In an effort to do our part to promote social distancing to help slow the spread of COVID-19, we are following suit with South Carolina First Steps in directing our staff to begin telecommuting and working remotely from home effective Monday, March 23, 2020.  We will continue these measures for the near-future and will assess the necessity for continuation on a week-by-week basis.

This decision to move to telecommuting/working remotely was not taken lightly.  A memo from the SC Department of Administration issued Tuesday evening to agency heads indicated the following, “Using telecommuting to reduce the number of staff in offices to the extent possible is recommended as a tool to promote social distancing and slow the spread of COVID-19.”  This recommendation and the Governor’s statements on Tuesday in part has led to this decision.

As an office, we have created a new webpage that will provide you with resources on activities for young children, how to talk to young children about the coronavirus, the most up-to-date virus information, and more. Please check back and take advantage of these resources. Check out the new page here.

Sincerely,

Betty Washington, Executive Director
Beaufort County First Steps

Given the growing concern and potential threat the coronavirus (COVID-19) is posing around the community, we have made the decision to cancel the TEAM Lowcountry Conference scheduled for March 27-28, 2020.  Please refer to the SC Department of Health & Environmental Control (SCDHEC) for additional information specific to South Carolina.

Rescheduling:

Our hope is to reschedule at a later date in 2020, but with the uncertainty of when restrictions will be lifted, we’re not sure at this time when that might happen.  Please be on the lookout for an email in the future with rescheduling information. 

Refunds:

For those that have paid electronically, we will submit refund requests within the next several days. For those that have paid by check, we will need to process the refund manually in office, which may take up to 2 weeks.  

Our fist obligation is keeping us and our community safe. We appreciate your understanding and will reach out as soon as we’re able to with information about rescheduling the event. 

Thank you,

The TEAM Lowcountry Conference Planning Committee

Registrations must be received by March 20th to avoid late fees. Register online today at https://teamlowcountry2020.eventbrite.com!

Early education teachers, child care providers, parents, owners, directors, administrators, and home visitation staff will all come together to deepen their knowledge of early childhood education programs. Our theme this year is “20/20 Vision”. We are thrilled to have keynote speakers Jan Spencer and Madeline Helser-Howard as they will respectively explore the topics “Vision 20/20: It’s a Matter of Seeing Things More Clearly” and “Seeing Simple Truths: The Reflection of Childhood in Books”. With over 30 workshops offered, early childhood professionals will have the opportunity to earn training hours and network with other professionals in the field.

T.E.A.M. Lowcountry is a collaboration of the following First Steps county partnerships: Allendale, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper. 

To see a full list of sessions and descriptions, you can visit https://beaufortfirststeps.com/…/conferences/teamlowcountry/. 

We hope to see you there!

Did you know that an estimated 5 percent of children under 5 years old were not counted in the last census? It’s important that we get the count right this time, and there are ways you can make that happen! Learn more about how the census works and what you can do to ensure every child in Beaufort County is counted.

We also challenge you to TAKE THE PLEDGE and share it on social media with your friends and family. Help bring awareness to the process and what’s at stake, including billions of dollars in federal funding (i.e. Head Start, school lunches, support for families in need, support for firefighters, highway planning, etc.) and how congressional seats are determined for a given area.

Below we are including the latest information from the Census Bureau, including why counting young children is important, how you can shape our future for the next 10 years, and direct ways you can help.

How You Can Help Right Now

[Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

Counting Young Children in the 2020 Census – Additional Information

• 

• 

• 

•