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Family

Abuse and Neglect: The harm or threat of harm to a child's physical or mental health or welfare caused by acts or omissions of the child's parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child's welfare. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Educational Neglect: Failure to supply the child with education as required under state law even though financially able to do so or with access to financial or other reasonable means to do so. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Divorce Data: It is recorded for the county in South Carolina where the divorce decree was granted. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Family: A family is a group of two people or more (one of whom is designated as the householder) related by birth, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such people (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. (Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Foster Care: Temporary placement of children with families other than relatives for their own well being as determined by the Department of Social Services because of abuse, neglect, or threat of harm. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Indicated Cases: Children who have been determined by investigation of the Department of Social Services to be victims of abuse and/or neglect are considered to be in an indicated case. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Medical Neglect: Failure of parent or person in loco parentis to supply the child with medical or nonmedical remedial health care permitted or authorized under state law even though financially able to do so or with access to financial or other reasonable means to do so. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Mental Injury: Injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by a discernible and substantial impairment of the child's ability to function as supported by the opinion of a mental health professional or medical professional. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Marital Status on Birth Certificate:

  1. Unmarried - A birth which occurs to a woman who has never been married or who has been widowed or legally divorced from her husband in excess of 280 days.
  2. Married - A birth which occurs to a woman who has been married or was married within 280 days from conception.
  3. Paternity Acknowledgement - It gives authorization to list the name of the father on the birth certificate of a child born to an unmarried mother with written consent of the father and mother by means of an affidavit as required by South Carolina Law, Section 44-63-165.

(Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Marriage Data: It is recorded for the county in South Carolina where the marriage license was issued. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Medical Neglect: Failure of parent or person in loco parentis to supply the child with medical or nonmedical remedial health care permitted or authorized under state law even though financially able to do so or with access to financial or other reasonable means to do so. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Mental Injury: Injury to the intellectual or psychological capacity of a child as evidenced by a discernible and substantial impairment of the child's ability to function as supported by the opinion of a mental health professional or medical professional. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Mothers Not Completing High School: Women who had not completed the twelfth grade at the time of delivery of a live birth. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Occurrence Data: It reflects to the place in South Carolina where the event occurred, regardless of the usual residence of the person involved. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Parents In the Labor Force and Parents Working: The data on employment status were derived from answers to questionnaire items which were asked of a sample of persons. All persons who reported working during the reference week were asked to report the number of hours that they worked. "In the labor force" includes all persons classified in the civilian labor force (persons classified as employed or unemployed) plus members of the US Armed Forces (persons on active duty with the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard). Parents working is determined by parents with own children under 18 who worked less than 35 hours, or 35 hours or more in the last week before enumeration. (Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Physical Abuse: Physical harm inflicted upon a child by a parent or person in loco parentis, including injuries sustained as a result of excessive corporal punishment, but excluding corporal punishment or physical discipline which:

(Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Physical Neglect: Failure of a parent or person in loco parentis to supply the child with adequate food, clothing shelter, or supervision appropriate to the child's age and development even though financially able to do so or with access to financial or other reasonable means to do so; the failure to provide these things has caused or is likely to cause physical or mental injury to the child. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Residence Data: Data is recorded for the county where the person normally resided, regardless of where the event occurred. Live births are allocated to the place of the mother's residence. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Single Parent Family: Families with "own children" under age 18 living in the household, who are headed by a person, male or female, without a spouse present in the home. "Own children" are never-married children under 18 who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. (Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Sexual Abuse: The commitment of a sexual offense against a child by a parent or person in loco parentis, including the encouragement or facilitation of sexual offenses against a child. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Threat of Harm: Substantial risk of harm to a child. The potential for abuse/neglect exists, but the actual occurrence of harm has not been substantiated. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)
 

Economic Status

Child Support: Money paid by non-custodial parent for the support of his or her natural children. Data are reported by county of residence of the non-custodial parent. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)

Mean Income: The amount obtained by dividing the total aggregate income of a group by the number of units in that group. The means for households, families and unrelated individuals are based on all households, families, and unrelated individuals, respectively. (Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Per Capita Income: The average income computed for every man, women, and child in a particular group. (Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Poverty Guidelines: The guidelines are a simplification of the Census Bureau's poverty thresholds for use for administrative purposes such as determining financial eligibility for certain federal programs. (Source: The Federal Register, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

Poverty Thresholds: The income cutoffs used by the Census Bureau to determine the poverty status of families and unrelated individuals include a set of 48 thresholds arranged in a two dimensional matrix consisting of family size (from one person to nine or more persons) cross-classified by presence and number of family members under 18 years old (from no children present to 8 or more children present). The total income of each family or unrelated individual in the sample was tested against the appropriate poverty threshold to determine the poverty status of that family or unrelated individual. If the total income was less than the corresponding cutoff, the family or unrelated individual was classified as "below the poverty level."

Similar calculations are made for multiples of poverty such as 125% or 185% of poverty to show the number of poor and near poor persons.

The number of persons below the poverty level was the sum of the number of persons in families with incomes below the poverty level and the number of unrelated individuals with incomes below the poverty level. The poverty thresholds are revised annually to allow for changes in the cost of living as reflected in the Consumer Price Index. Poverty thresholds were applied on a national basis and were not adjusted for regional, state, or local variations in the cost of living. Poverty status was determined for all persons except institutionalized persons, persons in military group quarters and in college dormitories, and unrelated individuals under 15 years old. These groups were also excluded from the denominator when calculating poverty rates. The data on poverty status of households were derived from answers to the income questions. The income items were asked on a sample basis. Households are classified below the poverty level when the total 1989 income of the family or of the nonfamily householder is below the appropriate poverty threshold. The income of persons living in the household who are unrelated to the householder is not considered when determining the poverty status of a household, nor does their presence affect the household size in determining the appropriate poverty threshold.

(Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families): Created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, TANF became effective in South Carolina on December 1, 1996, and replaced what was then commonly known as "welfare:" Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) programs. TANF provides financial support to needy families with children and provides parents with job preparation, work, and support services to enable them to leave the program and become self-sufficient. (Source: South Carolina Department of Social Services)
 

Health

Ambulatory Care: Health care provided to persons without their admission to a health facility. (Source: Office of Research and Statistics of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board)

Ambulatory Care Sensitive Condition: Conditions which when timely and effectively treated in the outpatient setting can help reduce the risks of hospitalizations are called Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSC). Treatment for these conditions in an ambulatory care setting can help reduce the risks of hospitalizations by 1) preventing the onset of an illness or condition, 2) controlling an acute episodic illness or condition, or 3) managing a chronic disease or condition. The most common ACSC conditions for children in South Carolina are pneumonia, asthma, vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration and severe ear, nose, and throat (ENT) infections. (Source: Office of Research and Statistics of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board)

Immunization: The process of rendering a person immune, or of becoming immune through an inoculation or vaccination. (Source: Bureau of Disease Control, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Infant Mortality Percent: Number of deaths occurring to infants under 1 year of age, per 100 live births. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Infant Mortality Rate: Number of deaths occurring to infants under 1 year of age, per 1,000 live births. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Kessner Index A classification of the adequacy of prenatal care. The levels of prenatal care are determined by the trimester prenatal care began, the number of prenatal care visits and the period of gestation. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Less Than Adequate Prenatal Care: Adequacy of prenatal care is measured by the Kessner Index, based on timeliness of the first doctor's visit, frequency of prenatal visits, and the gestational age at birth. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Live Birth: The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a baby/fetus, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such expulsion or extraction,the baby/fetus breathes or shows any other evidence of life, such as beating of the heart, pulsation or the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Low Birthweight: Low birth weight is a weight at birth which is less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds, 8 ounces) regardless of the period of gestation. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Primary Care: The Institute Of Medicine in a 1994 report defines primary care as "the provision of integrated, accessible health care services by clinicians who are accountable for addressing a large majority of personal health care needs, developing a sustained partnership with patients, and practicing in the context of family and community." Primary care physicians are usually defined as Family Practice, General Practice, Pediatricians, and general internal medicine. Some studies have also included Obstetrics/Gynecology physicians. Other primary care providers are nurse practitioners and physician assistants. (Source: Office of Research and Statistics of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board)

Sexually Transmitted Diseases: STD denotes the more than 25 infectious organisms that are transmitted through sexual activity, along with the dozens of clinical syndromes that they cause. Some of the more common sexually transmitted diseases include chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV/AIDS, syphilis, hepatitis B, herpes and human papilloma virus (HPV). Sexual transmission is the only important mode of spread of some of the infections in the group, while others can also be acquired by non-sexual means. Any physician or other health professional who diagnoses or treats a case of sexually transmitted disease, and any administrator, superintendent, manager or Infection Control Practitioner of a hospital, dispensary, health care related facility, blood bank, plasma center, or charitable penal institution in which there is a case of sexually transmitted disease is required to report the case by name, date of birth, address, county of residence, sex, race, the probable date of onset of infection and the name of physician of record. Any laboratory performing tests for a sexually transmitted disease must submit a report of all positive laboratory test results for sexually transmitted diseases as directed by DHEC. (Source: Bureau of Disease Control, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Very Low Birthweight: Very low birthweight is a weight at birth which is less that 1,500 grams (3 pounds, 4 ounces) regardless of the period of gestation. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control)
 

Readiness and Early School Performance

CSAB (Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery): Test administered to all first graders from 1979 through 2001 to determine children's "readiness" for the first grade curriculum. The results of the CSAB are used by teachers to plan appropriate programs for each child. A student who scores an 88 out of a possible 117 has met the state standard and is considered ready. If a student is not ready, diagnostic information from the test is used to identify areas in which extra help is needed. Below is an explanation of the 10 CSAB Objective Indicators measured by testing:

  1. Classifying - In order to be able to classify, the student must first recognize similarities in stimuli (such as objects) with respect to some attributes or characteristic (such as size). The student must then group the stimuli according to one or more attribute(s). Demonstrations of classification includes activities such as classifying of objects according to color, size, or shape and classifying by functions and/or relationships such as objects, food, animals, or people.
  2. Gross Motor Skills - The students use large muscles to coordinate eye-hand movements, eye foot movements, and body positions in maintaining balance while performing physical activities. Demonstrations of large muscle control include activities such as marching; hopping on either foot; skipping; jumping and landing on both feet; galloping, climbing stairs while alternating feet; and bouncing, throwing, catching, and kicking a ball.
  3. Fine Motor Skills - The student uses small muscles to coordinate eye-hand movements and body positions while manipulating objects, tracing, copying, drawing, and painting. Demonstrations of eye- hand coordination include activities such as buttoning, zipping; lacing and tying articles of clothing; folding paper; assembling puzzles; opening a book and turning pages one at a time from front to back; building with blocks and construction toys; cutting straight and curved lines while holding scissors properly; tracing objects and symbols; and copying shapes, letters, their own name, words, and numerals.
  4. Visual Memory - The student recalls, after a brief lapse of time, stimuli presented visually (the "brief lapse of time will vary depending upon the activity). Demonstration of visual memory involves the student's recalling by pointing to or naming one of six visual stimuli after the stimuli have been presented and removed or covered. Visual stimuli might include colors, shapes, numerals, letters, or patterns.
  5. Visual Discrimination - The student distinguishes likenesses and differences by comparing visual stimuli. Demonstrations of visual discrimination include activities such as matching identical colors; sorting objects on the basis of color; matching identical pictures; selecting the picture that is different; matching identical shapes; sorting objects on the basis of shapes and assembling simple puzzles; matching objects of identical sizes; sorting objects on the basis of size; and matching identical symbols (numerals, letters, and words).
  6. Interpreting - The student demonstrates understanding of selections, for example, stories presented orally or in picture form, by interpreting or making inferences on the basis of selection. The student interprets selections by summarizing what has been seen or heard. The student makes inferences by going beyond the content of the selection. Demonstrations of interpretation and inference include activities such as listening to a selection, expressing the main idea, and making inferences; supplying a logical ending to a story after being presented with only two thirds of the story; supplying appropriate answer(s) to questions on the basis of context clues; and making up a story about a picture.
  7. Sequencing - In order to be able to sequence, the student must first recognize differences in stimuli (such as objects) with respect to some attribute or characteristic (such as size). The student must then order the stimuli according to one or more attribute(s). Demonstrations of sequencing include activities such as counting up to ten objects; ordering objects according to length, height, weight or size; identifying the correct object to complete the pattern; completing an incomplete pattern or picture; retelling a short story in sequential order; arranging in correct order three pictures; and stating the sequential steps involved after completing a three step activity.
  8. Auditory Memory - The students distinguishes likenesses and differences by comparing sounds. Demonstrations of auditory discrimination include activities such as matching sounds made by objects, animals or people; matching sounds according to rhythmic pattern, pitch (high, low) or volume; recognizing words that sound the same and words that sound different, and matching sounds at the beginning of words.
  9. Expressive Language - The student communicates with others by using a simple oral vocabulary and by expressing ideas with an expanding oral vocabulary. Vocabulary development may include naming such things as colors, parts of the body, people, animals, food, objects, sounds, days of the week, seasons, occupations, letters, numerals, coins, and textures. Demonstrations of expression of ideas include activities such as initiating verbal communication with others, relating personal experiences to classroom activities, and dictating personal experiences for the teacher's recording in a written form.
  10. Receptive Language - The student communicates with others by listening attentively and by utilizing the information presented. Demonstrations of receptive language include activities such as listening and responding to the conversations of others; listening and making comments about a selection read; and listening to and following directions.

(Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

Failures: Number of students who were designated as "not passing" their grade and required to repeat that grade. Failures for grades one to three is calculated as the sum of failures in grades one, two, and three in a given year. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

First Grade Readiness: Children's first grade readiness is measured by the CSAB (Cognitive skills assessment battery) in ten different areas. See the definition for CSAB. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

Overage for Grade Three: Children enrolled in grade 3 who are ages 9 or older as of September 2 of the current year. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)
 

School Achievement

Adult Education Program The program of adult education is provided for adults who want a basic education, to prepare for the High School Equivalency Examination, to develop literacy skills, or work-related skills, and to complete the requirements for a State high school diploma (limited to adults who are residents in South Carolina). (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

BSAP (Basic Skills Assessment Program): Administered from 1981 through 1998 to students in the third, sixth, eighth, and tenth grades to determine student skills in reading, math, writing and science. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

Dropouts: Calculated two ways: (1) Number of students who were enrolled in the 8th grade but were not enrolled in the 12th grade 4 years later. Enrollment is based on average daily attendance for the school year; (2) 8th to graduation. The 1st calculation provides breakout of race and gender data; second is available only for all students.

Emotional Disability: An emotional disturbance is defined as a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects the student's educational performance:

  1. An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
  2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
  3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
  4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
  5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.

The term includes schizophrenia. The term does not apply to children who are socially maladjusted, unless it is determined that they have a serious emotional disturbance. (Source: Office of Exceptional Children of the South Carolina Department of Education)

Enrollment: A student count encompassing the number of students present for thirty-five days of school. A student is counted in enrollment on the thirty-fifth day that he(she) has been present in school, provided that he(she) has not been counted in the enrollment of any other school in the state. The enrollment count is cumulative for the school year, i.e., a student remains on the enrollment for the original school of entry for any given school year. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

Exit Exam: The BSAP test administered to tenth graders to determine eligibility for high school graduation. Students must score 700 on both the math and language arts portions of their tests to be eligible to receive their high school diploma. Students may retake their exit exams 4 times. Students who fail to pass their exit exams but complete their coursework receive a high school certificate of completion. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

GED (General Equivalency Diploma): A measure of General Educational Development. Examinees must pass the Tests of General Educational Development in order to earn a South Carolina High School Equivalency Diploma. (Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

Learning Disability: A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. The term does not apply to students who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. (Source: Office of Exceptional Children of the South Carolina Department of Education)

Mental Retardation: is defined as significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period that adversely affects a student's educational and overall performance. When measured by IQ, retardation is classified into the following categories and ranges:

  Aptitude Standard Score*
Mild 48 - 70±
Moderate 25 - 48±
Severe 0 - 25±

* Assumes mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15.

(Source: Office of Exceptional Children of the SC Department of Education)
 

PACT (Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test)

PACT (Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test) - Standardized test given to students in grades 3 through 8 in the areas of math and language arts in effort to measure student improvement in mastering more rigorous classroom curriculum. The PACT is designed to be more challenging than the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) test which it replaced in 1999. PACT rates student performance as follows:

(Source: South Carolina Department of Education)

Special Education: Education and related services for children with disabilities provided according to an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) developed by all members of the multidisciplinary team , which could include school psychologists, speech-language clinicians and other persons responsible for the identification and evaluation of students with disabilities. (Source: Office of Exceptional Children of the SC Department of Education)

Speech Language Deficits Communication disorders such as stuttering, impaired articulation, language impairment or a voice impairment that adversely affects a student's educational performance. (Source: Office of Exceptional Children of the SC Department of Education)
 

Adolescent Risk Behaviors

Idle: Tabulation of data on enrollment, educational attainment, and labor force status for the population 16 to 19 years old allows for calculation of the proportion of the age group who are not enrolled in school and not high school graduates or "dropouts" and an unemployment rate for the "dropout" population. Persons were classified as enrolled in school if they reported attending a "regular" public or private school or college at any time between Feb. 1, 1990 and the time of enumeration. (Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census)

Teen Pregnancy Percent: The number of births, abortions and fetal deaths to teenage girls 14-17 years old as a percentage on per 100 females in this age group. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)

Teen Pregnancy Rate: The number of births, abortions and fetal deaths to teenage girls 14-17 years old as a percentage on per 1000 females in this age group. (Source: Vital and Morbidity Statistics, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control)