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Finding 1: The childcare market in
Finding 2. As of July 2001
there were 3,602 childcare facilities serving 168,168 preschool children.
Finding 3: There are more families
who are eligible for a subsidy than state allocated funding can serve.
·
The number of
families waiting for assistance reached 3,400 in February 2002 before the
waiting list was shut down.
·
There are
24,000 children getting childcare subsidies worth $65 million a year but 65,000
children are eligible for subsidies with a cost of $190 million a year.
·
The USDHHS
estimates that S.C. is serving only 9% of the total number of children under
age 13 who are potentially eligible for a subsidy.
·
Not all
families formerly on the Family Independence Program know about their
eligibility for childcare assistance.
Finding 4: There is some
disagreement regarding whether or not there is a need for additional childcare
space.
·
Proponents who
cite number of children under age six potentially needing non parental
childcare compared to the number of regulated spaces in the state, conclude
that there are 1.4 children for every space and argue that the shortage could
be even greater considering that many facilities operate 13% below capacity.
·
Opponents argue
that the preceding perspective does not take into consideration the number of
children who are likely already in kindergarten or those who are cared for by
family and close friends or who occupy spaces in registered church homes that
are legally exempt.
Finding 5: There is a
serious need for facilities that operate during non-traditional hours
·
Most Family
Independence clients find work in jobs which often require evening, night, and
weekend and holiday hours but only 14.6% of the childcare facilities operate
during hours that are convenient for these families.
·
Only 8.6% of
the childcare facilities are open more than five days a week.
Finding 6: There is a lack of childcare spaces for infants and toddlers.
·
Statistics
indicate that there are approximately 100,266 children ages birth through two
who need childcare. It is estimated that about half of these children are cared
for by family members and that only 29,403 childcare spaces are available for
children in this group.
Finding 7: The quality of childcare in S.C. is questionable.
·
Childcare
licensing regulations in S.C. are generally recognized as weak compared to
regulations in other states. A national
survey and article in “Working Mother” magazine rated S.C. as “poor” in the
categories of quality and safety. The
summary for South Carolina noted that S.C. still trails nearly every other state
on adult supervision and safety rules----one adult is permitted to care for a
half dozen babies at once”.
A
U.S. General Accounting Office analysis of standards to ensure high quality
childcare noted that S.C. also does not regulate group size and has no pre
service training requirement for center based, family, or group childcare
providers.
·
The existing
system in the ABC Childcare Program defines three levels of quality childcare
in S.C. However, only 14% of the facilities meet level 1 standards, 32% meet
level 2 standards and only 1.5 % meet level 3
(NAEYC-National Association of Education for Youth Children) standards.
·
Finding 8: Childcare is costly, particularly for low income working families.
·
Childcare can
cost as much as college tuition. At least two factors work together to create
this condition.
Childcare
is not significantly underwritten with federal, state, or local dollars like
mass transportation and education. Families pay only 23% of the cost of public
education but more than 60% of the cost of childcare. Also, the state is only
able to provide childcare subsidies to the small percentage of neediest
families because of insufficient funds.
·
In S.C. the
cost of childcare is primarily a family’s responsibility. The majority of childcare in S.C. is provided
on a fee for service basis to families
·
The cost of
childcare varies based on the community. For example, the average cost of
childcare in rural areas is less that the cost of childcare in urban areas and
the average cost of childcare is most expensive in suburban areas.
Recommendations:
Major issues in S.C.
Child care delivery system are availability, affordability, and quality.
Availability:
Quality childcare is
available to every family that is eligible under federal criteria (currently
85% of state median income).
Affordability:
Quality:
Every childcare facility
in the state meet national standards in 2010 as
defined by the National Association for Education of Young Children and the
Family Childcare Accreditation Project.
Additional:
The S.C. Institute on
Poverty and Deprivation participate in and support the S.C. Childcare
Coordinating Council’s development and implementation of a strategic plan.
The S.C. Childcare Coordinating
Council publish an annual report on the status of
childcare/child development availability, affordability and quality.
Inequitable
Funding of Public Schools
Finding 1: Inequity in educational
resources exists in S.C. The
inequities were cast with the birth of the state’s free schools in the early
1800’s. S.C. is divided into 86 independent school districts.
·
The percent of
pupils eligible for free or reduced lunch (commonly used as a measure of level
of poverty) ranged from a high of 96.2% in Clarendon Dist 1 to a low of 13.3 %
in York Dist 4. The state average is
46.6%.
·
The percent of
minority enrollment in the districts ranged from a high of 98.1% in Bamberg
Dist 2 to a low of 7.8% in Anderson District 1.
The statewide average was 44.6%.
Finding 2: The state’s overall
approach to public funding has resulted in wide disparities in the amounts of
money and other resources available for school districts. A recent study found only 7 states out of 49 had no
funding gap between high poverty districts and low poverty districts.
·
Local ability
to raise taxes is the prime source of inequity.
Districts with high-assessed property values can collect more money with
low tax rates than can school districts with low assessed property values. The value of the mill-the unit of taxation-
ranges from less than $10,000 in Clarendon 3 and Marion 3&4 to $1 million
in larger counties such as
·
Operating
revenue expenditures per pupil vary from $8,062 to $4,769 across the
state. The amount per district is mostly
determined by the local tax rate plus the state allocation.
Finding 3: Low poverty districts
spend more money on instruction, teachers and facilities.
·
In S.C. school
districts with the highest levels of poverty had $427 less to spend on each
child’s education than the state’s districts with the lowest level of poverty.
·
Dillon 3 spends
69% of what is spent in
·
The beginning
teacher in Dillon 3 makes $21,925.
Teachers in
·
The average
salary for experienced teachers in Dillon 3 is $30,858 compared to $36,816 in
·
To attract good
teachers, in addition to higher salaries, Clover High offers an early childhood
day care program for employees. Clover High is in a district that receives high
tax revenues-nearly $5,400 per student per year. In Dillon 3 local revenues are $1,037 per
pupil.
·
Twenty five
percent of students in high schools with high levels of poverty in 1993-94 were
taught by teachers who lacked a major or minor in their field of instruction.
In schools with low levels of poverty, the rate was 20%. S.C. ranks 40th
among the states on “out of field” teachers.
Finding
4: There
is a relationship between student performance and the availability of resources
but the exact nature is not known.
·
The safest
conclusion that can be reached is that a certain level of performance would likely
be reached even if schools did not exist and that there is a likely limit to
how high performance could be pushed regardless of how much schools spend.
· An Education Trust study suggests that a certain level of student performance could be reached if resources were provided at a specific level.
· 80% of all pupils in S.C. should be able to perform at a “basic level” in 2005-2006 if resources costing about $8,782 per pupil were provided between now and then.
· 70% of all pupils should be able to perform at a level of “proficient or above” in 2010-11 if resources costing $9,485 per pupil were provided between 2005-06 and 2010-11.
Per pupil expenditures need to be $9,182, to reach the performance objectives associated with the 2005-06 standards and $9,885 per pupil to reach the objectives associated with the 2010-11 standards starting immediately.
Finding
5:
· Since 1993, 37 of the state’s poor, mostly rural school districts have been involved in a lawsuit against the state. In 1995 a Circuit Court Judge ruled that the state in not constitutionally required to provide students with a quality education. The Districts appealed to the Supreme Court which ruled that S.C. must provide children with a minimally adequate education and defined minimally adequate as giving all children adequate and safe facilities in which they have the opportunity to acquire 1. the ability to read, write, speak the English language, and knowledge of mathematics and physical science; 2. a fundamental knowledge of economic, social, and political systems, and 3. academic and vocational skills. The case was sent back to the Circuit Court and is set to be heard in June 2002.
· Following the Supreme Court decision, the General Assembly proposed a Joint Resolution to amend Section 3, article XI of the S.C. Constitution specifying that the General Assembly shall provide for an equitable, high quality system of free public schools and that the General Assembly shall provide for the manner in which funding of all public school districts must be equitable.
Recommendations:
2003 session of the
General Assembly move promptly to address inequitable funding without waiting
on the Court’s decision.
If the General Assembly
does not act, any court decision should include deadlines and penalties for
failure to act.
Develop public advocacy
for equity funding in public education.
Officials of the Kids
Count Campaign request each gubernatorial candidate to submit written position on
equity funding of public schools.
Adult Literacy
Finding 1: Adult literacy affects
the economic development of the state and the quality of life and health of
those with the lowest levels of literacy. Adult literacy includes
programs involving adult basic education English as a Second Language, family
literacy, workplace skill enhancement, workplace literacy, work based learner
projects, GED classes, and high school diploma classes.
Finding 2: Family literacy
programs integrate adult literacy with early childhood education to try to
break the cycle of low literacy and poverty. The NO Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 mentions family literacy in
several parts of the Act.
Finding 3: S.C. is among states
with the highest rates of illiteracy with 25% of the adults scoring at the
lowest level of literacy. The 5th and 6th
Congressional Districts have the highest rate of illiteracy in the state. Allendale McCormick and
Finding 4: The S.C. Department of
Education is the fiscal agent in the state for adult education funds. The agency
collaborates with other state agencies and community organizations in the
delivery of adult services. Several
entities have identified problems with the adult literacy system and have
recommended changes ranging from simply adjusting program strategies and
increasing funding to transferring responsibility from the Department of Ed to
the State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education.
Recommendations:
All state funded programs
which impact poverty must have an integrated, comprehensive whole family
approach that includes measures of assessment and accountability.
Early childhood
educational programs should require quality parental involvement with accountability
and financial incentive for success in doing so.
Encourage and promote the
establishment of community literacy programs.
Study/review existing
programs in the state that address literacy for potential replication of
successful models.
Public funded programs
should be required to collaborate to create and implement a model of a
cooperative, coordinated delivery system.
Criminal Justice
Finding 1: Black males get arrested at a higher rate than white males for violent and nonviolent crimes and drug sales while white males get arrested at a higher rate than black males for crimes in the “other” category and for drug possession and paraphernalia. White offenders are affected by lower level mandatory minimum offenses such as misdemeanor DUI and DUS offenses which carry shorter minimum sentences than drug mandatory minimum offenses.
Finding 2: Black males have been consistently committed to the Department of Corrections in larger numbers and at younger ages and have consistently received longer prison sentences than white males since 1989. At present, black males constitute 61% of the prison population compared to 27% of white males. In addition, black youths constitute 61% of the juvenile justice population even though they constitute only 38% of the general population.
Finding 4: Minority and
poor juveniles receive longer sentences in Family Court and are more likely to
have cases waived to adult court, however, the South Carolina Sentencing
Guidelines Commission has concluded that the disparity in sentencing in
Finding 5: Each year over 11,000 inmates are released from prison. The following characterize this group:
· 80% of the males and 60% of the females have reading scores below 12th grade.
· 50% have reading scores below 9th grade .
· 50% have a substance abuse problem.
· 6% of the males and 18% of the females are mentally ill.
·
Only 16% get to participate in the pre release
program at the
· Most leave prison without money or access to money. Some inmates have no money and no financial assistance from families so they are released with no visible means of support.
· Inmates being released from prison generally have difficulty finding affordable housing and reliable transportation to get or keep a job and often don’t meet the basic educational requirements for employment.
Finding 6: The following Department of Corrections policies and practices contribute to the situation:
· Only 8 institutions have personnel devoted to working with pre release services helping inmates with general counseling, community service referral, community resource information, employment counseling, anger/stress management classes, general orientation to release planning, job placement, parenting classes, substance abuse counseling, a well as assistance with social security cards and driver’s licenses.
· The current SCDC inmate telephone system does not allow for inmates nearing release to call potential employers to set up interview appointments.
· Inmates who were receiving disability payments before incarceration cannot have benefits reinstated until after release (which may take some time).
· Inmates who have money in the SCDC Inmate Account upon release are not able to receive their own money until nearly two weeks after their release.
· Although education programs are available, education opportunities for inmates are limited in that SCDC policy only requires school attendance until an inmate acquires an 8th grade reading level. Few offenders continue with education programs upon release. Government grants such as Pell grants for post secondary education are not available to offenders while incarcerated.
· Inmates cannot get driver’s licenses or picture identification cards until after release. Different DMV offices handle this differently, some accepting release papers as identification and some do not.
·
SCDC work release
programs are available to only a small number of inmates due to agency policy.
Recommendations:
Major issues in S.C. ’s criminal justice system from entry to exit are
disparities in charges, sentencing, and legal representation for African
American offenders; education and rehabilitative services while incarcerated;
level of after release services (inadequate funding and coordination of re
entry services).
Disparities:
Request Governor and Legislature appoint special commission to study and make recommendations to address the disparities in the criminal justice system from initial contact/entry into the system to exit; recommend entities for commission membership.
Education and Rehabilitation:
All inmates be required to enroll in GED program and be offered the opportunity for technical college degree or certificate program.
Re-Entry Services:
Develop, implement and monitor a statewide system to address “re-entry to society” issues to include barriers such as housing, transportation, ineligibility for welfare benefits, etc.
Public Awareness:
The SCDC publish a positive proactive report that concentrates on the return and investment of items #2 and #3.
Transportation
Finding 1: SCDOT vision is for all
passenger transportation service to be seamless as well as accessible and affordable
for all people in
Finding 2: Those who use public
transportation to travel to work travel an average from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours
to get to work. Moe people would use public transportation if
it was made available but they are only willing to pay no more than $1.00 for
their trip and would be concerned about reliability of the service and time
required to reach their destination.
Finding 3: Employers in South Carolina are interested in participating
in the development or improvement of transportation services that would bring
qualified employees into the area; however, only a few are willing to
coordinate shift times with public transportation service or assist employees
with the cot of fares, but most are willing to administer a payroll deduction
program for the employees to pay transportation service.
Finding 4: Public transportation in this state is inadequate
to meet the needs of low and moderate income persons for the following reasons:
Finding 5: The one bright spot in
the system has been the Job Access and Reverse Commute Program (JA&RC)
According to providers this program is making it possible for a sizable number
of low income persons to get and retain jobs because of the transportation
being provided. JA&RC is
available in 22 counties in most parts of the state except the NW portion.
Finding 6: The following
are often cited as barriers to coordination:
·
The
independence and autonomy of state agency boards and commissions that provide
transportation.
·
The lack of
flexibility in federal regulations like the Federal Transportation Act that
restricts the types of vehicles that could be purchased and how they can by
used State statutes that define human service agencies as not being public
transportation providers.
·
Agency
practices that allowed state agencies to purchase and own vehicles
independently.
·
The fear of a
resulting reduction in the quality, coverage and efficiency of service for
respective agencies in a coordinated system.
·
The lack of
accountability. The excessive paperwork and the billing problems associated
with coordination.
·
The lack of
knowledge about the variety of coordination mechanisms and options which could
be implemented.
·
The lack of a
dedicated and adequate source of state funds to support administrative and
operational costs.
·
Turf
protection.
·
Public
perception (for example, the belief that the trolley system in downtown
Finding 7: The adequate funding of
public transportation is not a priority in
Recommendations:
Major issues in S.C. ‘s transportation delivery system are coordination,
coverage (geographical area) accessing all potential federal dollars and cost
containment.
Coverage:
RTA coverage mandated for
all regions of the state pursuant to needs assessment by DOT.
Coordination:
One authority would
approve expenditures of state/federal funds in their designated areas.
Federal Match:
Ensure that state access
all potential federal dollars.
Cost Containment:
Cost should not be a
barrier to usage.
Predatory
Lending
Finding 1: Predatory lenders are well established in S.C.
Predatory lending exists because of lax regulations in the consumer finance
market stemming from the removal of the 36% cap on consumer loan interest rates
in 1984. Predatory lenders charge
between 200% and 600% interest on loans.
Finding 2: Payday and cash advance lenders use predatory
practices. Payday lenders use short
repayment terms (14 days or less) to trigger repeat loan transactions and to
increase interest rates. An 18.75% fee on a 14 day loan is equivalent to an APR
of 460%. But a 6 day loan is equal to an APR of 1,073.53%. Borrowers who renew or roll over their loans
can pay more money in fees than the amount they borrowed. If a borrower rolls
over 3 times, a $15 finance charge would climb to $60 to borrow $100. Payday loans are structured to make it
difficult for customers to pay in full at the end of the loan period without needing
to borrow again before next payday. Predatory practices include: failure to
quote customers an accurate APR (quoting that the APR was equal to the fee for
a two week loan), charging fees higher than the maximum allowed by law, and
tacking on additional fees for things such as bounced checks.
Finding 3: Title loan companies
use predatory lending practices. A title loan is a way to borrow money using a
motor vehicle as collateral. Based on
the vehicle’s value, a lender determines how much money a customer can borrow,
which is usually 10%-20% of the value of the automobile. Title loans are not allowed in every state.
States allow title lenders to charge as much as 25% per month which is an APR
of 300%. While title loans are due in 30
days, many borrowers are able to only scrape up enough to pay interest every
month without paying down the principal.
Many miss payments and have their vehicles repossessed. Estimates are
that repossession rates are as high as 30%.
Title loan companies are
considered predatory because many companies quote only a monthly rate when
initial inquiries are made and loan companies put unsuspecting customers on
payment plans that cover only the loan interest and charge a daily interest
rate on the loan balance when a payment is late.
Finding 4: Practices used by
credit card companies have been found to be predatory. Interest on some credit cards are above 30%; high
fees are charged for everything from exceeding the credit limit to late
payments; teaser rates mislead customers; and minimum payments are structured
to set up years of high interest debt.
Finding 5: Practices used by
pawnbrokers can be predatory. In
S.C. pawnbrokers are regulated and licensed by the Dept of Consumer Affairs but
they have few requirements other than legal limitations on interest they charge
ranging from 5%-25% per month depending on the amount borrowed. Loans greater that $2,000 are
prohibited. Default is more profitable
for pawnbrokers than loans being paid in full.
Pawnshops tend to be located where there is easy access to poor
neighborhoods or military bases.
Finding 6: Rent to Own stores use predatory lending practices. Renting to
own is not considered a loan but customers end up paying much more than the
dollar value or worth of an item because rental charges are often set high
enough to be equivalent to a 50% APR or higher if they are viewed as an
interest rate. Renting to own is popular among people with poor or bad credit.
The rent to own industry tends to target persons with relatively low incomes
and between the ages of 25 and 44. S.C. has laws to try to protect rent to own
customers.
Finding 7: Some states are taking
action to eliminate predatory lending. They include N.C. ,
In 2002, Companion bills
were introduced in the Senate and House to cap short term loan interest rates,
limit fees on mortgage loans to 4% and restrict the financing of fees. Neither
chamber acted on the legislation before the deadline. The unfair lending bill was the only major
piece of legislation that did not cleat at least one chamber.
Recommendations:
Effective legislation be passed by the General Assembly that includes a cap on
consumer loan interest rates.
Collaborate with the S.C.
Department of Consumer Affairs to enact legislation.
This program was funded by a
grant from the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina with
supplemental support from the Economic Development Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce,