South Carolina · statute · S.C. Code tit. 63, ch. 11 · 78 active provisions
(A) This article does not apply to: (1) child welfare agencies operating under the active supervision of a governing board representing an established religious denomination, except as these agencies voluntarily assume the obligations and acquire the rights provided by this article; (2) any children's home or instituti…
The department shall administer the provisions of this article and shall make and promulgate such rules and regulations relating to licensing standards and other matters as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this article.
(A) The department is authorized to develop a network of homes and facilities to use for temporary crisis placements for children. (B) Temporary crisis placements may be made with licensed child welfare agencies including foster homes and residential group facilities. The department also may use volunteers who are scre…
The department may revoke the license of any child welfare agency which fails to maintain the proper standards of care and service to children in its charge or which violates any provision of this article. No license shall be revoked or its renewal refused except upon thirty days' written notice thereof. Upon appeal fr…
A licensed child welfare agency may place children in family homes for care, if authorized to do so by the department. Any child so placed may be taken from such family home when the child welfare agency responsible for his care is satisfied that the child's welfare requires such action.
(A) A person seeking employment with a child welfare agency for a position with direct unsupervised contact with children must undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history and a fingerprint-based background check to be c…
An officer, agent or employee of the department or a child welfare agency shall not disclose, directly or indirectly, information learned about a child, the child's parents or relatives, or other persons having custody or control of the child, except in cases involving a child in the custody or control of persons who h…
Any person and any officer, agent or employee of the department or of a child welfare agency who violates any of the provisions of this article, or who shall intentionally make any false statement to the department shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars, or by impriso…
(A) "Children's Advocacy Centers" mean centers which must coordinate a multi-agency response to child maltreatment and assist in the investigation and assessment of child abuse. These centers must provide: (1) a neutral, child-friendly facility for forensic interviews; (2) the coordination of services for children repo…
This article may be cited as the "South Carolina Child Abuse and Neglect Network."
There is created the South Carolina Child Abuse and Neglect Network, a program to provide coordination and administration of medical service resources to those entities responding to cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. The program is administered by the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.
For purposes of this article: (1) "Child" has the same meaning as provided for in Section 63-7-20. (2) "Child abuse or neglect" has the same meaning as provided for in Section 63-7-20. (3) "Children's advocacy centers" has the same meaning as provided for in Section 63-11-310. (4) "Program" means the South Carolina Chi…
(A) The program coordinates and administers child abuse medical service resources for the State, assisting and collaborating with children's advocacy centers and state agencies charged with the investigation, assessment, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse or neglect for children in the State. (B) The program sha…
(A) There is created the Cass Elias McCarter Guardian ad Litem Program in South Carolina. The program shall serve as a statewide system to provide training and supervision to volunteers who serve as court-appointed special advocates for children in abuse and neglect proceedings within the family court, pursuant to Sect…
The responsibilities and duties of a guardian ad litem are to: (1) represent the best interests of the child; (2) advocate for the welfare and rights of a child involved in an abuse or neglect proceeding; (3) conduct an independent assessment of the facts, the needs of the child, and the available resources within the…
No person may be appointed as a guardian ad litem for a child in an abuse or neglect proceeding who has been convicted of any crime listed in Chapter 3 of Title 16, Offenses Against the Person, in Chapter 15 of Title 16, Offenses Against Morality and Decency, in Article 3 of Chapter 53 of Title 44, Narcotics and Contro…
(A)(1) The guardian ad litem is charged in general with the duty of representation of the child's best interests. After appointment by the family court to a case involving an abused or neglected child, the guardian ad litem shall receive appropriate notice of all court hearings and proceedings regarding the child. The…
All reports made and information collected as described in Section 63-7-1990(A) must be made available to the guardian ad litem by the Department of Social Services. Upon proof of appointment as guardian ad litem and upon the guardian ad litem request, access to information must be made available to the guardian ad lit…
(A) All reports and information collected pursuant to this article maintained by the South Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program, or a county Guardian ad Litem Program operating pursuant to Section 63-11-500(B) or by a guardian ad litem, are confidential. A person who disseminates or permits the unauthorized dissemination…
After participating in the training program of the South Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program, or a county guardian ad litem program operating pursuant to Section 63-11-500(B), a person who is appointed to serve as guardian ad litem and serves without compensation is not liable for any civil damages for any personal inju…
The General Assembly shall provide the funds necessary for the South Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program to carry out the provisions of Sections 63-11-500 through 63-11-560 and 63-7-1990(B)(5). The General Assembly shall not provide any funding for a county guardian ad litem program.
(A) There is created, within the Department of Children's Advocacy, the Division for Review of the Foster Care of Children. The division must be supported by a board consisting of seven members, all of whom must be past or present members of local review boards. There must be one member from each congressional district…
(A) There are created sixteen local boards for review of cases of children receiving foster care, one in each judicial circuit, composed of five members appointed by the Governor upon recommendation of the legislative delegation of each county within the circuit for terms of four years and until their successors are ap…
(A) The functions and powers of local foster care review boards are: (1) to review once every six months the cases of children who have resided in public foster care for a period of more than four consecutive months to determine what efforts have been made by the supervising agency or child caring facility to acquire a…
(A) No person may be employed by the Department of Children's Advocacy or may serve on the state or a local foster care review board if the person: (1) is the subject of an indicated report or affirmative determination of abuse or neglect as maintained by the Department of Social Services in the Central Registry of Chi…