S.C. education, workforce training receive $19 million in funding

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South Carolina’s workforce training, education and foster care system are getting a $19 million boost from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief, according to a news release from Gov. Henry McMaster’s office.

The total funds will be distributed between four organizations.

The S.C. Technical College System will receive $8 million for job training, while $4.9 million will be allocated to the state’s Department of Social Services for educational resources for foster children.

The remaining $7 million will be split between the Office of First Steps to School Readiness, which will receive $5 million, and the S.C. Department of Education, $2 million, for early childhood education — particularly to prepare children in poverty for kindergarten.

“Through this pandemic, South Carolina has remained a place of enormous opportunity, and we must continue to work to create these opportunities for our children and those seeking employment,” McMaster said. “These targeted grants will train thousands of South Carolinians for high-demand jobs and provide the groundwork for our next generation to excel in the workplace.”

The money for the technical college system is aimed at providing training for jobs in high demand in South Carolina. It is expected to support 3,100 adults pursuing careers in health care, computer technology and information technology, advanced manufacturing, distribution and logistics, and criminal justice and corrections.

The funds for the Office of First Steps to School Readiness and the South Carolina Department of Education — which oversee the full-day 4K programs for at-risk children in 61 South Carolina school districts — are to be used for expanded day or summer programs for children eligible for the full-day 4K program. Enrollment for both private and public schools are down as a result of the pandemic at 12% and 23% respectively, the statement said. The programs will help ensure children entering 4K in the fall of 2021 and 2022 will have the preparation they need to enter kindergarten.

The pandemic also has exacerbated the educational needs of foster care children and those in group homes. The remaining $4.9 million GEER funds will support approximately 600 foster care children and youth in the state’s 74 group homes with:

• Purchase and deployment of electronic devices to group home settings, $225,000
• Increased bandwidth for the 74 group homes, $88,800
• Tutoring services for children and youth in group home settings, $4.3 million
• Special education services for children and youth with disabilities in group home settings, $280,000

South Carolina’s entire GEER allocation was $48.4 million. Remaining money will be awarded before the May 11, 2021, deadline.