South Carolina Kids Count

South Carolina Ranks in the Bottom 4 States in Child Well-Being: Improving Development and Readiness of Our Youngest Children is the Key to South Carolina's Future


Columbia, SC   South Carolina ranks of 47th among the 50 states in child well being (1=best; 50=worst) according to the 2006 national Kids Count Databook. The ten Kids Count Databook indicators point out many areas preventing our children from achieving their highest potential. These risks impact children starting from birth. Just before the 2006 Legislative session, Judge Cooper ruled in the Abbeville law suit that "...the constitutional requirement of adequate funding is not met by the Defendants as a result of their failure to adequately fund early childhood intervention programs..." The importance of early childhood development is supported by a large body of research showing that early learning directly affects brain structure and positive development.

South Carolina Kids Count Project Director Baron Holmes observes: "In order for young children to reach their potential, their health, family, economics, and safety would have to improve by at least 20% on the Kids Count indicators." The required reduction to reach the national average would be:

  • Low Birthweight by 22%;
  • Infant Mortality by 17%;
  • Single-Parent Families by 22%;
  • Births to Teens by 18%;
  • Poverty by 22%;
  • Child Deaths by 16%.

Legislators have made important progress during their 2006 session in addressing the need for early learning by expanding South Carolina's 4K program. However, the benefits of quality early learning must begin at birth.

South Carolina's Kids Count today released its analysis of data from two surveys showing the risks affecting young children before they reach kindergarten. The 2002 South Carolina Childcare Survey and the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health (South Carolina sample) provide a previously unpublished picture of how "at risk" children in our state spend their young lives. The South Carolina Childcare Survey shows that young children:

  • Spend 2/3 of their time in the care of their parents, primarily their mother;
     
  • Spend their waking hours before age 5 when not with mothers:
    • 19% with non-parental relatives, friends, and neighbors of their parents;
    • 35% with the spouse or ex-spouse;
    • 46% in formal care (center-based, Head Start, and 4K);

  • Are increasingly in formal care as they grow older: 17% before age 1, but 62% by age 4;
     
  • Are much less likely to be in formal care as their primary source of care if they are in "at risk" families:
    • 32% low educated parents -vs- 53% college graduates;
    • 34% poor -vs- 53% non-poor;
    • 33% working little or none -vs- 68% working full-time;
    • 36% disabled child -vs- 44% non-disabled children;

  • Are placed into care by parents primarily for reasons other than the quality of care (program quality is the main reason for choosing care by only 25% of parents).
     

In order to respond to Judge Cooper's mandate for enhancing the early experiences of poor, "at risk" children before entering kindergarten, the data suggests several compelling focal points for action:

  • Assistance must be provided to all three types of care (parental, formal and informal) to enhance quality of care and experiences nurturing child development and readiness.
     
  • Parenting education and family literacy services are critical because low-educated families rely the most on parental care as the primary source of care for their children.
     
  • Formal care serves as the primary source of care for roughly one-third of "at risk" children ages 0-5. Financial and quality enhancement support is needed by formal care providers.
     
  • Informal care serves one-quarter to one-third of "at risk" children as their primary source of care. Informal care providers should become another target for quality enhancement and financial support.
     
  • Families need resource and referral advice about quality care characteristics and help finding good care for their children (since program quality is only 25% of the main reasons).

Data from the National Survey of Children's Health elaborates on the health, family, economic, and safety risks that make children in South Carolina rank 47th in the nation. The NSCH data suggests additional focal points for the Judge Cooper early childhood remedy.

  • Families need more support for their economic and social viability and to enhance their parenting skills. Parenting and family support programs serve approximately 10-20% of the "at risk" population. Expanded assistance to "at risk" families would help them promote the development and readiness of their young children.
     
  • Poor children live in households and neighborhoods that limit the experiences of young children in their families and their childcare. This is especially true for informal care from family, friends, and neighbors (FFN). Thus support for FFN care must be added to the policy agenda in South Carolina.
     
  • The health conditions and services of poor children must be improved. Children with special healthcare needs are half of all students below basic on PACT. Since one-quarter to one-half of poor children receive inadequate primary care, enhanced in accessibility and quality of health services funded by Medicaid must become part of the Cooper remedy.
     

Dr. Baron Holmes summarizes the troubling picture from the 2006 Kids Count Databook, the 2002 South Carolina Childcare Survey, and the 2003 NSCH (SC sample): "Despite our best efforts over past decades, South Carolina still is not competitive with the nation in our economic, social, health, and educational well-being. Judge Cooper listened to 102 days of testimony from 112 witnesses. On the basis of that evidence he correctly concluded that the best way for South Carolina to become truly competitive is to prepare our youngest children to be successful in school and life. I believe that his early childhood remedy, starting in the first years of life and through at least grade three, is the strategic path to our state's competitiveness."

The complete analysis of the 2006 Kids Count Databook, 2002 South Carolina Childcare Survey and the 2003 NSCH can be found on the South Carolina Kids count website at www.sckidscount.org or in the document (47th on Kids Count and Mandated by Judge Cooper: It's Time to Implement Comprehensive Early Childhood Strategies) transmitted with this media notification.

The South Carolina and other information in the 2006 Kids Count Databook can be found at http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/sld/databook.jsp.

Contact: Kelly Graham/Director of Public Relations/Voices for SC's Children/803-256-4670 ext. 227 or e-mail: kgraham@scchildren.org.

For interviews with Dr. Baron Holmes, Director of South Carolina Kids Count (803-898-9928 or via email at baron.holmes@ors.sc.gov) or experts on early childhood education in your community, please contact Kelly Graham (803-256-4670, ext. 227; or via email at kgraham@scchildren.org).

© Copyright 2002-2011 South Carolina Budget and Control Board, Office of Research and Statistics