Impact

Child care is improving in many ways every day. Each step forward in affordability, accessibility or quality is an investment in a brighter future for all South Carolinians.

The state’s child care crisis hasn’t gone away but we are making progress on many fronts. ABC Quality, part of a local and statewide collaborative, is working to ease child care deserts, help priced-out families, assist cashstrapped providers and champion more measures that are making child care better.

Improving Child Care for Generations

Affordability

114K+

Number of SC children approved for COVID-19 child care scholarships, Oct 2020 – Oct 2024

$1B+

COVID-19 related child care scholarships allocated to families, Oct 2020 – Oct 2024

Accessibility

$436M+

Value of stabilization grants awarded to ABC Quality providers

$272M

For stabilization grants, start-up grants and supplemental funds to be awarded to providers

Stabilization grants, funded by the American Rescue Plan, helped more than 1,900 providers serving over 220,000 children. Providers received help with pandemic-related expenses or losses, operational costs such as rent, mortgage or utility expenses, and personnel or mental health costs.

Quality

$78M

Value of 2,052 one-time materials grants for providers to fund classroom materials, outdoor equipment, renovations and other improvements

67%

Of all licensed centers are ABC Quality providers

33%

Growth in number of licensed family child care home providers in ABC Quality, Mar 2020 – Oct 2024

$53M

Value of 1,728 one-time technology grants for providers to fund computers, laptops, accessories, phone upgrades, security or monitoring systems

675,315

Total training hours earned by child care programs and staff in 2023

40+

Number of outdoor learning grants provided