The purpose of the First Steps initiative is to develop, promote, and assist efforts of agencies, private providers, and public and private organizations and entities, at the state level and the community level, to collaborate and cooperate in order to focus and intensify services, assure the most efficient use of all available resources, and eliminate duplication of efforts to serve the needs of young children and their families. First Steps funds must not be used to supplant or replace any other funds being spent on services but must be used to expand, extend, improve, or increase access to services or to enable a community to begin to offer new or previously unavailable services in their community. The South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees, Office of First Steps to School Readiness, and the local First Steps Partnerships shall ensure that collaborations, the existence and continued development of partnerships, and the sharing and maximizing of resources occur so that the funding of grants and services, as provided in this chapter, may continue.
HISTORY: 1999 Act No. 99, Section 2; 2014 Act No. 287 (H.3428), Section 7, eff June 18, 2014.
Editor's Note
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 of Act 287 of 2014 [reauthorizing the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act until July 1, 2016] is repealed.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 7, in the last sentence, substituted "local First Steps Partnerships" for "County First Steps Partnerships", substituted "shall ensure that collaborations, the existence and continued development" for "shall assure that collaboration, the development", and substituted "resources occur so that the funding of grants and services, as provided in this chapter, may continue" for "resources are occurring before funding for the implementation/management grants, as provided for in this chapter, are made available".