Dillon County First Steps

Early Childhood Education Servicesdillonfirststeps.com

Dillon County First Steps is a South Carolina non-profit, established in 2000, that delivers evidence-based early childhood programs—including home visiting, parenting education, childcare provider training, and 4K access—to families with children from birth to age five and to licensed childcare providers within Dillon County.

Company typePrivate
Founded2000
HeadquartersDillon, United States
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingServices

What Dillon County First Steps does

Dillon County First Steps is a private non-profit organization established in 2000 as the local county-level partnership within the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness statewide initiative created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1999. The organization is headquartered at 926 Perry Avenue in Dillon, South Carolina, and operates with 1-10 employees under the leadership of Executive Director Shirleen Davis, who has held the role since May 2017.

The organization's core service portfolio is built around evidence-based early childhood programs. These include the Nurturing Parenting Program (an 18-session group format and a home visiting framework), the Nurturing Fathers Program, Parents as Teachers home visiting, Raising A Reader early-literacy book bag distribution, First Steps 4K (a free full-day pre-kindergarten for Medicaid-eligible children in eligible districts), and DSS-credentialed childcare provider training delivered both in person and via Zoom through the SC Endeavors platform. Service delivery is human-led across home visits, group sessions, and community events, with no proprietary technology layer or digital product.

Revenue is generated through three channels: state appropriations channeled via the parent South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness entity, charitable donations from individuals and businesses (e.g., $25 funds a year of monthly books for a child; $110 funds a year of Raising A Reader participation), and nominal childcare training fees ranging from free to $5.00 per session. The primary customer segments are families with children from birth through kindergarten entry and licensed childcare providers in Dillon County, with no multi-county or out-of-state service footprint.

Dillon County First Steps firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Dillon County First Steps
Legal name: Dillon County First Steps
Website: https://dillonfirststeps.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2000
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: Dillon County First Steps is a South Carolina non-profit, established in 2000, that delivers evidence-based early childhood programs—including home visiting, parenting education, childcare provider training, and 4K access—to families with children from birth to age five and to licensed childcare providers within Dillon County.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Dillon County First Steps industry classification

Industry

Product category: Early Childhood Education Services
NAICS: Educational Services (61), Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710)
SIC: Services-Educational Services (8200)
akta.pro primary industry: Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)
akta.pro secondary industries: Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Developmental Screening & Assessment (0–5) (EDACAFAA)

Keywords

Early childhood education
Parenting support programs
Home visiting services
Childcare provider training
Kindergarten readiness

Where Dillon County First Steps is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Dillon
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

Dillon County First Steps business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

Charitable Donations: The organization accepts charitable donations from individuals and businesses to support early childhood programs in Dillon County.
State Funding: South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, created in 1999 by the South Carolina General Assembly, provides funding to local county First Steps organizations.
Child Care Training Fees: Registration fees for childcare provider training sessions ranging from free to $5.00 per session.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Unit Pricing	Pay-as-you-go	Child Care Training Sessions
Other	One time/ perpetual license	Donation Tiers for Program Support
Freemium	Annual	First Steps 4K State Program

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Dillon County First Steps product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Dillon County First Steps is a non-profit early childhood education initiative that delivers evidence-based parenting and school-readiness programs to families with children prenatal through kindergarten entry, and professional development trainings to local childcare providers. Its core offerings include the Nurturing Parenting Program (Parents Group and Fathers Program), Parents as Teachers home visiting, Raising A Reader early literacy, Childcare Trainings, Quality Childcare Enhancement, and First Steps 4K pre-kindergarten access.

Product overview

Dillon County First Steps operates as a comprehensive early childhood education initiative offering multiple interconnected programs and services. The core portfolio includes the Nurturing Parenting Program (covering both Parents Group and Fathers Program), which provides evidence-based home visiting and group support; Childcare Trainings for professional development; Quality Childcare Enhancement; Raising A Reader for early literacy; First Steps 4K for pre-kindergarten access; and Parents as Teachers home visiting services. These programs work collaboratively to serve Dillon County children, families, and childcare providers, with the shared goal of ensuring children arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

Children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use Dillon County First Steps

Customer profile

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Dillon County First Steps technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Dillon County First Steps partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Dillon County First Steps competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness: State-level parent and umbrella organization of the SC First Steps network. DCFS operates as a county-level local partnership under SC First Steps, making it a direct sub-unit peer with the same statutory mandate and program model.
Charleston First Steps: Another county-level First Steps local partnership in South Carolina. Operates the same county-based model under the SC First Steps umbrella with overlapping program portfolio (Nurturing Parenting, Parents as Teachers, Raising A Reader).
Greenville First Steps: County-level First Steps partnership serving Greenville County under the same SC First Steps mandate. Directly comparable structure, funding model, and program mix including home visiting and early literacy.
Richland First Steps: Midlands-region SC First Steps local partnership with the same county-based model, board structure, and early childhood program portfolio as Dillon County First Steps.
Parents as Teachers: National home visiting evidence-based model that DCFS delivers locally. Parents as Teachers affiliates operate the same parent educator home visiting model with comparable curricula, training, and family support outcomes.
Hamer Canaan Head Start: Local Head Start grantee that DCFS partners with for the Nurturing Fathers Program. Serves the same Dillon County families with overlapping early childhood and parenting support services.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: National early literacy program delivering free books to children from birth to age five. DCFS's Raising A Reader program pursues a similar book-delivery and family literacy mission through local affiliates.
Nurturing Parenting Programs: Creator and national training organization behind the Nurturing Parenting Program that DCFS delivers. Network of implementing agencies provides a direct peer set for curriculum delivery and outcomes reporting.

Broad incumbents

Smart Start (North Carolina): North Carolina's statewide public-private early childhood initiative, structurally analogous to SC First Steps. Provides a broader regional benchmark for state-funded ECE partnership models.

Regional players

Child Care Services Association: North Carolina-based nonprofit focused on child care workforce development, training, and quality enhancement. Directly comparable to DCFS's Childcare Training and Quality Enhancement program lines serving providers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Dillon County First Steps financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Dillon County First Steps leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Dillon County First Steps funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Dillon County First Steps M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dillon County First Steps

What does Dillon County First Steps do?

Is Dillon County First Steps a public or private company?

Dillon County First Steps is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Dillon County First Steps founded?

Dillon County First Steps was founded in 2000. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is Dillon County First Steps based?

Dillon County First Steps is headquartered in Dillon, United States, in the North America region.

How does Dillon County First Steps make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Charitable Donations are the primary driver. The others are state Funding and child Care Training Fees.

Who are Dillon County First Steps's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness, Charleston First Steps, Greenville First Steps, Richland First Steps, Parents as Teachers, Hamer Canaan Head Start, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and Nurturing Parenting Programs. Smart Start (North Carolina) is listed as a broad incumbent. Child Care Services Association is listed as a regional player.

Does Dillon County First Steps have an API?

No public API is recorded for Dillon County First Steps.

What industry is Dillon County First Steps in?

Dillon County First Steps's product category is Early Childhood Education Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAA, Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDACAFAJ, Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services. Its NAICS code is 61 and its SIC code is 8200.