The regular South Carolina General Assembly session ended on Thursday, May 9, at 5 p.m. However, there is still much work left to be done, and members will meet throughout the rest of the calendar year to finalize the 2024-2025 budget and deal with a handful of important issues.
Here we recap our legislative highlights.
Before the legislative session was underway, Children’s Trust held our first legislative press conference, where we unveiled our 2024 priorities. These included:
- Expanding voluntary home visiting services
- Updating the existing childcare tax credit for businesses
- Providing universal school breakfast and lunch
- Prioritizing crisis stabilization units for children and youth
Thank you to all the legislative and community leaders who joined us!
In February, Children’s Trust leaders, Senator Katrina Shealy and Senator Mike Reichenbach joined Lt. Governor Pamela Evette at a press conference calling for the expansion of voluntary home visiting programs in South Carolina.
Voluntary home visiting programs decrease infant and maternal mortality, lower crime rates and increase school readiness.
Thank you to the Lt. Governor, and Senators Shealy and Reichenbach for advocating for this important program!
On April 23, Senator Katrina Shealy recognized Children’s Trust on the floor of the Senate for our 40th anniversary.
Former Governor David Beasley, who co-sponsored the legislation that created Children’s Trust, attended, and we were thankful to have many other Senators speak about the importance of preventing child abuse and neglect.
Governor Henry McMaster declared April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. We look forward to continuing working with the Governor’s office on these important issues!
There is still much work to be done.
We will continue to work on the expansion of voluntary home visiting, universal school meals, expanded mental health resources, and making childcare affordable and accessible.
Over the summer we will continue to highlight these and other important issues through our Policy Forum.
