To oversee and be accountable for the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Initiative, in accordance with the APA, the board shall:

(1) develop and promulgate a comprehensive long-range initiative for improving early childhood development and increasing school readiness and literacy, which shall include the specific requirements of Chapter 152, Title 59;

(2) in accordance with the APA, promulgate regulations and establish guidelines, policies, and procedures for the continued implementation of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative;

(3) provide oversight on the continued implementation and evaluation of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative at the state and local levels;

(4) establish and promulgate grant qualification requirements and a formula by which allocations for qualifying partnership grants shall be calculated;

(5) ensure the provision of technical assistance, consultation services and support to First Steps Partnerships including: the creation and annual revision of county needs assessments; the prioritization, implementation, and evaluation of each First Steps Partnership's strategic plans based on needs assessments; and the identification of assets from other funding sources;

(6) assess and develop recommendations: for ensuring coordination and collaboration among service providers at both the state and county level, for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of state programs and funding and other programs and funding sources, as allowable, as necessary to carry out the First Steps to School Readiness initiative, including additional fiscal strategies, redeployment of state resources, and development of new programs;

(7) establish and promulgate results-oriented measures and objectives and assess whether services provided by First Steps Partnerships to children and families are meeting the goals and achieving the results established for the First Steps initiative pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59;

(8) receive gifts, bequests, and devises for deposit for awarding grants to First Steps Partnerships;

(9) report annually to the General Assembly by January first on activities and progress to include recommendations for changes and legislative initiatives and results of program evaluations;

(10) establish and promulgate internal policies and procedures to allow the board to operate optimally, which shall include, but not be limited to, an established and consistent process for decision making;

(11) develop, implement, and document an annual performance process for the Director of the Office of South Carolina First Steps;

(12) establish and promulgate bylaws for adoption by local First Steps Partnerships;

(13) establish and promulgate internal evaluation policies and procedures for local partnerships for annual review pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59; and

(14) arrange for the conduction of an independent external program evaluation pursuant to Chapter 152, Title 59.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2; 2014 Act No. 287 (H.3428), Section 21, eff June 18, 2014.

Editor's Note

2013 Act No. 101, Section 117.114, provides as follows:

"117.114. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2013-2014."

2014 Act No. 286, Section 117.108, provides as follows:

"117.108. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2014-2015."

2018 Act No. 152, Section 8, provides as follows:

"SECTION 8. Section 20B. of Act 287 of 2014 [reauthorizing the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act until July 1, 2016] is repealed. Act 99 of 1999, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, as amended by this act, is reauthorized until June 30, 2025."

Effect of Amendment

2014 Act No. 287, Section 21, rewrote the section.