S.C. First Steps Director Walter Fleming, Jr. will meet with Dillon County First Steps’ Executive Board in Dillon on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 12 noon to review issues and maintain a positive relationship for the success of our young citizens 0-5 years of age.
Director Fleming is also the Director of the Pee Dee Community Action Agency Partnership headquartered in Florence where he is in charge of Dillon, Marion and Florence Counties operations.
Dillon County risk factor profile is as listed:
– Estimated # of children under 6: 2,854
– Estimated # of children under 6 living at or below 100% of poverty: 1,139
School Readiness Risk Factor
– 59 Abused or neglected children
– 25 Children in foster care
– 112 Children ages 3-5 enrolled in Special Education
– 285 Children exposed to substance abuse of a caregiver
– 94 Births per year to teenage mothers under age 20
The objective of Dillon County First Steps is to:
– Support all 46 child care centers
– Create partners
– Collaboration
– Parents As Teachers
– Child Care Training
– Healthcare
– Seminars of various workshops
Research reveals that the early years count. A child’s brain is mostly wired by age four, critical to school and life success thereafter.
