Publications & Reports

A compilation of findings from a statewide survey conducted Summer 2022

The State of WIC Report is published to help you appreciate the scope and depth of WIC services and our active engagement with families and communities. It is offered to share our gifts and strengths and to highlight our opportunities for growth. It is replete with recommendations to enhance the value and quality of WIC services. Why? There is so much more that public health nutrition experts and our nation can do to transform lives and help our country continue to bend the moral arc of the universe towards health equity and justice.

The annual report for South Carolina's ECAC is included in the South Carolina First Steps Annual Report. South Carolina First Steps is the host and administrator of the ECAC.

The 2022 report shares highlights from the South Carolina Family Voice Council which was born of a commitment from the public early childhood system to partner with families and listen, center, and co-create the future of programming and policies that impact families in our state.

Ascend published “Toward A More Equitable Tomorrow: A Landscape Analysis of Early Childhood Leadership” that highlights key issues we face across the nation that are also mirrored in communities across our state.  The report identifies priority areas, such as supporting parents in locating job and educational opportunities to promote greater economic security, and the vital importance of shaping the direction our systems move by centering the experience, knowledge, and leadership of families. 

“South Carolina Pre-K to Kindergarten Transition Plan: Family Engagement” demonstrates the state’s collective capacity and commitment to ensure every child and family has the resources to learn, flourish and thrive. It includes a range of recommendations and opportunities identified to enhance, increase, and improve families’ engagement with preschool and school-based professionals, leading to shared understanding and goals around school readiness.

This strategic plan is a five-year roadmap for optimizing South Carolina's early childhood system and moving toward a shared vision of success for every child, from birth through age five.

The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment used by South Carolina public schools in fall 2020 was modified for use during COVID-19 pandemic conditions. Only 33 of the 50 items on the full KRA assessment were used. The omitted 17 items required observation of students interacting with others, activities limited by pandemic health measures of social distancing and mask-wearing. This Modified KRA version omitted two items from the Language and Literacy domain and three items from the Physical Well-Being and Motor Development domain; all 12 items from the Social Foundations domain were eliminated. The reduction of items prevented generation of scores for the Physical Well-Being and Motor Development and the Social Foundations domains. All available information obtained contributed to the calculation of the Modified KRA Overall readiness score and readiness classification level.

A statewide transitions survey captured 584 responses statewide to provide information to inform the state plan as well as for the development of tools and resources for parents and providers.