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ICS Vice President, Joe Waters, Presents at the White House 
ICS Vice President, Joe Waters and Megan Golden, Fellow at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, presented "Bringing a Home Visiting Social Impact Bond to South Carolina" at The White House's July 8th convening Advancing the Practice of Pay for Success. This event was convened by The Rockefeller Foundation and The White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.
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ICS Research Encourages Dialogue, Informs Decision Making, and Explores Innovations
A letter from ICS President
Dear Colleagues:
Over the past year, The Institute for Child Success (ICS) has contributed to a number of high-profile early childhood policy discussions taking place across South Carolina, including the expansion of publicly funded 4K, calls for a uniform definition of "school readiness," and the South Carolina Pay for Success Performance Accountability Act.
Supporting each of these policy initiatives is the important work taking place under the ICS Research Pillar. Specifically, ICS research efforts seek to 1) promote the development and implementation of best practices and policies; 2) collect and disseminate information that propels individual and collective action and; 3) explore and develop innovations that facilitate strengthening the early childhood system.
Under the leadership of Dr. Desmond Kelly, Medical Director of the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of the Greenville Health System, the ICS Research Committee is directing a number of exciting new research activities this summer. These include:
- The South Carolina Early Childhood Research Symposium. This symposium, held on October 10 and 11th, will serve as a forum for the exchange of ideas among early childhood researchers representing the health, education, safety, policy, economic, and other sectors. Click here for additional information.
- Rural Counties Early Childhood Asset Assessment and Gap Analysis. Clemson University and ICS have partnered to conduct a study examining three rural counties in South Carolina ((Barnwell, Bamberg and Williamsburg) to identify existing resources and possible gaps in resources in the health, education and community related services that contribute to optimal child development and school readiness for the 0-5 child population. Led by Dr. Dee Stegelin of the Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson, this study will be completed in September.
- ICS Research and Grants Director. With generous support from several private foundations, ICS is hiring a Research & Grants Director. This new staff position will manage ICS's research efforts, including authoring studies, drafting policy briefs, and coordinating the work of the ICS Research Committee.
These and other ICS research efforts seek to help those who help children succeed by offering information and tools for developing holistic solutions to complex early childhood challenges.
Thank you for your ongoing work on behalf our youngest citizens,
Jamie Moon
ICS President
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ICS Co-hosts Social Impact Finance Event in D.C.
The Institute for Child Success together with ReadyNation, Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families, and The Riley Institute at Furman co-hosted Early Childhood Social Impact Finance: Possibilities and Challenges in Washington, DC on June 25th. This event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to consider the possibilities for advancing the application of social impact finance to early childhood development.
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Megan Golden, of NYU, presents the South Carolina Pay For Success Feasibility Study
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Panelists included: (from left) Gary Glickman (Department of the Treasury), John Grossman (Third Sector Capital Partners), Tony Keck (South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and Marcia Egbert (The Gund Foundation). Sara Watson (ReadyNation) moderated the panel.
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Karen Crompton of Voices of Utah Children responds during a Q&A portion of the program.
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ICS and Clemson to Conduct Assets Assessment/Gap Analysis in Barnwell, Bamberg and Williamsburg Counties
The Eugene T. Moore School of Education at Clemson University and ICS are conducting an early childhood asset assessment/gap analysis in Barnwell, Bamberg and Williamsburg Counties. In June, ICS and Clemson researchers convened meetings with early childhood stakeholders in each of the three counties to commence work on the analyses. This research work is being led by Dr. Dee Stegelin of Clemson University, author of ICS research study Early Childhood Ideal Systems: Components of a Ready Community Assets And Gap Analysis Tool. task force gathered in Barnwell County last month to discuss the ongoing asset assessment/gap analysis taking place in Barnwell, Bamberg and Williamsburg Counties.
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Dr. Dee Stegelin of Clemson convenes a meeting of Barnwell County's early childhood stakeholders at the offices of Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman, LLC in June.
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The Charleston Post & Courier: Social impact bonds offer great opportunity for South Carolina
The (Charleston) Post & Courier featured ICS Vice President, Joe Waters, and Director of the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Tony Keck in a recent column about South Carolina's success in being granted a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Social Impact Bond Technical Assistance Lab (SIB Lab) at the Harvard Kennedy School. This grant will be used to continue the work of bringing Pay for Success to South Carolina in efforts to bring to scale Nurse-Family Partnership, a program that already has proven to reduce infant mortality and improve children's health. You can read the article by You can read the column by clicking here.
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Early Childhood Update from the General Assembly
The final version of the State Budget crafted by the Budget Conference Committee would spend $26 million to expand a 4-year-old kindergarten program into 17 school low-income districts, where at least 75 percent of students qualify for government-paid health insurance or free and reduced-price lunches. This increases the availability of full-day, state funded 4-K to 53 school districts. 65% of the money would go to public schools, while 35% would go to private settings. Also, the state would offer a tax deduction - up to 60 percent of the donor's tax liability - for the first $8 million in donations to scholarships for disabled students to attend private schools. The deal does not include vouchers for poor parents to send their children to private schools, as was proposed in the House's version of the budget.
Governor Haley issued her budget vetoes on Tuesday, June 25th and did not include this 4-K expansion or the proviso sustaining First Steps to School Readiness among her vetoes. This represents an incredible expansion of the state's 4-K program to serve more low-income, vulnerable children in South Carolina and the continuation of First Steps' programs for at least another year.
The Budget also included $100,000 for the Nurse-Family Partnership program, which was vetoed by the Governor. However, the General Assembly overrode this veto.
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ICS and ReadyNation Join Forces to Promote Pay for Success
ICS has entered into a new partnership with ReadyNation to promote the development, nationwide of early childhood Pay for Success assets. Building on ICS' work in South Carolina, ICS will support the development of a national Working Group on Early Childhood Pay for Success and a training institute for state leaders. Visit www.readynation.org for more information.
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Featured Partner: Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Families
Grantmakers for Children, Youth and Families (GCYF), established in 1985, is a membership association of grantmaking institutions and is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area. GCYF is the leading authority and resource for funding organizations dedicated to ensuring informed grantmaking that best supports positive, long-term outcomes for children, youth, and families. GCYF convenes and engages diverse constituencies in its network of local, regional and national grantmaking organizations across the country-including trustees, executive directors, vice presidents, and program officers and associates. GCYF provides comprehensive research, resources, and knowledge-based insight and perspective in its ongoing support of member organizations. GCYF serves as a forum to review and analyze grantmaking strategies, exchange information about effective programs, examine public policy developments and maintain ongoing discussions with national leaders. We value the integration of research, policy, and program grantmaking strategies, which address the complex needs of children, youth, and families.
Over the past several years, GCYF has sought to promote understanding of and generate dialogue on potential uses of social impact funding. Since 2011, we have hosted a series of events featuring speakers from government, philanthropic, and academic institutions engaged in promoting the use of social impact bonds. Most recently, we GCYF cohosted a forum, Early Childhood Social Impact Finance: Possibilities and Challenges, with our colleagues the Institute for Child Success, ReadyNation, and the Riley Institute at Furman University. Over seventy-five funders, advocates and policymakers gathered together at this event to learn about how to contribute to and shape the national conversation around applying the increasing interest in social impact finance to the early childhood sector. This event highlighted work underway in South Carolina and Utah while addressing the challenges these projects have faced and future directions. In addition, this event served as a forum for a robust discussion about early childhood applications other than those already being considered across the country.
For more information about these and other GCYF learning events, please visit our website at www.gcyf.org. Like Us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @GCYFTWEETS.
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Greenville Office
(864) 382-3329 105 Edinburgh Court
Greenville, SC 29607 Columbia Office
(803) 748-1246
1201 Main Street
Suite 1980
Columbia, SC 29201
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