Terms of Use

Welcome to the First Five South Carolina Web Site (the "Site") operated by South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness (“SC First Steps”) on behalf of the Early Childhood Advisory Council.

In consideration for using this Site, you agree to these Terms of Use, which include the Privacy Policy set forth below. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE PRIVACY POLICY CONTAINED OR REFERRED TO ON THIS SITEDO NOT USE THIS SITE. By using this Site (other than to read these Terms of Use for the first time), you agree to these Terms of Use. SC First Steps reserves the right to change these Terms of Use from time to time and you hereby agree that your continued use of the Site following the posting of such changes will be deemed your acceptance of those changes without further notice. We suggest that you re-read the Terms of Use when you use the Site so that you stay informed as to any such changes. In any event, by using this Site, you agree that you will be bound by the Terms of Use appearing on this Site at the time you are using this Site. References to “us”, “we”, “our”, shall mean SC First Steps, as appropriate.

Privacy Policy

The purpose of this section is to inform you about SC First Steps’ policies regarding the collection and use of information which you provide, or which SC First Steps collects through this Site. When using this Site, you may provide information to us, regarding you, your spouse, and/or your dependents, such as name, email address, telephone/cell phone numbers, home address, eligibility information, birth date, income information, Medicaid eligibility information and other information (“Personal Information”). You consent that: (i) SC First Steps may use Personal Information in SC First Steps’ discretion to provide services to you, your spouse and/or your dependents; and (ii) SC First Steps may provide Personal Information to its contractors, partners, and third parties for the limited purposes as described herein and as agreed to by you.SC First Steps will use reasonable efforts to attempt to keep Personal Information confidential and secure. However, despite these efforts, you understand and agree that information security hackers may attempt and, in some cases despite SC First Steps’ reasonable efforts, may obtain Personal Information. You agree that SC First Steps shall not be responsible for unauthorized disclosure of or access to Personal Information, except caused by SC First Steps failure to use reasonable efforts. You acknowledge that the Site may experience service interruptions or events that are beyond SC First Steps control and that SC First Steps will not be responsible for any information you may lose while you are using the Site or when you transmit information to the Site via the Internet.  Your use of the Internet is solely at your own risk.  

Sharing your Personal Information

SC First Steps will not sell or provide Personal Information to any other person or entity for marketing purposes. SC First Steps also will comply with applicable laws regarding the use of Personal Information. One of the purposes of this Site is to collect information which SC First Steps can use and make available to other federal, state and local entities, such as the South Carolina Department of Social Services, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the South Carolina Department of Education, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, local school districts, Head Start Programs and other applicable entities (each a “Participating Agency” )You consent that: (i) SC First Steps may provide Personal Information any  Participating Agency Party; (ii)  such Participating Agency may use the Personal Information and contact you regarding the Personal Information; and (iii) the Participating Agency may provide Personal Information to their contractors and other entities.

You further agree that after SC First Steps provides Personal Information to any Participating Agency, the confidentiality and security of the Personal Information is the responsibility of the applicable Participating Agency. You release SC First Steps from any damages or liabilities related to any data breach or other disclosure of Personal Information while in the possession of any Participating Agency or any Participating Agency’s contractor(s) or occurring during the transmission of Personal Information over the Internet.

In addition to your Personal Information, when you visit the Site, SC First Steps captures information including your domain name, IP address, pages you visit, the amount of time you spend on the Site and other information (“User Information”). You agree that SC First Steps may collect and use User Information and share it with the applicable Participating Agency and SC First Steps’ contractors.

SC First Steps may be subject to laws regarding public information such as the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act. You agree that to the extent any Personal Information or User Information is subject to disclosure under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act or other laws regarding disclosure of information, SC First Steps is authorized to disclose such information pursuant to applicable law. You also consent to SC First Steps disclosing Personal Information and User Information as may be requested by any law enforcement agency.

In using the Site, you may supply or be requested to supply, certain contact information, including, without limitation, your email address, cell phone or other telephone number. You are not required to provide a cell phone or other telephone number to receive services through the “eligibility screener” but contact information may be required on the application portion of the Site. However, failure to provide requested contact information may affect our ability to quickly communicate with you and the quality of your experience with us. You agree that SC First Steps may use or share contact information provided by you as part of any services we provide. This may include, without limitation, our use of our contractors, use of automatic telephone dialers or recorded or artificial voice communication. You’re providing any contact information to us constitutes your consent to the maximum extent allowed by law to any usage by us and our contractors, subcontractors, schools and government agencies and other third parties of your information, including, without limitation, contact information such as email addresses, mobile or other device numbers.

You agree SC First Steps and its partners may use any email address you supply to correspond with you regarding this Site or SC First Steps and its partners services. SC First Steps and its partners also may retain your email address for future use as SC First Steps or its partners may determine.

To opt out of receiving email communications or otherwise manage your contact information, please email [email protected]. 

Cookies

SC First Steps also may use cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies. A “cookie” is a small piece of data stored on the user's hard drive containing information about the user. Once the user closes their browser, the cookie automatically terminates. The Site automatically receives and records information from your browser including your IP address, which is not linked to personally identifiable information. We use this information to analyze trends, administer the Site, track user's movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. SC First Steps is the sole owner of the cookie’s information collected on our Site. SC First Steps cannot ensure or warrant the security of information transmitted or provided to us.

Any SC First Steps application or Web page that uses "cookies" will identify itself as such. You may choose to set your browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. This information is handled in the same way as other personally identifiable information obtained by SC First Steps. No User Information will be gathered through the use of "cookies" except that which is required to run the specific application(s) being accessed by the user.

Eligibility Information

In using the Site, SC First Steps may provide eligibility assessments and information regarding you or your dependents’ eligibility to participate in program(s). These assessments and information are not final or binding. SC First Steps or the applicable Participating Agency will make final eligibility assessments based on information provided by you or which may be obtained later. You agree that you will not rely on eligibility assessments and information regarding you or your dependents’ eligibility to participate in program(s) obtained from this Site and the final eligibility decision may be different from the assessments or other information you obtain from this Site. In submitting “applications” or referral information to a Participating Agency, you will be asked to provide information about your household and children, which you may save and store on the Site and later submit to the Participating Agency.  You maintain all responsibilities for providing complete and accurate information to  the Participating Agency for their eligibility determination and release SC First Steps from liability or responsibility for maintaining or ascertaining accuracy or completeness of the information.   

Proprietary Rights

This Site and all contents posted on this Site are the exclusive property of SC First Steps or are licensed to SC First Steps for its use. SC First Steps is the owner or licensee of the copyright in the entire content (including images, text, and look and feel attributes) of this Site and reserves all rights in that regard. YOU MAY NOT POST, LINK, OR MAKE OTHER MODIFICATIONS TO THIS SITE OR COPY MATERIAL FROM THIS SITE WITHOUT SC FIRST STEPS’ EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT.

SC First Steps does not transfer or grant any of its intellectual property or other rights to you, including any copyright, trademark, service mark or patent rights, all of which SC First Steps expressly reserves for itself or the applicable owner. You may not remove or change any copyright notice on any material on this Site.

Third Party Links

The Site provides links to sites maintained by third parties. SC First Steps does not operate or control in any respect any information, products, materials or services that third parties may provide. Posting of a link does not indicate SC First Steps’ endorsement of that site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every site they visit. We do not warrant that third party sites or any of its functions will be interrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or any of its servers are free of viruses or other harmful components.

Disclaimer of Warranty and Liability

By using this Site, any programs or tools on the Site, and any third-party sites to which you may link through this Site you agree to: (a) release SC First Steps from any and all claims, liabilities or damages related to such use; and (b) accept all risks related to such use.

You agree not to hold SC First Steps responsible for any damages or injury, whether for breach of contract, tortious behavior, negligence, or under any other cause of action, caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of records or information made available on (a) this Site, (b) any program or other tool available at this Site, or (c) any third-party site to which you may link through this Site. Without limiting the foregoing, you specifically agree not to hold SC First Steps responsible for the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party using this Site.

ALL MATERIALS ON THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. SC FIRST STEPS DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL EXPRESS AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

SC FIRST STEPS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOST REVENUES OR LOST PROFITS, THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE USE OF THIS SITE, THE MATERIALS POSTED ON THIS SITE, AND LINKS PROVIDED ON THIS SITE.YOU AREE THAT SC FIRST STEPS’ TOTAL, AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, SUITS, LIABILITIES AND DAMAGES SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1000.00)

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless SC First Steps and its employees, contractors, agents, officers, and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees) arising from: (i) your use of and access to the Site; (ii) your violation of any provisions of these Terms of Use or any Privacy Policy contained herein; (iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any right of privacy or intellectual privacy rights; (iv) your violation of any applicable law, rule, or regulation; or (v) your willful misconduct.

Nondiscrimination Policy

SC First Steps does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or disability in admission to or employment in its programs and activities.

Laws

These Terms of Use have been made in and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of South Carolina. By using the Site, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts in Richland County, SC, in all disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use or the Site.

Entire Agreement

Except as stated in the next sentence, these Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. No waiver by either party of any breach or default hereunder is a waiver of any preceding or subsequent breach or default. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, then all other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, then the court shall enforce this Agreement to the maximum extent allowed by law or equity.

Questions

For questions or comments about the First Five SC Web Site, please send comments or suggestions to email address [email protected].