S.C. First Steps Relinquishes Nearly $7 Million Grant, Closes Early Head Start Program

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– During Friday’s South Carolina’s First Steps Board of Trustees meeting, parents of young children, childcare providers and teachers pleaded to keep the Early Head Start program going, but it wasn’t enough.

Many parents who were at the meeting said they knew South Carolina First Steps is not the right agency to run Early Head Start, but they wanted them to fight for the program to allow the 256 families a bit more time to figure out what to do next.

“Why are you rolling over? Shame on you to roll over and do such a disservice and hurt the citizens of South Carolina,” a member of Indivisible Midlands said to the board.

In December, the Office of Head Start sent this disturbing report to S.C. First Steps which shows they are deficient in providing safe learning environments. The report findings discuss a videotape at an Early Head Start classroom showing two teachers maltreat several children. While S.C. First Steps was trying to correct the issue, another maltreatment incident occurred at a different center.

“As a result of that, we were in essence given an ultimatum. This group would either relinquish the round one grant, or it would be removed from us by the office of Head Start,” Georgia Mjartin said, S.C. First Steps Exec. Dir.

Not only are families who were using the Early Head Start program now scrambling to find childcare, many of which do not have any other options in the areas they are living; but now partners with Early Head Start are now in jeopardy of losing their businesses. Kim Chariker is one of them, who will have to close her doors for good on July 31st.

“My family currently owns the only licensed child care center in Saluda County. And as I said before, we’re a very poor country, we don’t have options for these parents,” Chariker said. 

Many are single parents who travel far to get to work and to the childcare facility, and struggle to make ends meet.  Khadijah Stokes said she will have to quit her job to take care of her 2-year-old son and worries he will not get the education he needs to be ready for when real school starts.

“We are real parents, this is a reality. We may not have what you guys have, but these children need a chance, and without this program, I don’t think they’ll be able to get that,” Stokes said.

South Carolina First Steps says the Department of Social Services is dedicated to providing vouchers for the children who would’ve remained enrolled in Early Head Start next year, but many parents have no other childcare facility near them to use those vouchers.