The Scottish Rite Foundation of South Carolina

The E.C. Singleton Rite Care Center for Childhood Language Disorders and the John I. Smith Childhood Language Center exists to provide the highest quality, state-of-the-art speech-language diagnostic and remediation services to infants, toddlers and preschool aged children with communication disorders, and their families. These professional services are provided at no charge to the family.

The Scottish Rite Foundation of South Carolina was founded in 1985 as a Non-Profit 501 (c) 3 organization, the Foundation has operated our Rite Care Program beginning in 1987 in Columbia, SC. After 15 years of service excellence, our program was expanded when we opened a second location, The John I. Smith Center, in Greenville, South Carolina in February of 2001. In 2005, the Charleston Rite Care Center was opened in a renovated conference facility at the Scottish Rite Center on Sam Rittenburg Drive. Today, we celebrate our successful operation in Columbia, South Carolina. We are excited to continue our outstanding service to the Columbia community in our E.C. Singleton Center location and the upstate with our John I. Smith Center. We are looking for funding to expand services in the future as budget allows. The need remains large with up to 15% of preschool aged children in South Carolina having some need for Speech-Language Remediation according the USC School of Communication.

Program Support for Children

We offer four (4) basic services in the diagnosis and remediation for preschool aged children from age 18 months to 6 years. Diagnostic Evaluations are the primary methodology of determining the type of Speech-Language Disorder and the appropriate course of remediation. These services are offered at NO COST to the family and compare to local market costs, which would range from $200.00 to $300.00 per evaluation. We have a significant waiting list for services including both Evaluation and Remediation Services. Parent Training and Education is an integral part of our program where each family is required to have a parent or guardian attend each session to carry the lessons from our weekly session home for continued work. Our homework program increases therapy success through repetition and practice, engages the family in the remediation process and supports behavioral management strategies for our students. Outcome-based research supports our approach. Graduate Student Training is supported in our Rite Care Centers by hosting graduate students from various Universities as certified practicum sights for graduate programs. Our Masters Certified Staff serve as mentors in training the next generation of Speech Language Professionals. Many of our Post Graduate Students return to work in our Rite Care Centers. Pediatric Language Conferences are offered locally to Speech-Language professionals for continuing education credit by sponsoring renowned Lecturers and nationally known Professors to our state, so that local Speech Professionals in the private sector and public education have a cost effective way to gain recertification accreditation hours, as sanctioned by the state and national licensure boards.

Outcomes

We are currently treating an average of 24 students per week in our two Rite Care Centers in South Carolina and average 16 students in our E.C. Singleton Rite Care Center this year. Our students average just over 100 weeks of therapy with the Scottish Rite and most graduate in the spring and fall ceremonies with their remediation plans completed. While we follow HIPPA regulations on patient privacy, we do graduate our students with up-to-date records provided to parents and local schools when requested by parents. Since 2001, we have graduated over 900 students as healthy and productive citizens having addressed a major learning disorder in advance of their enrollment in elementary schools.

Financial Review

Our Foundation is registered with the State of South Carolina as a non-profit organization and our annual audits find our operations spending over 90% of all revenue directly to the speech-language services. A summary annual report is available for your review. The effects of Covid shut downs affected our Foundation, as it has all businesses. Our Centers were shut down by the State and Federal Government and all fundraising events were canceled. This left us with a loss of $60,000.00 from our projects. We reopened with a smaller staff and a smaller budget, but the year 2022 was bright. Our projects have raised much needed cash, and enthusiasm for the future is unlimited. As stated above, 90% of all revenue goes directly to speech-language services.

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