The SC Early Childhood Advisory Council’s Data Hub serves as the conduit and governing body working to develop a common understanding of early childhood data in South Carolina.

1. Create standard definitions and reports for evidence-based decision making.
2. Achieve equity by supporting stakeholders in identifying and resolving disparities.
3. Inform policies and practices to support children, families, and communities.
4. Connect early childhood data into longitudinal data systems.
5. Understand the impacts of investment from Birth through Workforce.
6. Improve the quality of life for all South Carolinians.

Establish and maintain a comprehensive infrastructure governed by data policies to achieve an integrated, accurate, and actionable data system to support children, families, and communities in South Carolina.

To build a useful integrated data system, it is best to first establish a set of key questions that will drive everything.

The starting point for the key questions came out of the 2019 Birth through Five Statewide Needs Assessment, funded by Preschool Development Grant. Three data collection strategies, which engaged more than 5,000 people, were used to determine statewide priorities/needs in three areas (early learning and development; health and well-being; family and community):

• 15 regional meetings were held across the state with 440 participants
• 3,114 online survey responses focused on priorities of parents/caregivers
• 1,495+ people engaged in approximately 130 focus groups across all counties focused on engaging families/ caregivers and young children

Considerations from the system’s end users will inform various phases of the development of the integrated data system to ensure that end users’ needs are being met in the design and implementation of the system. The potential key questions have been presented to various groups of stakeholders across the state to garner feedback, including program administrators, educators, families and caregivers, policymakers, and researchers to modify the list based on their specific needs. The potential key questions were brought to the Interagency Collaboration Committee for discussion in August 2021 and adopted by the Early Childhood Advisory Council in August of 2021.

Details for the ECAC Data Hub:

•  Young Children: children under age six in South Carolina
•  Early Childhood Programs: defined broadly, beyond state and federally funded programs
•  Counts: seek to identify an unduplicated number of young children
•  Questions: used to assist use case creation and will be revisited quarterly to ensure continued alignment with mission

1. What early childhood programs, statewide, are available for eligible young children?
2. How many young children are there?
3. How many young children are eligible for early childhood programs?
4. How many young children are enrolled in early childhood programs?
5. Are those enrolled in early childhood programs on track to succeed?
6. What is the return on investment for early childhood programs?