND INFANTS AGES 0-6

· 32 children received childcare scholarships to attend Kids Under Construction, New Beginnings Daycare and The Play House

· Qualified parents were working or in school

· Approximately 100 children used the lending library with age-appropriate curricula

· 28 children used book crates with board books, picture books, educational videos, and teacher resource guides; provided to the in-home childcare providers

· 4 to 5 in-home childcare providers attended monthly network meetings with educational speakers

· Trainings were provided to all childcare providers during the months of December through February

· First Steps completed the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale evaluation on one ABC Enhanced center

· 74 technical assistant hours delivered to the centers

· 3 centers are ABC Enhanced and at least two would like to work towards NAEYC Accreditation

Strategy 3: EXPAND AND COORDINATE PARENTING PROGRAMS IN ABBEVILLE COUNTY

· 66 new families received Parents As Teachers (PAT) visits

· 77 children were affected by the PAT program

· All PAT educators completed Born to Learn Training prior to delivering services

· Group meetings were held monthly with topics such as Preparing for Your Child’s Future, Make & Take, Preparing Your Child for 4K, Puppet Time, Nutrition, and Gardening

· Family Satisfaction Surveys were sent out to all the parents, and all the results were very positive

Strategy 4: EXPANSION OF THE HEAD START SCHOOL DAY

· 30 slots were offered to Head Start children whose parents were working or in school

· 6 children withdrew

· Program served as an after school program as well as a learning environment to enhance children’s development

· Family Satisfaction Surveys sent out to all parents with mostly positive results, most parents wanted the program to continue

Recommendations for Changes

The GLEAMNS After School Program was terminated on March 28, 2003.

This program was reported as being very beneficial to the families, but there were conflicts in program setup.

Match Information:

State Private Dollars	In-kind Match	Local Private Dollars	Total
$ 9,090.80	$79,686	$ 8,403.44	$97,180.24

The total in ACFS match is 29% of state dollars spent.

Private Funds

Approximately $10,000 was donated to our Parents As Teachers Program from our local school district. This was very beneficial to our program and keeping us active with all of the budget cuts. This was a blessing to our partnership.

Fiscal Information

Chart 1 shows how state allocated funds were spent by strategy in Abbeville County.

Chart 2 shows planned compared to actual expenditures for FY 02. Actual Expenditures and the Planned Budget were very close for the past fiscal year.

Success Stories:

To Whom it May Concern:

I thoroughly agree that this program is very beneficial to children of preschool age. I have 3 children, two girls and one boy. I try to teach them myself preparing them for school. My daughters were always very interested in learning while on the other hand my son did not care. He did not want to sit down and take the time to learn anything that I tried to show him. I knew that it was going to take someone else to be able to teach him instead of me, his mother. With the growing fast pace demands of academics today, I know that children need to be prepared before kindergarten and I knew that if he didn’t receive help before 5K that he may have trouble passing.

As my son went to 4K it amazed me of what he did learn. His teacher said that he listened very well in class. At home he is very active and does not take the time to sit and learn. I strongly support the 4K programs and hope it is a continued program. I would hope that the education lottery would fund more of the grade schools in SC rather that the colleges. The grade school is our children’s building blocks on their academic ability and should be supported first.

Thank you,

-4K Parent

My child did not know any of his colors, shapes, numbers, or letters when he went into this program. By the time the school year was over he knew all of his colors, shapes, numbers, and most of his letters. I feel very pleased with the progress my child did while he was in the program. His teachers did a wonderful job with him. They let me know when he was having problems and what he was having problems with. They helped me with ideas to teach him at home. I just want to thank them again and the program for allowing my child to be in this program.

-4K Parent

I feel that this program has been a blessing. My son has learned so much from Kids Under Construction Daycare. I know that he was well taken care of while I was working.

I am disappointed that the funds have been cut, because working mothers like me really need this program. I see mothers that don’t want to work nor get ahead in life that can get all kinds of government help, but mothers that are trying to get off welfare and food stamps, trying to have their own home, and other essentials can’t hardly get help anywhere. The government wants to cut everything out for working mothers and help people that don’t want to help themselves. I think that is a shame. For what it is worth, I hope the government can come up with some other funding to help us again. If they do, please contact me.

-Scholarship Recipient

I really enjoy the program. It has been really helpful in so many ways. Thanks a lot for everything you have taught my children. My parent educator is really great with the kids. I really appreciate her because she has taught my little girl a lot.

-Parent (Parents As Teachers Program)

Board Information:

In a recent survey, over 50% of the board stated that they dedicated at least three to four hours a month to First Steps, and over 25% spent 8 hours or more a month. The total volunteer time reported was over 240 hours for the year.

Over 66% of our members believe that the board sets clear organizational priorities for the year ahead, and that we have influence in our county to sustain First Steps Programs and address local needs.

Abbeville County First Steps Board Membership

Barry Jacks, Board Chair, Pre-Kindergarten through primary education

Barbara Bollman, Vice-Chair, Transportation Provider

Ann Davis, Secretary, School District Appointee

Peggie Crawford, School District Appointee

Deborah Ayers, Family education, training, and support provider

Jan Owens, Family education, training, and support provider

Deborah Chiles, Child care and early childhood development, education provider

Michelle Stancil, Healthcare provider

Jennifer Payne, Non-profit organization that provides services to families and children

James Thompson, Faith Community

Samantha Turman, Business Community

Henry Green, Business Community

Dana Bonds, Parent of a pre-school child

Lynn Patterson, Member from early childhood education

Angie Ferguson, Member from early childhood education

Sandra Gettys, Member from early childhood education

Santana D. Freeman, Head Start Appointee

Tom Turner, County Department of Social Services Appointee

Michael Burke, County Department of Health & Environmental Control

Mary Elizabeth Land, County Library Appointee

Zelda Oates, Legislative Appointee