Family Connection of South Carolina recognizes the importance for families to have education and learning opportunity options, whether a return to in-person classroom instruction, hybrid options, or virtual only. We emphasize however, that the health and safety of students, teachers, school employees, families, and our community as a whole–is of utmost importance. Significant investment must come from federal and state governments to support schools in their reopening efforts, particularly those already under-resourced. Amy Holbert, CEO of Family Connection of South Carolina notes: “We support the statement of Superintendent Spearman: ‘We cannot turn a blind eye to the health and safety of our students and staff when the spread of the virus in some of our communities is among the highest in the world. School leaders, in consultation with public health experts, are best positioned to determine how in-person operations should be carried out to fit the needs of their local

By Asiya Kazi and Sarah Daily The first three years of life are critical for parent-child bonding. Nurturing care and protection provided to children during this time period promote their development, mental health, and resiliency across the life span. In particular, reading, singing, and storytelling to infants on a daily basis have been demonstrated to advance children’s health and socioemotional development. Reading to infants supports their emergent literacy skills, increases parents’ positive views of the bonds they share with their infants, and fosters infants’ cognitive and socioemotional intelligence. Similarly, singing to infants can soothe them and reduce their stress levels, while storytelling can improve recall ability among young children more than story-reading. Child Trends analyzed the data for Zero to Three’s 2020 State of Babies Yearbook, finding that only about one third of U.S. mothers reported reading to their baby every day (38 percent) and just under two thirds (58

Q&A document in response to inquiries concerning implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B dispute resolution procedures in the current COVID-19 environment.

(June 22, 2020)–We are delighted to announce Farren Allen, Research and Evaluation Manager, has been selected to participate in the Next Generation Leaders (NextGen) cohort of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Leadership Lab! Participants in this 10-month program are chosen from applicants across the country.  The curriculum is designed for young professionals who wish to develop leadership skills at the state and national level. The program is designed to assist participants in expanding their Title V network, and their maternal child health knowledge and proficiency. The program kicks off on June 30, 2020 with a virtual orientation and will conclude in at the AMCHP Annual Conference, currently scheduled for May of 2021 in New Orleans. Farren has worked for Family Connection since 2018, starting as a part-time Graduate Assistant while getting her master’s degree. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in May of 2020, receiving

(Columbia, SC, June 16, 2020)—Family Connection of South Carolina welcomes recently elected members Dr. Mitchell Yell, of the University of South Carolina, Karen Crider of the State Treasurer’s Office, and Elizabeth Kinney, of School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties to the board of directors. “We are delighted to have Dr. Yell, Mrs. Crider and Mrs. Kinney serve in these volunteer leadership roles. Their vision and experience will help us continue to serve families who have a child with a disability or special healthcare need” said Amy Holbert, CEO of Family Connection of South Carolina. Mitchell L. Yell, Ph.D., is the Fred and Francis Lester Palmetto Chair in Teacher Education and a Professor in Special Education at the University of South Carolina. He earned his Ph.D. in special education from the University of Minnesota. His professional interests include special education law, IEP development, progress monitoring, and parent involvement in

Thank you to our friend Jimmy Anderson for sharing his insights on fatherhood and family!