Child Care
Providing local families with access to high-quality early care and education.
Evidence Based
Providing local families with access to high-quality early care and education.
Evidence Based
Several First Steps partnerships provide local families with access to high-quality early care and education by operating or supporting center-based child care programs in their communities.
This map only shows programs funded by South Carolina First Steps. For more information about services available in your area, contact your local First Steps partnership.
Contact your local First Steps for program availability and eligibility.
Families with babies and toddlers
Families with preschool-aged children
Opportunities for early childhood teachers, paraprofessionals, and program directors
Local partnerships provide operational oversight and/or funding for licensed child care programs, including support for staff and materials.
A focus on language and literacy development
Learning experiences for early childhood professionals
Education and support for the whole family
Access to quality early care and education improves school readiness and long-term academic outcomes and provides parents with the opportunity to work or attend school.
Early Care & Education
Quality EnhancementIntensive support to child care centers, Head Start and preschool classrooms to improve quality
Early Care & Education
Quality CountsQuality Counts is a community-based child care quality improvement strategy, designed to build and sustain high quality in early care and education programs.
Early Care & Education
Child Care ScholarshipsEligible children receive tuition-free enrollment at quality child care centers
Early Care & Education
Early Head StartNationally, Early Head Start programs serve over 160,000 children and pregnant women annually.
Early Care & Education
Training and Professional DevelopmentCertified and registered training hours for the early childhood workforce
Early Care & Education
First Steps 4KFirst Steps 4K offers free, full-day four-year-old kindergarten to qualifying children in South Carolina. We partner with more than 270 licensed child care centers and private schools across the state, making it easy for families to find a high-quality program that meets their needs.
Early Care & Education
Enhanced Early EducationThe Enhanced Early Education strategy seeks to enhance education services offered by early childhood classrooms.
Translation services are available.
