Current Programs:
Fatherhood Initiative: Program Consultant will work with 15 to 20 preschool fathers, providing two meetings a month using the 24/7 DAD curriculum. These meetings will consist of topics ranging from financial management skills, parenting skills, to preventing child abuse and neglect.
Parents As Teachers Program: Two full-time parent educators serving 25 families each. One part-time parent educator will serve 15 families working 25 hours a week, serving scholarship applicants through the Centers of Excellence Grant.
Learning Bus: Parent educators drive bus to rural and high-risk areas of the community for recruitment. The Learning Bus is a collaborative effort of the Abbeville County Rotary Club, Abbeville County School District , and Abbeville County First Steps. The Rotary Club purchased the bus and made it into a preschool classroom with early learning centers setup on the inside and outside of the bus. The bus also has laptops for parents to access the virtual library website, and to watch parenting videos. Also books can be checked on the bus by parents, and returned to the local library. Parent educators work on parent skills to parents, and promoting learning through play for the children.
Childcare Quality Enhancement: Educational supplies and furnishings are purchased for classrooms to promote quality environments for preschool children.
Technical Assistance: A Part-time technical assistant works two days with each center each week to setup classrooms, helps with curriculum needs, provides assessments on the classrooms, orders supplies, models developmentally appropriate teaching in the classrooms, provides trainings on topics, or follow-up from trainings.
Childcare Scholarships through Centers of Excellence Grant: Technical Assistant provides child care scholarships for eligible applicants through the First Steps Office.
Child Care Trainings: Provided to child care centers twice a month on developmentally appropriate topics at the civic center. Trainings are available to Abbeville, Greenwood , and McCormick. Abbeville and Greenwood County First Steps collaborate on all child care trainings.
Countdown to Kindergarten: Kindergarten teachers provide home visits for at-risk five-year-olds before entering kindergarten. The teachers works on 5k standard with the children, and leave early learning tools with children on each visit that they can then use in the classroom. The last visit is a visit to their classroom.