Child Welfare

League of Women Voters^®
of South Carolina

POSITION OF LWVSC
Support for programs and policies that ensure, at all levels of government:

quality services,

personnel,

financing,

and training

to meet the needs of children and their families.

2009-2010 ISSUES

Health of Children = Cigarette Tax Increase

Summary: Citizens have tried for almost a decade to have the SC Legislature increase the state's 7-cent per pack cigarette tax. LWVSC supports raising the tax for two reasons:

Increasing the cost of a pack is the most effective approach to reducing youth smoking.

Raising the tax to the national average of $1.34/pack will produce approximately $238.6 million which could allow affordable health care to thousands who are currently uninsured.

Legislation we support:

Cigarette Tax Legislation, H.3584

Resources:
Coalition flyer in support of increasing the state cigarette tax
Coalition letter sent to all state legislators in 2009-10 legislative session
South Carolina Healthcare Voices

Quality Child Care Services = Improved DSS Oversight and Quality Rating System

Summary: One of the most effective means of supporting the healthy development and school readiness of young children is to ensure there are developmentally appropriate programs when children need out-of-home care. South Carolina's child care system lags behind that of many other states in ensuring quality and affordable care for working families and their children.

Legislation we support:

Child care facilities, H. 4265
This bill calls for the Department of Social Services (DSS): to clarify, through new regulations,

a procedure for DSS to follow when receiving and recording complaints, and

to establish a voluntary child care rating system for child care facilities.

Childcare Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, S. 485 calls for:

changes in the composition and authority of the State Advisory Committee on the Regulation of Child Care Facilities, deleting one child care operator and adding one parent and limiting the power of the Committee to advisory only, and

specifing violations subject to fines and maximum fine for each violation.

Resources:
SC Department of Social Services, Division of Child Care Services

Protection of Children = Reducing Child Abuse & Neglect

Summary: A coalition of 25-35 organizations is forming to build support for improved policies and programs to prevent child neglect and abuse. Included are The Children's Trust, the SC Department of Social Services, Parenting Partners, LWVSC, etc.
US child fatalities are 11 times as high as Italy's and 3 times as high as Canada's. Among the states, SC ranks very high in the rate of child deaths from abuse and neglect, and the lowest in spending. Spending $14/year, per capita, SC has 16 deaths for every one death in Rhode Island, which spends $181/year.

Resources: The Children's Trust of South Carolina

RELEVANT SC REPORTS/WEBSITES/NEWSLETTERS ABOUT WELFARE OF SC CHILDREN

The Children's Budget, Behind the Numbers: Devastating Budget Cuts and Their impact on the Lives of South Carolina's Children. 1/2010. Presented by Focus on Kids, a Project of The SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center.
Summary: The Children's Budget describes budget cuts in 9 South Carolina state agencies since 2006 and the devastating impacts the cuts are having on children and their families. The report offers useful information on agencies, services and cuts across a number of LWVSC issue areas: health care, education, child welfare, juvenile justice, pre-K-12 education, etc.

SC Kids Count
Summary: Kids Count provides annual data reports on measures of child well-being for South Carolina, for each SC county, and for all states.

The Children's Trust of South Carolina

The Palmetto Children's Post
Summary: New free electronic newsletter that tracks state and federal policy developments that impact South Carolina children. To get on distribution list, email info@scchildren.org.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: September 8, 2010 05:51 PDT.