COLUMBIA, S.C. — The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation has awarded a significant grant to Children’s Trust of South Carolina. Funding will support the multi-year delivery of Teen Triple P, also known as the Positive Parenting Program, to promote healthy development and improved mental and physical health for adolescents.
“Recognizing that there are several programs and agencies focused on younger children, we are very grateful for the Foundation’s support in helping us expand and address the challenges facing South Carolina’s youth,” said Sue Williams, CEO of Children’s Trust. “This investment gives South Carolina families with older children opportunities to build protective factors, healthy development and positive well-being. The evidence-based Triple P program aligns with these critical needs.”
“Adolescence is a critical period in a child’s life when the brain undergoes major development, similar to that experienced in early childhood,” said Erika Kirby, Executive Director of the Foundation. “Right now, South Carolina’s children are struggling. We look for this investment to build positive experiences and healthy, cohesive family relationships that can help children withstand and recover from adversity.”
In 2021, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 41 percent of South Carolina high school students reported “feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for more than two weeks in a row so they had to stop doing usual activities.” Equally alarming, 19 percent reported making a plan about how they would attempt suicide. For each of these data points, young women responded yes to these questions more than young men.
The Triple P program, rooted in positive and consistent parenting strategies, has been proven to improve parenting skills, reduce child maltreatment and improve child behavior and mental health. It works across cultures, socio-economic groups and in many kinds of family structure. Designed for parents of children ages 12-16, Teen Triple P reduces parent-adolescent conflicts and improves parenting, which then leads to positive adolescent behaviors and outcomes.
Funding has been designated to serve families in Anderson, Berkeley, Charleston, Cherokee, Georgetown, Greenville, Horry, Laurens, Marion, Pickens, Spartanburg, Union and Williamsburg Counties. Children’s Trust is in the process of identifying partner organizations located and serving those counties to deliver Teen Triple P.
Children’s Trust began implementing Triple P in 2015 and has reached more than 4,200 caregivers in South Carolina with 98 percent reporting that the program met their needs and that they would refer another parent. This funding will also expand the state’s Triple P Network, offering practitioners professional development opportunities.
About the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation
The BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Its purpose is to promote and support healthier South Carolinians, particularly the economically vulnerable, by supporting solutions to address gaps in health care and serving as an agent of change to support innovation and value-added public-private partnerships. Established in 2003, the Foundation issues grants and supports projects that deliver on its mission.
About Children’s Trust of South Carolina
Children’s Trust of South Carolina is the statewide organization focused on the prevention of child abuse and neglect. We seek transformations that benefit children and families by providing funding, resources and training to help local program partners build strong families and positive childhoods. Children’s Trust leads the state’s coordinated efforts for family resource centers, the Strengthening Families Program; Triple P (Positive Parenting Program); S.C. Adverse Childhood Experiences Initiative; Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting; Child Abuse Prevention Month; and KIDS COUNT. For more information and to support our work, visit scChildren.org.
