1st Steps seeks proviso changes: waitlist data sharing, REDI county cap increase, separation proviso deletion

Mark Barnes told the subcommittee that 1st Steps seeks three technical proviso changes. First, the agency asked to reinstate a proviso requiring South Carolina 1st Steps and the Department of Education to share waitlist data for 4Ks and CERDAP by Sept. 1 so interested children can be placed. Second, the agency requested flexibility to raise the REDI grant cap from 10 percent to 20 percent per county to allow concentrated regional grants where warranted. Third, Barnes said the separation proviso should be deleted because the agency separation from the Department of Education is complete and the agency now has a standalone budget structure.