About Us
PASOs helps build a stronger South Carolina by supporting Latino communities with education, advocacy, and leadership development.
PASOs provides culturally responsive education on family health, early childhood, and positive parenting skills; individual guidance for participants in need of resources; and partnership with health care and social service providers to help them provide more effective services.
Founded in 2005, PASOs helps the Latino community and service providers work together for strong and healthy families.
Our Vision
Healthy Latino communities contributing to a stronger South Carolina
Our Story
How We Got Started
In 2004, the Division of Perinatal Systems of the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control and Palmetto Health in Columbia, South Carolina, under the leadership of the PASOs Executive Director, conducted a gap analysis on the maternal and child health needs of the Latino population in South Carolina. The study revealed that Latino families have great strengths, yet limited access and information about health resources, which can lead to health disparities. In addition, results showed that South Carolina’s health system needed support to increase its capacity to effectively respond to the needs of its growing Latino communities.
In response to these findings, in June of 2005, PASOs was created with support from the Division of Women’s and Neonatology Services of Palmetto Health and a community grant from the South Carolina March of Dimes.
In August 2008, PASOs initiated a partnership with the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health (ASPH) through receipt of a grant from The Duke Endowment. The ASPH provides support and technical assistance as PASOs continues to develop and expand into other communities across South Carolina. Since that time, PASOs has garnered funding from various national, statewide and local funders and has expanded local programming into 15 counties, with services provided to families from 28 counties.