Message from Child Care Services Director

Welcome to the ABC Child Care Program provider website – one that has been designed to meet the needs of providers caring for the children of our great State. Inside you will find a wealth of information.

For those interested in the ABC program, you can access the information you need to enroll in the ABC voucher program and to qualify for the various grants and bonuses available to programs at different performance levels. For our ongoing ABC providers, you will find research on best practices, application and payment forms, sample program policies, and information about technical assistance and the Environment Rating Scales.

Much research has been done to identify program standards and characteristics that lead to quality child care. When I think back on my own childhood, one of my favorite memories is a special caregiver who had a profoundly positive impact on my life. Sally showed me that adults beyond my family circle were loving and could be trusted. Today our ABC program standards stress the importance of staff-child interactions – they describe caregivers as having "warmth, personal respect, positive support, and responsiveness." Sally was all of these things and more.

This website is dedicated to all of the wonderful caregivers in South Carolina, who, like Sally, love the children they care for and who prepare them to be successful in school and in life. I hope you will find this website useful to you as you go about the daily business of educating and caring for the children you serve.

I hope that you will visit our website often! Let me hear from you about the things you like or suggestions you may have to improve it. I can be reached at leigh.bolick@dss.sc.gov.

Sincerely,
Leigh Bolick