In response to South Carolina’s struggles with early childhood education in the late 1990s, the state legislature established First Steps in 1999 as a public-private initiative to improve kindergarten readiness and reduce long-term remediation costs.
As a result, in 1999, the South Carolina General Assembly created First Steps through a legislative act to improve outcomes statewide, direct funding toward high-impact interventions, and reduce long-term remediation costs by increasing kindergarten readiness.
The act called for the creation of a state-level office as well as local partnerships in every county throughout South Carolina. Thus, Greenville First Steps was created as the designated local partnership for Greenville County, the largest and most diverse county in the state.
Initially launched with a sunset clause, the initiative proved so successful that it was renewed multiple times and became permanent in 2022. Greenville First Steps has been operating as the county’s leading convener and connector in early childhood development since 1999.
