Laurens County Families Face Uncertain Future as Child Care Scholarship Funding is Reduced

54% Reduction in Smart Start Child Care Scholarships Threatens Workforce Stability, Child Care Access, and Kindergarten Readiness for Laurens County First Step Families.

South Carolina’s Child Care Scholarship Program supports more than 50,000 children statewide and serves as a critical workforce support for thousands of working families. Due to ongoing shortfalls in federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) funding, the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SC DSS) paused most new and renewal scholarship applications in December 2025.

While families currently receiving scholarships are not losing assistance immediately, the pause means many cannot be renewed because their assistance expires after the initial 52 weeks of service. As a result, thousands of South Carolina children are set to lose access to child care assistance in the coming months, creating uncertainty for families, employers, and child care providers statewide.

The effects of this funding crisis are already being felt in Laurens County.

In Fiscal Year 2026, Laurens County First Steps provided child care scholarships to 20 families, supporting 24 children. These scholarships enabled parents to work and attend school while providing stable homes and ensuring their children had access to high-quality early childhood education.

For Fiscal Year 2027, Laurens County First Steps has been allocated only 11 scholarships—a 54 percent reduction.

Based on current enrollment projections, 17 families are expected to return to the Laurens County First Steps Parents as Teachers Program. As a result, only seven families will receive scholarship assistance, leaving ten families without support even though they meet eligibility requirements and actively participate in services designed to improve child and family outcomes.

“These are not families seeking a handout,” said Toni Able, Executive Director of Laurens County First Steps. “These are hardworking parents who are doing exactly what we ask of them. They are working, attending school, participating in parenting education, completing home visits, and striving to create brighter futures for their children. Yet many now face impossible choices between keeping their jobs and securing safe, reliable child care.”

All ten families projected to lose scholarship assistance are led by single working mothers.

Impact on Laurens County Families

The scholarship reduction comes at a particularly difficult time for Laurens County, which continues to face a shortage of child care options. Laurens County is considered a child care desert, meaning there are not enough child care slots to meet community demand. The reduction in scholarship funding further limits access to the child care services that do exist.

Families receiving child care scholarships through Laurens County First Steps are also enrolled in the organization’s evidence-based Parents as Teachers Program. In FY26, certified Parent Educators completed 299 home visits forenrolled families.

 The 20 families participating in the program collectively faced 96 identified social, economic, educational, and personal risk factors. Through regular home visits, developmental screenings, parenting education, and resource referrals, Parents as Teachers helps families build protective factors and improve children’s outcomes.

For many enrolled families, Laurens County First Steps is their primary source of support.

“We celebrate milestones with these families, support them through crises, and help them navigate challenges related to parenting, employment, transportation, housing, child development, and community resources,” Able said. “The trust we have built over months and years is now at risk as we are forced to tell families that scholarship funding may no longer be available to help them remain employed and keep their children in quality care.”

“Child Care Providers Also Feeling the Impact

The consequences extend far beyond individual families.

Recently, Laurens County First Steps surveyed licensed child care providers about the impact of the scholarship pause and reductions. Providers reported declining enrollment, increased financial strain, and growing uncertainty about their ability to remain open.

Several providers reported that families have withdrawn children from care because they can no longer afford tuition without scholarship assistance. Others reported turning away families who desperately need care due to a lack of funding.

Nikki Stewart, Co-Owner of Stepping Stones Learning Academy, noted that the loss of scholarship funding has shifted providers’ focus from educational programming to simply staying afloat.

“Instead of focusing on curriculum development and creating enriching learning opportunities for children, providers are spending countless hours trying to determine how they will meet payroll and keep operationsrunning,” Stewart said.

Another local child care director emphasized that several working families rely on scholarships just to stayemployed. Without assistance, some parents will be forced to leave the workforce entirely because they cannot afford child care costs. Another provider shared the story of a single mother who relies on scholarship assistance to maintain employment and provide for her children. Without continued support, she may be forced to leave her job because child care costs would consume a significant portion of her income.

Workforce and Economic Impact

“What is happening in Laurens County reflects a statewide crisis,” Able said. “When child care assistance becomes unavailable, families lose stability, employers lose workers, child care providers lose enrollment, are forced to reduce staff, and children lose access to high-quality early learning experiences that prepare them for school success. The consequences extend far beyond individual families.”

“The reduction in child care assistance affects not only families but also local businesses, employers, and the broader workforce. Parents who cannot afford child care are often forced to cut back on work hours, decline promotions, leave school or job training programs, or leave the workforce altogether.” “At a time when employers continue to face workforce shortages, reliable access to child care remains one of the most critical supports for enabling parents to work.”

Improving kindergarten readiness is a critical step toward strengthening educational achievement, workforce development, and South Carolina’s future economic success. South Carolina First Steps has set a strategic goal that at least 75% of children will demonstrate readiness on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) by 2030. However, children do not become kindergarten-ready overnight. Child development experts agree that school readiness begins at birth and is shaped by early learning experiences, relationships, and environments in the first five years of life.

The children who will enter kindergarten and take the KRA in August 2030—those born between September 1, 2024, and August 31, 2025—are infants and toddlers today. If South Carolina expects 75% of these children to be kindergarten-ready by 2030, they must have access to high-quality early childhood education and supportive early learning experiences now.

Child care centers are more than places where children are supervised while parents work. They are educational environments where children develop language and literacy skills, social-emotional competencies, problem-solving abilities, and the foundational skills needed for school success. When families lose child care scholarships and can no longer afford quality early learning programs, children risk losing access to these critical developmental opportunities during the most important years of brain development.

Without access to high-quality early childhood education, stable learning environments, and enriching early learning experiences, achieving South Carolina’s kindergarten readiness goals is significantly more difficult.

“Children do not become kindergarten-ready overnight,” Able said. “If we expect 75 percent of children to be kindergarten-ready by 2030, we must invest in them today. The children who will enter kindergarten in 2030 are already here. The decisions we make today on child care and early education will determine whether they arrive at school ready to learn and succeed.”

Growing Need, Fewer Resources

The need for support continues to grow.

Laurens County First Steps currently maintains a waiting list of 11 families, representing 14 children, who have requested Parents as Teachers services and child care scholarship assistance.

The organization urges policymakers, community and business leaders, and stakeholders to recognize the far-reaching consequences of reduced child care funding—not only for individual families but also for employers, child care providers, and South Carolina’s future workforce. “The stories behind these numbers are real,” Able said. “They represent single mothers working multiple jobs, children thriving in quality learning environments, child care providers struggling to keep their doors open, and families who have finally achieved stability after years of hardship.”

“These children cannot wait. These families cannot wait. We must find solutions before the consequences become irreversible—not only for the families directly affected but also for our workforce, our child care system, and the future educational success of children across South Carolina.”