Kershaw County First Steps Annual Report 2020-2021

Through community collaboration, KCFS will provide access to resources and support for families, enabling children to enter school ready to learn.

1.. By 2023, the percentage of children under age 6 who benefit from Kershaw County First Steps quality enhancement and training efforts will increase from 2%to 5%.

2. By 2023, the percentage of children in need who are directly served by Kershaw County First Steps will increase from 9%to 18%.

Families are the single most important influence on the development of their young children.

The work of supporting families and caregivers is a collaborative effort between state and local stakeholders within the public, private and faith sectors.

Parents As Teachers Raising A Reader Enhanced Countdown to Kindergarten Child Care Quality Counts

110 E. DeKalb Street Camden, South Carolina 29021| 803-432-7756 | Kershawfirststeps.org

3

4

M ESSAGE FRO M TH E EXECU TIV E D IRECTO R

Kim berley Jordan

Executive Director Kershaw County First Steps

We want to thank you for your support of Kershaw County First Steps and all that we are attempting to do for our children and their families. We feel that the enclosed Annual Report of the past year is a valuable tool to share with you. From a programmatic standpoint, 2020-2021 was a year of continued achievement. We received financial and other resources from various sources and continued to be good stewards of the money entrusted to us. Our outreach events continue to be a valuable tool for sharing these programs with the Kershaw County community, while encouraging participation and support.

Thank you for your support and partnership—it means everything! We look forward to strengthening these partnerships in the coming year because together, we can make a difference for our children today and especially for tomorrow!

5

Every Kershaw County child will be prepared for success in school.

6

PAT GO ES V I RTUAL Due to COVID-19, Parents as Teachers (PAT) National provided guidance for affiliates to deliver virtual services via interactive video conferencing and phone calls. South Carolina PAT affiliates rose to the occasion by engaging families in creative and meaningful ways while continuing to

PAT I N KERSHAW CO U N TY 20 20 -20 21

26 4 67

families served

total home visits

meet the Essential Requirements of implementing a quality PAT program during the pandemic.

7

3

5

30

Patrice Davis, Program Manager for Countdown to Kindergarten, celebrates with a parent at the end of the year school visit.

8

4

79

28 7

Having this program in the county helped me with my planning for a new program. They are always available to help with resources.

Kathrine M ixon, Potential hom e provider

9

FI RST STEP S 4 K I N KERSHAW CO U N TY 20 20 -20 21

P REPARI N G FO R STATEW I D E EXPAN SI O N

1

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.

4

10

LITERACY PROGRAM Raising A Reader (RAR) is a rotating lending library in which students receive a red bag containing 4 books weekly. Books are fiction, non fiction, and culturally diverse. Parents and teachers are provided with workshops to help develop early literacy skills and healthy personal relationships with their children. At the end of the year, classes and parents visit the library for a tour and for students to obtain their own library card. This allows families to continue the love of reading with their child. Students then receive their own blue bag for library books.

RAI SI N G A READ ER (RAR) B Y TH E N U M B ERS 20 20 -20 21

45

families served

4

providers served

11

Addres si ng t he needs o f yo ung c hi l dren i s a s hared endeavo r . In addi t i o n t o provi d i ng s ervi c es t o f am i l i es and s upport f or c hildc are providers, Kers haw Count y Firs t St eps m obil i zes part ners and c om m unit y m em bers t o en s u r e a l l c h i l d r en i n Ker s h aw Co u n t y b eg i n s c h o o l r ead y t o s u c c eed . We s er v e a s a :

1291 Books distributed

4

Community events

Kershaw County First Steps has made a big difference in the lives of Kershaw County families during these challenging times. The food boxes filled a big need in the rural community.

Jannie S. Franks, Teacher

12

Through part nerships and col l aborat ions, as w el l as f i nancial support f rom grant s and cont r ibut ions, Kershaw Count y Fi rst St eps l everages st at e dol l ars t o enhance and expand s er vi c es t o c hi l dren and f am i l i es .

FU N D I N G SU P P O RT Uni t ed Way o f M i d l and s $ 3 5 0 T o t al T ec h $ 4 7 0 Wal -M ar t $ 90 0

I N - KI N D SU P P O RT Hi g hl and M i ni s t r y Em m anuel Bap t i s t Chur c h Cam den Al um nae Chapt er Delt a Sigm a Thet a Sororit y, Inc. Bl ac k Ri ver El ec t r i c Co o p er at i ve Do m i no es Pi zza Li t t l e Caes ar Pi zza

JOIN US For m ore i nf orm at ion on part nership opport unit ies, vi s i t our w ebsit e at kershawf irst st eps. org 13

Ex p e n d i t u r e s o f St a t e Fu n d s b y P r o g r a m Ty p e 8%

Since inception, Kershaw County First Steps has leveraged $1,647,226.57 from sources outside of state government.

That’s $0.37 for every state dollar.

92%

State Funding

Federal Funding

Private Funding

In-Kind Contributions

Total

Child Care Quality Enhancement

$35,903

$0

$0

$11,855

$47,758

Countdown to Kindergarten

$16,626

$524

$0

$0

$17,151

Raising A Reader Enhanced

$37,868

$0

$1953

$11,700

$51,521

Parents As Teachers

$78,594

$207

$0

$11,700

$90,501

Partnerships & Community Education

$22,139

$470

$0

$0

$22,609

Administrative Support

$18,325

$0

$350

$0

$18,675

$209,455

$1202

$2303

$35,255

$248,214

Total Expenses

14

B OARD O F D I RECTO RS St ephen Wil s o n, Chai r

Karean Troy

J enni f er Kel l ey, Vi c e Chai r

Bet t y Tur ner

Wil l i am J am es , Tr eas ur er

Tho m as Bo w en, J .D.

Les l i e Wi l l i am s , Sec r et ar y Char l ene Hayw ar d , As s t . Sec r et ar y Ver o ni c a Lew i s M ar g ar et Law ho r n

STAFF Ki m ber l ey J o r d an, Ex ec ut i ve Di r ec t o r Rud i ne M c Leo d , Pr o g r am M anag er Pat r i c e Davi s , Ear l y Chi l dho o d Co o r d i nat o r J es s i c a Cl ea, Par ent Educ at o r

CO N TACT U S 110 E. DeKalb St. Camden, SC 29020 | 803 - 432 - 7756 | kershawf irststeps. org

15