S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-730 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 1 / Section 63-9-730
SECTION 63-9-730. Notice of adoption proceedings.
Status: in_force

(A) Notice of any proceeding initiated pursuant to this article must be given to the persons or agencies specified in subsection (B) of this section, unless the person has given consent or relinquishment or parental rights have been terminated. (B) The following persons or agencies are entitled to notice as provided in subsection (A): (1) a person adjudicated by a court in this State to be the father of the child; (2) a person or agency required to give consent or relinquishment pursuant to Section 63-9-310(A) or (B) from whom consent or relinquishment cannot be obtained; (3) a person who has properly registered with the Responsible Father Registry at the time of the filing of the petition for termination of parental rights or adoption; (4) a person who is recorded on the child's birth certificate as the child's father. The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall release this information to any attorney representing a party in an adoption or termination of parental rights action pursuant to a subpoena; (5) a person who is openly living with the child or the child's mother, or both, at the time the proceeding is initiated and who is holding himself out to be the child's father; (6) a person who has been identified as the child's father by the mother in a sworn, written statement; and (7) a person from whom consent or relinquishment is not required pursuant to Section 63-9-320(A)(2). (C) Persons specified in subsection (B) of this section are not entitled to notice if the child who is the subject of the adoption proceeding was conceived as a result of criminal sexual conduct or incest. (D) Any person or agency entitled to notice pursuant to this section must be given notice that adoption proceedings have been initiated. Notice must be given in the manner prescribed by law for personal service of summons in civil actions. If notice cannot be effected by personal service, notice may be given by publication or by the manner the court decides will provide notice. (E) Notice given pursuant to this section must include notice of the following: (1) within thirty days of receiving notice the person or agency shall respond in writing by filing with the court in which the adoption is pending notice and reasons to contest, intervene, or otherwise respond; (2) the court must be informed of the person's or agency's current address and of any changes in address during the adoption proceedings; and (3) failure to file a response within thirty days of receiving notice constitutes consent to adoption of the child and forfeiture of all rights and obligations of the person or agency with respect to the child. (F) When notice of intent to contest, intervene, or otherwise respond is filed with the court within the required time period, the person or agency must be given an opportunity to appear and to be heard before the final hearing on the merits of the adoption. (G) Petitioners must be notified by the court of notice and reasons to contest, intervene, or otherwise respond, and petitioners also must be given the opportunity to be represented or to appear and to be heard at any hearing held relating to the adoption. Editor's Note 2009 Act No. 41 SECTION 6 provides as follows: "This act takes effect July 1, 2009, except that those provisions of Section 1 of this act pertaining to the establishment of the Responsible Father Registry and the receipt of claims of paternity by the registry take effect January 1, 2010, and those provisions of Section 1 of this act and Section 63-9-730 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Section 2 of this act, affecting an unmarried biological father's right to receive notice in a termination of parental rights or an adoption action by filing a claim of paternity and Section 63-7-2550(B) of the 1976 Code, as added by Section 4 of this act, apply to termination of parental rights actions and adoption actions filed on or after July 1, 2010." Effect of Amendment The 2009 amendment, in subsection (B), rewrote subparagraph (3), added the second sentence of subparagraph (4) relating to release of information by the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and made nonsubstantive changes throughout.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-2280 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 22 / Section 63-11-2280
SECTION 63-11-2280. Critical incidents; reporting requirements; investigation.
Status: in_force

(A) A state agency shall inform the Department of Children's Advocacy within twenty-four hours of a critical incident. (B) The State Child Advocate may perform an independent investigation of a critical incident, or the State Child Advocate may review a completed critical incident investigation performed by a state agency. If the State Child Advocate conducts his own investigation, then he shall investigate: (1) the factual circumstances surrounding the critical incident; (2) whether an agency's activities or services provided to a child and his family were adequate, appropriate, and in accordance with agency policies and state and federal law; and (3) whether the agency's policies, regulations, training, or delivery of services or state law can be improved. (C) As part of an investigation, the State Child Advocate may: (1) administer oaths; (2) examine witnesses under oath; (3) issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum; and (4) examine the records, reports, audits, reviews, papers, books, recommendations, contracts, correspondence, or any other documents maintained by an agency. (D) The State Child Advocate may apply to a circuit court for an order holding an individual in contempt of court if the individual refuses to give sworn testimony under a subpoena issued by the State Child Advocate or otherwise disobeys a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued by the State Child Advocate. (E) In addition to the reporting requirements in subsection (A), if the State Child Advocate has reasonable cause to believe that a crime has occurred or is occurring, then he shall immediately report the matter to the appropriate state or federal law enforcement agencies and prosecuting authorities with jurisdiction over the matter. Editor's Note 2018 Act No. 160, SECTIONS 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows: "SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations." "B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-440 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 3 / Section 63-13-440
SECTION 63-13-440. Display of license.
Status: in_force

(A) Each childcare center or group childcare home shall maintain its current license displayed in a prominent place at all times and must state its license number in all advertisements of the childcare center or group daycare home. (B) No license may be transferred nor shall the location of any childcare center or group childcare home or place of performance of service be changed without the written consent of the department. The department shall consent to the change for a reasonable period of time when emergency conditions require it, so long as the new location or place of performance substantially conforms to state fire and health requirements. (C) Upon occurrence of death of a child on the premises of a childcare center or group childcare home in which the child is enrolled or while under the constructive control of the holder of the license of the facility, it is the responsibility of the holder of the license to notify the department within forty-eight hours and follow up with a written report as soon as the stated cause of death is certified by the appropriate government official.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-1650 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-1650
SECTION 63-7-1650. Services without removal.
Status: in_force

(A) Upon investigation of a report under Section 63-7-920 or at any time during the delivery of services by the department, the department may petition the family court for authority to intervene and provide protective services without removal of custody if the department determines by a preponderance of evidence that the child is an abused or neglected child and that the child cannot be protected from harm without intervention. (B) The petition shall contain a full description of the basis for the department's belief that the child cannot be protected adequately without department intervention, including a description of the condition of the child, any previous efforts by the department to work with the parent or guardian, treatment programs which have been offered and proven inadequate, and the attitude of the parent or guardian towards intervention and protective services. (C) Upon receipt of a petition under this section, the family court shall schedule a hearing to be held within thirty-five days of the filing date to determine whether intervention is necessary. (D) The parties to the petition must be served with a summons and notices of right to counsel and of the hearing date and time along with the petition. Personal jurisdiction over the parties is effected if they are served at least seventy-two hours before the hearing. No responsive pleading to the petition is required. The court may authorize service by publication in appropriate cases and may waive the thirty-five days requirement when necessary to achieve service. A party may waive service or appear voluntarily. (E) Intervention and protective services must not be ordered unless the court finds that the allegations of the petition are supported by a preponderance of the evidence including a finding that the child is an abused or neglected child as defined in Section 63-7-20 and the child cannot be protected from further harm without intervention.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2580 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 7 / Section 63-7-2580
SECTION 63-7-2580. Permanency of order.
Status: in_force

(A) If the court finds that a ground for termination, as provided for in Section 63-7-2570, exists, the court may issue an order forever terminating parental rights to the child. Where the petitioner is an authorized agency, the court shall place the child in the custody of the petitioner or other child-placing agency for adoption and shall require the submission of a plan for permanent placement of the child within thirty days after the close of the proceedings to the court and to the child's guardian ad litem. Within an additional sixty days the agency shall submit a report to the court and to the guardian ad litem on the implementation of the plan. The court, on its own motion, may schedule a hearing to review the progress of the implementation of the plan. (B) If the court finds that no ground for termination exists and the child is in the custody of the Department of Social Services, the order denying termination must specify a new permanent plan for the child or order a hearing on a new permanent plan. (C) If the court determines that an additional permanency hearing is not needed, the court may order: (1) the child returned to the child's parent if the parent has counterclaimed for custody and the court determines that the return of the child to the parent would not cause an unreasonable risk of harm to the child's life, physical health or safety, or mental well-being. The court may order a specified period of supervision and services not to exceed twelve months; (2) a disposition provided for in Section 63-7-1700(E) if the court determines that the child should not be returned to a parent. (D)(1) If the court determines that an additional permanency hearing is required, the court's order shall schedule a permanency hearing to be held within fifteen days of the date the order is filed. The court's order must be sufficient to continue jurisdiction over the parties without any need for filing or service of pleadings by the department. The permanency hearing must be held before the termination of parental rights trial if reasonably possible. (2) At the hearing, the department shall present a proposed disposition and permanent plan in accordance with Section 63-7-1700. No supplemental report may be required. The hearing and any order issuing from the hearing shall conform to Section 63-7-1700. (3) If the court approves retention of the child in foster care pursuant to Section 63-7-1700(E), any new plan for services and placement of the child must conform to the requirements of Section 63-7-1680. Section 63-7-1680 requires the plan to address conditions that necessitated removal of the child, but the plan approved pursuant to this subsection shall address conditions that necessitate retention of the child in foster care.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2590 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 7 / Section 63-7-2590
SECTION 63-7-2590. Effect of order.
Status: in_force

(A) An order terminating the relationship between parent and child under this article divests the parent and the child of all legal rights, powers, privileges, immunities, duties, and obligations with respect to each other, except the right of the child to inherit from the parent. A right of inheritance is terminated only by a final order of adoption. (B) The relationship between a parent and child may be terminated with respect to one parent without affecting the relationship between the child and the other parent.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-910 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 1 / Section 63-9-910
SECTION 63-9-910. Foreign adoptions.
Status: in_force

(A) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 63-9-790(A) and (B), in the case of a child born in a foreign country who was not a United States citizen at birth and whose adoption was finalized in a foreign country, the court shall review the documentation as required by this section and, if it finds the documentation to be satisfactory, shall issue an order stating that the documentation required by this section has been submitted and is satisfactory and that the foreign adoption must be recognized and domesticated in South Carolina. The court shall transmit the order and the certificate of adoption to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics without the necessity of a hearing unless the court finds the documentation submitted pursuant to subsection (B) is unsatisfactory and such finding is stated in the order resulting from the hearing. (B) Documentation required to be submitted to the court includes, but is not limited to: (1) a verified petition seeking domestication of the foreign adoption; (2) a post foreign adoption home study completed by a person certified pursuant to Section 63-9-360 which evaluates the adjustment and progress of the child and family since adoption; (3) naturalization papers, if available; (4) other documentation as the court may request as stated in materials developed pursuant to subsection (C). (C) Court administration in consultation with the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall develop petition forms, including documentation required to be filed with the petition, and guidelines for obtaining the domestication of a foreign adoption. These forms and guidelines must be available to the public upon request at all county clerks of court offices and at Department of Health and Environmental Control offices. (D) The state registrar, upon receipt of the order and certificate of adoption shall take action as provided in Section 44-63-140 with respect to the issuance and filing of an amended certificate of birth.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3370 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3370
SECTION 63-17-3370. Communication with other tribunals.
Status: in_force

A tribunal of this State may communicate with a tribunal outside this State in a record, or by telephone, electronic mail, or other means, to obtain information concerning the laws, the legal effect of a judgment, decree, or order of that tribunal, and the status of a proceeding. A tribunal of this State may furnish similar information by similar means to a tribunal outside this State. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, rewrote the section.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-20 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 5 / Article 1 / Section 63-5-20
SECTION 63-5-20. Obligation to support.
Status: in_force

(A) Any able-bodied person capable of earning a livelihood who shall, without just cause or excuse, abandon or fail to provide reasonable support to his or her spouse or to his or her minor unmarried legitimate or illegitimate child dependent upon him or her shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for a term of not exceeding one year or be fined not less than three hundred dollars nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars, or both, in the discretion of the circuit court. A husband or wife abandoned by his or her spouse is not liable for the support of the abandoning spouse until such spouse offers to return unless the misconduct of the husband or wife justified the abandonment. If a fine be imposed the circuit court may, in its discretion, order that a portion of the fine be paid to a proper and suitable person or agency for the maintenance and support of the defendant's spouse or minor unmarried legitimate or illegitimate child. As used in this section "reasonable support" means an amount of financial assistance which, when combined with the support the member is reasonably capable of providing for himself or herself, will provide a living standard for the member substantially equal to that of the person owing the duty to support. It includes both usual and unusual necessities. (B) Any person who fails to receive the support required by this section may petition to a circuit court of competent jurisdiction for a rule to show cause why the obligated person should not be required to provide such support and after proper service and hearing the circuit court shall in all appropriate cases order such support to be paid. Any such petition shall specify the amount of support required. Compliance with the circuit court order shall bar prosecution under the provisions of subsection (A) of this section.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-1030 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 7 / Section 63-17-1030
SECTION 63-17-1030. Exceptions.
Status: in_force

If a licensee is out of compliance with an order for support, the licensee's license must be revoked unless within forty-five days of receiving notice that the licensee is out of compliance with the order, the licensee has paid the arrearage owing under the order or has signed a consent agreement with the division establishing a schedule for payment of the arrearage.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-3-590 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 3 / Article 5 / Section 63-3-590
SECTION 63-3-590. Conduct of hearings.
Status: in_force

All cases of children must be dealt with as separate hearings by the court and without a jury. The hearings must be conducted in a formal manner and may be adjourned from time to time. The general public must be excluded and only persons the judge finds to have a direct interest in the case or in the work of the court may be admitted. The presence of the child in court may be waived by the court at any stage of the proceedings. Hearings may be held at any time or place within the county designated by the judge. In any case where the delinquency proceedings may result in commitment to an institution in which the child's freedom is curtailed, the privilege against self-incrimination and the right of cross-examination must be preserved. In all cases where required by law, the child must be accorded all rights enjoyed by adults, and where not required by law the child must be accorded adult rights consistent with the best interests of the child.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3945 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3945
SECTION 63-17-3945. Recognition and enforcement of registered convention support order.
Status: in_force

(A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (B), a tribunal of this State shall recognize and enforce a registered convention support order. (B) The following grounds are the only grounds on which a tribunal of this State may refuse recognition and enforcement of a registered convention support order: (1) recognition and enforcement of the order is manifestly incompatible with public policy, including the failure of the issuing tribunal to observe minimum standards of due process, which include notice and an opportunity to be heard; (2) the issuing tribunal lacked personal jurisdiction consistent with Section 63-17-3010; (3) the order is not enforceable in the issuing country; (4) the order was obtained by fraud in connection with a matter of procedure; (5) a record transmitted in accordance with Section 63-17-3935 lacks authenticity or integrity; (6) a proceeding between the same parties and having the same purpose is pending before a tribunal of this State and that proceeding was the first to be filed; (7) the order is incompatible with a more recent support order involving the same parties and having the same purpose if the more recent support order is entitled to recognition and enforcement under this article in this State; (8) payment, to the extent alleged arrears have been paid in whole or in part; (9) in a case in which the respondent neither appeared nor was represented in the proceeding in the issuing foreign country: (a) if the law of that country provides for prior notice of proceedings, the respondent did not have proper notice of the proceedings and an opportunity to be heard; or (b) if the law of that country does not provide for prior notice of the proceedings, the respondent did not have proper notice of the order and an opportunity to be heard in a challenge or appeal on fact or law before a tribunal; or (10) the order was made in violation of Section 63-17-3960. (C) If a tribunal of this State does not recognize a convention support order under subsection (B)(2), (4), or (9): (1) the tribunal may not dismiss the proceeding without allowing a reasonable time for a party to request the establishment of a new convention support order; and (2) the department shall take all appropriate measures to request a child-support order for the obligee if the application for recognition and enforcement was received under Section 63-17-3925.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-610 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 5 / Article 6 / Section 63-5-610
SECTION 63-5-610. Scope and jurisdiction.
Status: in_force

(a) This article applies to a transfer that refers to "The South Carolina Uniform Transfers to Minors Act" in the designation under Section 63-5-645(a) by which the transfer is made if at the time of the transfer, the transferor, the minor, or the custodian is a resident of this State or the custodial property is located in this State. The custodianship so created remains subject to this article despite a subsequent change in residence of a transferor, the minor, or the custodian, or the removal of custodial property from this State. (b) A person designated as custodian under this article is subject to personal jurisdiction in this State with respect to any matter relating to the custodianship. (c) A transfer that purports to be made and which is valid under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, or a substantially similar act, of another state is governed by the law of the designated state and may be executed and is enforceable in this State if at the time of the transfer, the transferor, the minor, or the custodian is a resident of the designated state or the custodial property is located in the designated state.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-1320 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 3 / Section 63-9-1320
SECTION 63-9-1320. Department of Social Services adoption program only state public adoption program.
Status: in_force

The Adoption and Birth Parent Services Program within the South Carolina Department of Social Services is the only public adoption program in South Carolina.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-1440 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-1440
SECTION 63-7-1440. Judicial review.
Status: in_force

An appellant seeking judicial review shall file a petition in the family court within thirty days after the final decision of the department. The appellant shall serve a copy of the petition upon the department. The family court shall conduct a judicial review in accordance with the standards of review provided for in Section 1-23-380. The court may enter judgment upon the pleadings and a certified transcript of the record which must include the evidence upon which the findings and decisions appealed are based. The judgment must include a determination of whether the decision of the department that a preponderance of evidence shows that the appellant abused or neglected the child should be affirmed or reversed. The appellant is not entitled to a trial de novo in the family court.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-1410 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 13 / Section 63-19-1410
SECTION 63-19-1410. Adjudication.
Status: in_force

Text of (A) effective July 1, 2019. See Editor's Note for contingency. (A) When a child is found by decree of the court to be subject to this chapter, the court shall in its decree make a finding of the facts upon which the court exercises its jurisdiction over the child. Following the decree, the court by order may: (1) cause a child concerning whom a petition has been filed to be examined or treated by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist and for that purpose place the child in a hospital or other suitable facility; (2) order care and treatment as it considers best, except as otherwise provided in this section and may designate a state agency as the lead agency to provide a family assessment to the court. The assessment shall include, but is not limited to, the strengths and weaknesses of the family, problems interfering with the functioning of the family and with the best interests of the child, and recommendations for a comprehensive service plan to strengthen the family and assist in resolving these issues. The lead agency shall provide the family assessment to the court in a timely manner, and the court shall conduct a hearing to review the proposed plan and adopt a plan as part of its order that will best meet the needs and best interest of the child. In arriving at a comprehensive plan, the court shall consider: (a) additional testing or evaluation that may be needed; (b) economic services including, but not limited to, employment services, job training, food stamps, and aid to families with dependent children; (c) counseling services including, but not limited to, marital counseling, parenting skills, and alcohol and drug abuse counseling; and (d) any other programs or services appropriate to the child's and family's needs. The lead agency is responsible for monitoring compliance with the court-ordered plan and shall report to the court as the court requires. In support of an order, the court may require the parents or other persons having custody of the child or any other person who has been found by the court to be encouraging, causing, or contributing to the acts or conditions which bring the child within the purview of this chapter to do or omit to do acts required or forbidden by law, when the judge considers the requirement necessary for the welfare of the child. In case of failure to comply with the requirement, the court may proceed against those persons for contempt of court; (3) place the child on probation or under supervision in the child's own home or in the custody of a suitable person elsewhere, upon conditions as the court may determine. A child placed on probation by the court remains under the authority of the court only until the expiration of the specified term of the child's probation. This specified term of probation may expire before but not after the twentieth birthday of the child. Probation means casework services during a continuance of the case. Probation must not be ordered or administered as punishment but as a measure for the protection, guidance, and well-being of the child and the child's family. Probation methods must be directed to the discovery and correction of the basic causes of maladjustment and to the development of the child's personality and character, with the aid of the social resources of the community. As a condition of probation, the court may order the child to participate in a community mentor program as provided for in Section 63-19-1430. The court may impose monetary restitution or participation in supervised work or community service, or both, as a condition of probation. The Department of Juvenile Justice, in coordination with local community agencies, shall develop and encourage employment of a constructive nature designed to make reparation and to promote the rehabilitation of the child. When considering the appropriate amount of monetary restitution to be ordered, the court shall establish the monetary loss suffered by the victim and then weigh and consider this amount against the number of individuals involved in causing the monetary loss, the child's particular role in causing this loss, and the child's ability to pay the amount over a reasonable period of time. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop a system for the transferring of court-ordered restitution from the child to the victim or owner of property injured, destroyed, or stolen. As a condition of probation the court may impose upon the child a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars when the offense is one in which a magistrate, municipal, or circuit court judge has the authority to impose a fine. A fine may be imposed when commitment is suspended but not in addition to commitment; (4) order the child to participate in a community mentor program as provided in Section 63-19-1430; (5) commit the child to the custody or to the guardianship of a public or private institution or agency authorized to care for children or to place them in family homes or under the guardianship of a suitable person. Commitment must be for an indeterminate period but in no event beyond the child's twenty-second birthday; (6) require that a child under twelve years of age who is adjudicated delinquent for an offense listed in Section 23-3-430(C) be given appropriate psychiatric or psychological treatment to address the circumstances of the offense for which the child was adjudicated; and (7) dismiss the petition or otherwise terminate its jurisdiction at any time on the motion of either party or on its own motion. (B) Whenever the court commits a child to an institution or agency, it shall transmit with the order of commitment a summary of its information concerning the child, and the institution or agency shall give to the court information concerning the child which the court may require. Counsel of record, if any, must be notified by the court of an adjudication under this section, and in the event there is no counsel of record, the child or the child's parents or guardian must be notified of the adjudication by regular mail from the court to the last address of the child or the child's parents or guardian. (C) No adjudication by the court of the status of a child is a conviction, nor does the adjudication operate to impose civil disabilities ordinarily resulting from conviction, nor may a child be charged with crime or convicted in a court, except as provided in Section 63-19-1210(6). The disposition made of a child or any evidence given in court does not disqualify the child in a future civil service application or appointment. Editor's Note 2016 Act No. 268, SECTION 12, provides as follows: "SECTION 12. Section 10 of this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Sections 1 through 9 and Section 11 of this act take effect on July 1, 2019, contingent upon the Department of Juvenile Justice having received any funds that may be necessary for implementation. If the report submitted to the General Assembly on September 1, 2017, reflects any additional funds needed by the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure implementation will be possible on July 1, 2019, the department shall include these funds in its budget requests to the General Assembly as part of Fiscal Years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Beginning on September 1, 2017, all state and local agencies and courts involved with the implementation of the provisions of this act may begin undertaking and executing any and all applicable responsibilities so that the provisions of this act may be fully implemented on July 1, 2019." Effect of Amendment 2016 Act No. 268, SECTION 5, in (A)(3), substituted "not after the twentieth birthday of the child" for "not after the eighteenth birthday of the child"; and in (5), substituted "the child's twenty-second birthday" for "the child's twenty-first birthday".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-10 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 1 / Section 63-9-10
SECTION 63-9-10. Short title.
Status: in_force

This article may be cited as the "South Carolina Adoption Act".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-50 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 5 / Article 1 / Section 63-5-50
SECTION 63-5-50. Parental immunity in cases of incorrigibility of seventeen year old.
Status: in_force

A parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the care and support of a child may not be charged with unlawful neglect of a child, cruelty to a child, failure to provide reasonable support of a child, or a similar offense based on the exclusion from the home of a seventeen-year-old child where there is a demonstrable record that the child is incorrigible (beyond the control of parents).
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-1210 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 11 / Section 63-19-1210
SECTION 63-19-1210. Transfer of jurisdiction.
Status: repealed

See Editor's Note for contingency. In accordance with the jurisdiction granted to the family court pursuant to Sections 63-3-510, 63-3-520, and 63-3-530, jurisdiction over a case involving a child must be transferred or retained as follows: (1) If, during the pendency of a criminal or quasi-criminal charge against a child in a circuit court of this State, it is ascertained that the child was under the age of eighteen years at the time of committing the alleged offense, it is the duty of the circuit court immediately to transfer the case, together with all the papers, documents, and testimony connected with it, to the family court of competent jurisdiction, except in those cases where the Constitution gives to the circuit court exclusive jurisdiction or in those cases where jurisdiction has properly been transferred to the circuit court by the family court under the provisions of this section. The court making the transfer shall order the child to be taken immediately to the place of detention designated by the court or to that court itself, or shall release the child to the custody of some suitable person to be brought before the court at a time designated. The court then shall proceed as provided in this chapter. The provisions of this section are applicable to all existing offenses and to offenses created in the future unless the General Assembly specifically directs otherwise. (2) Whenever a child is brought before a magistrate or city recorder and, in the opinion of the magistrate or city recorder, the child should be brought to the family court of competent jurisdiction under the provisions of this section, the magistrate or city recorder shall transfer the case to the family court and direct that the child involved be taken there. (3) When an action is brought in a circuit court which, in the opinion of the judge, falls within the jurisdiction of the family court, he may transfer the action upon his own motion or the motion of any party. (4) If a child seventeen years of age or older is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor, a Class E or F felony as defined in Section 16-1-20, or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or less, and if the court, after full investigation, considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction, the court, in its discretion, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult. (5) If a child fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen years of age is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more, the court, after full investigation and hearing, may determine it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction. The court, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by an adult. (6) Within thirty days after the filing of a petition in the family court alleging the child has committed the offense of murder or criminal sexual conduct, the person executing the petition may request in writing that the case be transferred to the court of general sessions with a view to proceeding against the child as a criminal rather than as a child coming within the purview of this chapter. The judge of the family court is authorized to determine this request. If the request is denied, the petitioner may appeal within five days to the circuit court. Upon the hearing of the appeal, the judge of the circuit court is vested with the discretion of exercising and asserting the jurisdiction of the court of general sessions or of relinquishing jurisdiction to the family court. If the circuit judge elects to exercise the jurisdiction of the general sessions court for trial of the case, he shall issue an order to that effect, and then the family court has no further jurisdiction in the matter. (7) Once the family court relinquishes its jurisdiction over the child and the child is bound over to be treated as an adult, Section 63-19-2020 dealing with the confidentiality of identity and fingerprints does not apply. (8) When jurisdiction is relinquished by the family court in favor of another court, the court shall have full authority and power to grant bail, hold a preliminary hearing and any other powers as now provided by law for magistrates in such cases. (9) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged with a violation of Section 16-23-430, Section 16-23-20, or Section 44-53-445, the court, after full investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by an adult. (10) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, provides for a term of imprisonment of ten years or more and the child previously has been adjudicated delinquent in family court or convicted in circuit court for two prior offenses which, if committed by an adult, provide for a term of imprisonment of ten years or more, the court, after full investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult. For the purpose of this item, an adjudication or conviction is considered a second adjudication or conviction only if the date of the commission of the second offense occurred subsequent to the imposition of the sentence for the first offense. Editor's Note 2010 Act No. 273, SECTION 7.C, provides: "Wherever in the 1976 Code of Laws reference is made to the common law offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, it means assault and battery with intent to kill, as contained in repealed Section 16-3-620, and, except for references in Section 16-1-60 and Section 17-25-45, wherever in the 1976 Code reference is made to assault and battery with intent to kill, it means attempted murder as defined in Section 16-3-29." 2016 Act No. 268, SECTION 12, provides as follows: "SECTION 12. Section 10 of this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Sections 1 through 9 and Section 11 of this act take effect on July 1, 2019, contingent upon the Department of Juvenile Justice having received any funds that may be necessary for implementation. If the report submitted to the General Assembly on September 1, 2017, reflects any additional funds needed by the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure implementation will be possible on July 1, 2019, the department shall include these funds in its budget requests to the General Assembly as part of Fiscal Years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Beginning on September 1, 2017, all state and local agencies and courts involved with the implementation of the provisions of this act may begin undertaking and executing any and all applicable responsibilities so that the provisions of this act may be fully implemented on July 1, 2019." Effect of Amendment 2016 Act No. 268, SECTION 4, in (1), substituted "under the age of eighteen years" for "under the age of seventeen years"; in (4), substituted "If a child seventeen years of age or older" for "If a child sixteen years of age or older"; in (5), substituted "If a child fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen years of age" for "If a child fourteen or fifteen years of age"; in (9), substituted "Section 16-23-430, Section 16-23-20, or Section 44-53-445" for "Section 16-23-430(1), Section 16-23-20, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, or Section 44-53-445"; and in (10), substituted "the court, after full investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over" for "the court acting as committing magistrate shall bind over".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2390 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 5 / Section 63-7-2390
SECTION 63-7-2390. Loss for uninsured damages.
Status: in_force

A state agency which places a child in a foster home may compensate a foster family, who has made its private residence available as a foster home, for the uninsured loss it incurs when its personal or real property is damaged, destroyed, or stolen by a child placed in its home, if the loss is found by the director of the placing state agency, or his designee, to have occurred, to have been caused solely or primarily by the acts of the child placed with the foster family, and if the acts of the foster family have not in any way caused or contributed to the loss. Compensation may not be in excess of the actual cost of repair or replacement of the damaged or destroyed property but in no case may compensation exceed five hundred dollars for each occurrence.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-640 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 6 / Section 63-15-640
SECTION 63-15-640. Contents of petition.
Status: in_force

A petition under this article must be verified or supported by a sworn affidavit and include a copy of any existing child-custody determination, if available. The petition must specify the risk factors for abduction, including the relevant factors described in Section 63-15-650. Subject to Section 63-15-346(E), if reasonably ascertainable, the petition must contain: (1) the name, date of birth, and gender of the child; (2) the customary address and current physical location of the child; (3) the identity, customary address, and current physical location of the respondent; (4) a statement of whether a prior action to prevent abduction or domestic violence has been filed by a party or other individual or entity having custody of the child, and the date, location, and disposition of the action; (5) a statement of whether a party to the proceeding has been arrested for a crime related to domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect, and the date, location, and disposition of the case; and (6) any other information required to be submitted to the court for a child-custody determination under Section 63-15-346.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-1010 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 9 / Section 63-13-1010
SECTION 63-13-1010. Registration required for church and religious centers.
Status: in_force

(A) No church congregation or established religious denomination or religious college or university which does not receive state or federal financial assistance for childcare services may operate a childcare center or group childcare home unless it complies with the requirements for registration and inspection and the regulations for health and fire safety as set forth in this chapter and Section 63-13-110 and requirements applicable to private and public childcare centers and group childcare homes for floor space, child-staff ratios, and staff training. Application for registration must be made on forms supplied by the department and in the manner it prescribes. Registration expires two years from the date of issuance of the statement of registration. Registration may be renewed according to the procedures developed by the department. (B) Before issuing a registration, the department shall conduct an investigation of the applicant. This investigation is limited to: (1) the results of the criminal history review required by subsection (G); (2) the requirements for registration and inspection and the regulations for health and fire safety provided for in this chapter and Section 63-13-110; and (3) requirements applicable to private and public childcare centers and group childcare homes for floor space, child-staff ratios, and staff training. (C)(1) No license or registration may be issued to a church congregation, established religious denomination, or religious college or university if a person who provides service as an operator, caregiver, or employee at the childcare facility has been convicted of any of the offenses included in Section 63-13-40(A)(1). (2) This section does not prohibit licensing, registration, or the renewal of a license or registration when a conviction or plea of guilty or nolo contendere for one of the crimes enumerated in this subsection has been pardoned. However, notwithstanding the entry of a pardon, the department may consider all information available, including the person's pardoned convictions or pleas and the circumstances surrounding them, to determine whether the person is unfit or otherwise unsuited to be an operator, caregiver, or employee. (D) Application forms for licensure or registration issued under this chapter must include, at the top of the form in large bold type, a statement indicating that a person who has been convicted of a crime enumerated in Section 63-13-40(A)(1) who applies for a license or registration as operator is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (E) A person applying for a license or registration as an operator of a church or religious childcare center shall undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history, a fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. If a person is not employed or does not provide caregiver services for six months or longer, then the fingerprint-based background checks must be repeated. The fingerprint-based background checks required by this subsection are required to be repeated every five years. (F) Application forms for licensure or registration issued under this chapter by the department and application forms for employment at a facility operated by a church congregation, established religious denomination, or religious college or university must include, at the top of the form in large bold type, a statement indicating that a person who has been convicted of one of the crimes listed in Section 63-13-40(A)(1) who applies for a license as operator, applies for employment with, is employed by, seeks to provide caregiver services with, or is a caregiver at a facility is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. (G) A person applying for a license or registration as an operator of a church or religious childcare center or seeking employment or seeking to provide caregiver services at a church or religious childcare center shall undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history, a fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. The fingerprint-based background checks required by this subsection are required to be repeated every five years. (H) A person applying for renewal of a license or registration as an operator of a church or religious childcare center licensed or registered under this chapter and a person employed or registered under this chapter, who has not done so previously, on the first renewal after June 30, 1996, shall undergo a state fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the State Law Enforcement Division to determine any state criminal history, a fingerprint-based background check to be conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine any other criminal history, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. (I) The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to retain and store fingerprints for further use in the identification of persons, including, but not limited to, use in identifying unsolved latent prints. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are authorized to provide the department with current and future information regarding the fingerprints stored, including arrests, convictions, dispositions, warrants, and other information available to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, such as civil and criminal information. The prospective employee or childcare facility shall be responsible for any fees associated with any and all required background checks. Fees shall not exceed the actual cost of processing and administration. Effect of Amendment 2019 Act No. 52, SECTION 10, in (C), inserted the (1) identifier, inserted "any of the offenses included in Section 63-13-40(A)(1)", deleted (1) to (6), which related to specific crimes, and inserted the (2) identifier; in (D), substituted "Section 63-13-40(A)(1)" for "this section"; rewrote (E); in (F), substituted "Section 63-13-40(A)(1)" for "this section"; rewrote (G); rewrote (H); and added (I). 2024 Act No. 195, SECTION 15, in (E), (G), and (H), substituted "fingerprint-based background check" and "fingerprint-based background checks" for all references to "fingerprint review" and "fingerprint reviews".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-750 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 5 / Section 63-17-750
SECTION 63-17-750. Negotiation conference; consent order; monthly support obligation.
Status: in_force

(A) An obligor who has been served with a notice of financial responsibility pursuant to Section 63-17-740 and who does not request a hearing pursuant to Section 63-17-780 shall appear at the time and location stated in the notice for a negotiation conference or shall reschedule a negotiation conference before the date and time stated in the notice. The negotiation conference must be scheduled not more than ninety days after the date of the issuance of the notice of financial responsibility. A negotiation conference may not be rescheduled more than once without good cause as defined in regulations promulgated pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. If a stipulation is agreed upon at the negotiation conference as to the obligor's duty of support, the division shall issue a consent order setting forth: (1) the amount of the monthly support obligation and instructions on the manner in which it must be paid; (2) the amount of arrearage due and owing and instructions on the manner in which it must be paid; (3) the name of the custodian of the child and the name and birth date of the child for whom support is being sought; (4) other information as set forth in regulations promulgated pursuant to Section 63-17-730(17). (B) A copy of the consent order issued pursuant to subsection (A) and proof of service must be filed with the clerk of court of the county in which the obligor resides or, if the obligor does not reside in the State, with the clerk of court of the county in which the obligee resides. The clerk shall stamp the date of receipt of the copy of the order and shall assign the order a case number. The consent order shall have all the force, effect, and remedies of an order of the court including, but not limited to, income withholding and contempt of court. Execution may be issued on the order in the same manner and with the same effect as if it were an order of the court. No court order for judgment nor verified entry of judgment is required in order for the clerk of court and division to certify past-due amounts of child support to the Internal Revenue Service or State Department of Revenue for purposes of intercepting a federal or state tax refund, or credit bureau reporting. (C) If no stipulation is agreed upon at the negotiation conference, the division shall file the notice of financial responsibility and proof of service with the clerk of court of the county in which the obligor resides or, if the obligor does not reside in the State, with the clerk of court of the county in which the obligee resides, and the matter must be set for a hearing in accordance with Section 63-17-780. (D) The determination of the monthly support obligation must be based on the child support guidelines as set forth in Sections 63-17-470 and 43-5-580.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-10 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 1 / Section 63-13-10
SECTION 63-13-10. Purpose.
Status: in_force

(A) The intent of this chapter is to define the regulatory duties of government necessary to safeguard children in care in places other than their own homes, ensuring for them minimum levels of protection and supervision. Toward that end, it is the purpose of this chapter to establish statewide minimum regulations for the care and protection of children in childcare facilities, to ensure maintenance of these regulations and to approve administration and enforcement to regulate conditions in such facilities. It is the policy of the State to ensure protection of children under care in childcare facilities, and to encourage the improvement of childcare programs. (B) It is the further intent of this chapter that the freedom of religion of all citizens is inviolate. Nothing in this chapter shall give any governmental agency jurisdiction or authority to regulate, supervise, or in any way be involved in any Sunday school, Sabbath school, religious services or any nursery service or other program conducted during religious or church services primarily for the convenience of those attending the services. (C) Nothing in this chapter shall create authority for the Department of Social Services to influence or regulate the curriculum of childcare facilities.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-1420 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 13 / Section 63-19-1420
SECTION 63-19-1420. Driver's license suspension.
Status: in_force

See Editor's Note for contingency. (A) If a child is adjudicated delinquent for a status offense or is found in violation of a court order relating to a status offense, the court may suspend or restrict the child's driver's license until the child's eighteenth birthday. (B) If a child is adjudicated delinquent for violation of a criminal offense or is found in violation of a court order relating to a criminal offense or is found in violation of a term or condition of probation, the court may suspend or restrict the child's driver's license until the child's twentieth birthday. (C) If the court suspends the child's driver's license, the child must submit the license to the court, and the court shall forward the license to the Department of Motor Vehicles for license suspension. However, convictions not related to the operation of a motor vehicle shall not result in increased insurance premiums. (D) If the court restricts the child's driver's license, the court may restrict the child's driving privileges to driving only to and from school or to and from work or as the court considers appropriate. Upon the court restricting a child's driver's license, the child must submit the license to the court and the court shall forward the license to the Department of Motor Vehicles for reissuance of the license with the restriction clearly noted. (E) Notwithstanding the definition of a "child" as provided for in Section 63-19-20, the court may suspend or restrict the driver's license of a child under the age of seventeen until the child's eighteenth birthday if subsection (B) applies. (F) Upon suspending or restricting a child's driver's license under this section, the family court judge shall complete a form provided by and which must be remitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Editor's Note 2016 Act No. 268, SECTION 12, provides as follows: "SECTION 12. Section 10 of this act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. Sections 1 through 9 and Section 11 of this act take effect on July 1, 2019, contingent upon the Department of Juvenile Justice having received any funds that may be necessary for implementation. If the report submitted to the General Assembly on September 1, 2017, reflects any additional funds needed by the Department of Juvenile Justice to ensure implementation will be possible on July 1, 2019, the department shall include these funds in its budget requests to the General Assembly as part of Fiscal Years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Beginning on September 1, 2017, all state and local agencies and courts involved with the implementation of the provisions of this act may begin undertaking and executing any and all applicable responsibilities so that the provisions of this act may be fully implemented on July 1, 2019." Effect of Amendment 2016 Act No. 268, SECTION 6, in (A), substituted "the child's eighteenth birthday" for "the child's seventeenth birthday"; and in (B), substituted "the child's twentieth birthday" for "the child's eighteenth birthday".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-490 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 3 / Section 63-17-490
SECTION 63-17-490. Employment program.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a court or administrative order for child support or order for contempt for nonpayment of child support being enforced under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act may direct a noncustodial parent who is unemployed or underemployed and who is the parent of a child receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits to participate in an employment training program or public service employment. Upon failure of the noncustodial parent to comply with an order of contempt which directed the noncustodial parent to participate in the employment training program or public service employment, the Family Court, upon receiving an affidavit of noncompliance from the department, immediately may issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the noncustodial parent. The Department of Social Services shall promulgate regulations governing the eligibility criteria and implementation of these training programs and public service employment.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-2730 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 21 / Section 63-17-2730
SECTION 63-17-2730. Notice of a lien, filing, expiration.
Status: in_force

(A)(1) The division shall file notice of a lien with respect to real property with the register of deeds for any county in the State where the obligor owns property. The social security number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number, of the obligor must be noted on the notice of the lien. The filing operates to perfect a lien when recorded, as to any interest in real property owned by the obligor that is located in the county where the lien is recorded. Liens created under this section must be maintained by the register of deeds of each county of the State, in accordance with established local procedures for recordation. If the obligor subsequently acquires an interest in real property, the lien is perfected upon the recording of the instrument by which the interest is obtained in the register of deeds where the notice of the lien was filed within six years prior thereto. A child support lien is perfected as to real property when both the notice thereof and a deed or other instrument in the name of the obligor are on file in the register of deeds for the county where the obligor owns property without respect to whether the lien or the deed or other instrument was recorded first. (2) The division also shall file notice of a child support lien, with the social security number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number, of the obligor on the notice, with respect to personal property with the Department of Natural Resources, a county, or other office or agency responsible for the filing or recording of liens. The filing of a notice of a lien or of a waiver or release of a lien must be received and registered or recorded without payment of a fee. The division may file notice of a lien or waiver or release of a lien or may transmit information to or receive information from any registry of deeds or other office or agency responsible for the filing or recording of liens by any means, including electronic means. Any lien placed against a vehicle with a title issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles is not perfected until notation of the lien is recorded on the vehicle's title by the Department of Motor Vehicles. No fee is required to reissue this title. The perfected lien is not subordinate to a recorded lien except a lien that has been perfected before the date on which the child support lien was perfected. The division, upon request of the obligor, may subordinate the child support lien to a subsequently perfected mortgage. To assist in the collection of a debt by the division, the division may disclose the name of an obligor against whom a lien has arisen and other identifying information including the existence of the lien and the amount of the outstanding obligation. (B) The lien expires upon termination of a current child support obligation and payment in full of unpaid child support or upon release of the lien by the division. In any event, a lien under this section expires six years from the date on which the lien was first perfected. The lien may be extended for additional periods of six years each by recording, during the fifth year of the lien, a further notice of the lien, as provided in subsection (A), without affecting the priority of the lien. Expiration of the lien does not terminate the underlying order or judgment of child support. The division may issue a full or partial waiver of a lien imposed under this section. The waiver or release is conclusive evidence that the lien upon the property covered by the waiver or release is extinguished.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-340 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 3 / Section 63-19-340
SECTION 63-19-340. Annual report.
Status: in_force

An annual report of the department must be prepared by the director which shall include an account of all funds received and expended, persons served by the department including a report of the state and condition of the correctional institutions, and community programs operated by the department.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3810 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3810
SECTION 63-17-3810. Registration to modify.
Status: in_force

A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a child-support order issued in another state shall register that order in this State in the same manner provided in subpart 1 if the order has not been registered. A petition for modification may be filed at the same time as a request for registration, or later. The pleading must specify the grounds for modification. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, substituted "subpart 1" for "Subpart 1".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-710 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 1 / Section 63-9-710
SECTION 63-9-710. Petition for adoption; use of fictitious names.
Status: in_force

(A) A petition for adoption shall specify: (1) the full name, age, address, and place of residence of each petitioner, and, if married, the place and date of the marriage; (2) when the petitioner acquired, or intends to acquire, custody or placement of the child and from what person or agency; (3) the date and place of birth of the child, if known; (4) the name used for the child in the proceeding, and if a change in name is desired, the new name; (5) that it is the desire of the petitioner to establish the relationship of parent and child between the petitioner and the child, and that the petitioner is a fit and proper person and able to care for the child and to provide for the child's welfare; (6) a full description and statement of value of all real property and of any personal property of value owned or possessed by the child; (7) facts, if any, which excuse consent on the part of a parent to the adoption or which excuse notice of the adoption proceedings to a parent; (8) facts, if any, which may permit placement with or adoption by nonresidents of this State, pursuant to Section 63-9-60; (9) the existence and nature of any prior court orders known to the petitioner which affect the custody, support, or visitation of the child; (10) the relationship, if any, of each petitioner to the child; and (11) the name and address of the child placing agency or the person facilitating placement of the child for adoption, if any. (B)(1) The petition must be filed within sixty days of the date the adoptee is placed for the purpose of adoption in the home of the petitioner. (2) For a child in the custody of the department by a removal action pursuant to Section 63-7-1660 or an infant who has been voluntarily left with a safe haven pursuant to Section 63-7-40, the petition for adoption may be filed prior to the issuance of a court order terminating parental rights to the child. (C) All of the following must be filed at the time the adoption petition is filed or, after the filing, upon good cause shown: (1) any consent or relinquishment required by Section 63-9-310; (2) the preplacement investigation report; (3) the background investigation report; (4) a statement of all payments of money or anything of value made within the past five years or agreed to be made in the future by or on behalf of the petitioner to any person, agency, or organization connected with the adoption that is not a disbursement made and reported pursuant to Section 63-9-740. (D) For purposes of this article, the petitioner may employ the use of fictitious names where necessary to avoid disclosure of identities of parties or persons, so long as service of process or notice is considered sufficient by the court. Effect of Amendment 2023 Act No. 80, SECTION 4, in (B), inserted the (1) designator and added (2).
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-530 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 5 / Section 63-15-530
SECTION 63-15-530. Effect of prior judicial order or agreement.
Status: in_force

In a proceeding for a grant of custodial responsibility pursuant to this subarticle, the following rules apply: (1) A prior judicial order designating custodial responsibility of a child in the event of deployment is binding on the court unless the circumstances meet the requirements of the law of this State, other than this article, for modifying a judicial order regarding custodial responsibility. (2) The court shall enforce a prior written agreement between the parents for designating custodial responsibility of a child in the event of deployment, including a prior written agreement executed pursuant to Subarticle 2, unless the court finds the agreement contrary to the best interest of the child.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-3-20 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 3 / Article 1 / Section 63-3-20
SECTION 63-3-20. Family court judges.
Status: in_force

(A) Each family court shall have one or more family court judges who shall devote full time to their duties as judges, shall be prohibited from engaging directly or indirectly in the practice of law except in the performance of their judicial duties and shall be bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct. (B) One family court judge in each circuit shall be designated chief family court judge which designation shall be made by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Such chief family court judge, in addition to his other judicial duties, shall perform such administrative duties as may be prescribed by the Chief Justice. (C) The family courts shall be courts of record, and each family court judge shall appoint a court reporter and a secretary who shall hold office at the pleasure of the judge. The court reporter shall take down and record the testimony and judge's rulings and charges, and transcribe such portion of the proceedings as may be required. The court reporter and the secretary shall perform such other duties as the judge may prescribe. (D) Records in the family court concerning juveniles shall be kept confidential as prescribed in Sections 63-7-1990 and 63-19-2020.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-625 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 5 / Article 6 / Section 63-5-625
SECTION 63-5-625. Transfer authorized by will or trust.
Status: in_force

(a) A personal representative or trustee may make an irrevocable transfer pursuant to Section 63-5-645 to a custodian for the benefit of a minor as authorized in the governing will or trust. (b) If the testator or settlor has nominated a custodian under Section 63-5-615 to receive the custodial property, the transfer must be made to that person. (c) If the testator or settlor has not nominated a custodian under Section 63-5-615, or all persons so nominated as custodian die before the transfer or are unable, decline, or are ineligible to serve, the personal representative or the trustee, as the case may be, shall designate the custodian, subject to the approval of the court from among those eligible to serve as custodian for property of that kind under Section 63-5-645(a).
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3110 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3110
SECTION 63-17-3110. Continuing jurisdiction for spousal support.
Status: in_force

(A) A tribunal of this State issuing a spousal-support order consistent with the law of this State has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the spousal-support order throughout the existence of the support obligation. (B) A tribunal of this State may not modify a spousal-support order issued by a tribunal of another state or a foreign country having continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over that order under the law of that state or foreign country. (C) A tribunal of this State that has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over a spousal-support order may serve as: (1) an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to enforce the spousal-support order issued in this State; or (2) a responding tribunal to enforce or modify its own spousal-support order. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, in (B), twice inserted reference to "foreign country". Part III Civil Provisions of General Application DERIVATION TABLE Showing the sections in former Chapter 7, Title 20 from which the sections in this part were derived.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-21-10 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 21 / Section 63-21-10
SECTION 63-21-10. Definitions.
Status: in_force

As used in this chapter: (1) "Adaptive parenting equipment" means equipment or any other item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a person with a disability. (2) "Adaptive parenting techniques" means strategies for accomplishing childcare and other parenting tasks that enable a person with a disability to execute a task safely for themselves and their children alone or in conjunction with adaptive parenting equipment. (3) "Adoption" has the same meaning as provided for in Chapter 9, Title 63. (4) "Child custody proceeding" means a proceeding in family or probate court in which a third party is seeking to be awarded temporary or permanent legal or physical custody of a child to obtain legal guardianship of a child, or to limit or deny visitation of a parent or legal guardian with a child, including an action filed by the other parent. (5) "Child protection proceeding" means a proceeding in family court provided for in Chapter 7, Title 63 relating to protection of children from abuse or neglect, access to services and other support for parents to preserve or reunify the family, and permanency planning for children whose parents are unable or unwilling to parent adequately. (6) "Child placing agency" has the same meaning as provided for in Section 63-9-30. (7) "Covered entity" has the same meaning as provided for in the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. (8) "Department" means the South Carolina Department of Social Services. (9) "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual, a record of an impairment, or being regarded as having an impairment, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, and as interpreted broadly under that act. An individual who is currently engaging in the illegal use of drugs or the abuse of alcohol, drugs or other substances is not an individual with a "disability" for purposes of this chapter. (10) "Supportive services" means services that help a person with a disability compensate for those aspects of the disability that affect the ability to care for a child and that enables the person to fulfill parental responsibilities including, but not limited to, specialized or adapted training, evaluations, and assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, and accommodations that enable a person with a disability to benefit from other services, such as braille text or sign language interpretation.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-860 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 7 / Section 63-13-860
SECTION 63-13-860. Consultation.
Status: in_force

The department shall offer consultation through employed staff or other qualified persons to assist a potential applicant, an applicant or registered operator in meeting and maintaining the suggested standards for family childcare homes.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2850 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 9 / Section 63-7-2850
SECTION 63-7-2850. Execution of written agreement; specifications; termination.
Status: in_force

(A) When the department determines that a child is eligible for supplemental legal guardianship benefits, the department and relative must execute a written agreement before the court may order legal guardianship. The department must provide a copy of the written agreement to the relative. At a minimum, the written agreement must specify: (1) the amount of supplemental legal guardianship benefits the department will provide; (2) when and how the department will provide the payment; (3) the manner in which the payment may be adjusted based upon the circumstances of the legal guardian or child, and that prior to making an adjustment, the department must consult with the legal guardian; (4) any additional services or assistance for which the child and legal guardian will be eligible; (5) when and how the legal guardian may request additional services; (6) that the agreement remains in effect regardless of the legal guardian's state of residency; and (7) that the amount of the payment cannot exceed the amount of the foster care board payment the child would have received if the child remained in foster care. (B) The agreement terminates upon the occurrence of the following events: (1) the department determines that the legal guardian is no longer responsible for a child under the age of eighteen; (2) the department determines that the legal guardian is no longer providing support for the child; or (3) the child attains the age of eighteen or twenty-one, if the child meets the department's requirements for extended assistance under the agreement.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2700 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 8 / Section 63-7-2700
SECTION 63-7-2700. Purpose.
Status: in_force

The purpose of this article is to establish procedures for a child who is or was in the legal custody of the Department of Social Services on the child's eighteenth birthday and who has not attained age twenty-one to receive services and supports that promote emotional well-being, economic productivity, self-sufficiency, connection to family and community, and a successful transition to adulthood upon leaving the state's foster care system. Editor's Note 2022 Act No. 143, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and is contingent upon funding in the general appropriations bill."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-2295 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 22 / Section 63-11-2295
SECTION 63-11-2295. Complaints regarding State Child Advocate and department.
Status: in_force

(A) Complaints regarding any allegations against the State Child Advocate, the Department of Children's Advocacy, or any of its affiliated divisions should be submitted in writing to the State Inspector General under the authority provided by the provisions of Chapter 6, Title 1. The State Inspector General shall determine if an investigation is warranted and shall provide a written finding at the end of an investigation, which must be provided to the complainant, the Governor, the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children, and the State Child Advocate. The State Child Advocate shall develop policies and procedures for receipt of such complaints and their referral to the State Inspector General. (B) No discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory action may be taken against an employee of an agency, an employee of an entity contracting with an agency, a foster parent, or a recipient of family and children's services for any communication made, or information given or disclosed, to aid the department in carrying out its responsibilities, unless the communication or information is made, given, or disclosed maliciously or without good faith. Editor's Note 2018 Act No. 160, SECTIONS 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows: "SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations." "B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-390 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-390
SECTION 63-7-390. Reporter immunity from liability.
Status: in_force

A person required or permitted to report pursuant to Section 63-7-310 or who participates in an investigation or judicial proceedings resulting from the report, acting in good faith, is immune from civil and criminal liability which might otherwise result by reason of these actions. In all such civil or criminal proceedings, good faith is rebuttably presumed. Immunity under this section extends to full disclosure by the person of facts which gave the person reason to believe that the child's physical or mental health or welfare had been or might be adversely affected by abuse or neglect.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-3-580 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 3 / Article 5 / Section 63-3-580
SECTION 63-3-580. Failure to obey summons.
Status: in_force

If any person summoned as herein provided shall, without reasonable cause, fail to appear, he may be proceeded against for contempt of court. In case the summons or process cannot be served, or the parties served fail to obey the same, or in any case when it shall be made to appear to the judge that the service will be ineffectual, or that the welfare of the child requires that he be brought forthwith into custody of the court, a warrant may be issued for the child, parent or guardian of the child, or any person who may have control or possession of the child, to immediately bring the child before the court.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-2030 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 19 / Section 63-19-2030
SECTION 63-19-2030. Law enforcement records.
Status: repealed

(A) Except as provided herein, law enforcement records and information identifying children pursuant to this chapter are confidential and may not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone, other than those entitled under this chapter to receive the information. (B) Law enforcement records of children must be kept separate from records of adults. Information identifying a child must not be open to public inspection, but the remainder of these records are public records. (C) Law enforcement agencies must maintain admission and release records on children held in secure custody, nonsecure custody, or both. The records must include the times and dates of admission and release from secure and nonsecure custody and, if appropriate, the times and dates of transfer from one custody status to another. (D) Law enforcement information or records of children created pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may be shared among law enforcement agencies, solicitors' offices, the Attorney General, the department, the Office of Mental Health, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services for criminal justice purposes without a court order. (E) Incident reports in which a child is the subject are to be provided to the victim of a crime pursuant to Section 16-3-1520. Incident reports, including information identifying a child, must be provided by law enforcement to the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled when the child has been charged with any of the following offenses: (1) a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60; (2) an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more if committed by an adult; (3) a crime in which a weapon, as defined in Section 59-63-370, was used; (4) assault and battery against school personnel, as defined in Section 16-3-612; (5) assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature committed on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity; or (6) distribution or trafficking in unlawful drugs, as defined in Article 3, Chapter 53 of Title 44. Incident reports involving other offenses must be provided upon request of the principal. This information must be maintained by the principal in the manner set forth in Section 63-19-2020(E) and must be forwarded with the child's permanent school records if the child transfers to another school or school district. (F) A child charged with any offense may be photographed by the law enforcement agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is taken into secure custody and detained, the detention facility must photograph the child upon admission. These photographs may only be disseminated for criminal justice purposes or to assist the Missing Persons Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child. (G) A child charged with an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult must be fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency that takes the child into custody. If the child is taken into secure custody and detained, the detention facility must fingerprint the child upon admission. In addition, a law enforcement agency may petition the court for an order to fingerprint a child when: (1) the child is charged with any other offense; or (2) the law enforcement agency has probable cause to suspect the child of committing any offense. (H) The fingerprint records of a child must be kept separate from the fingerprint records of adults. The fingerprint records of a child must be transmitted to the files of the State Law Enforcement Division. (I) The fingerprint records of a child may be transmitted by the State Law Enforcement Division to the files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation only when the child has been adjudicated delinquent for having committed an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult. (J) The fingerprint records of a child adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult must be provided by the State Law Enforcement Division or the law enforcement agency who took the child into custody to a law enforcement agency upon request by that agency for criminal justice purposes or to assist the Missing Person Information Center in the location or identification of a missing or runaway child. (K) The fingerprints and any record created by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as a result of the receipt of fingerprints of a child pursuant to this section must not be disclosed for any purpose not specifically authorized by law or court order. (L) Upon notification that a child has not been adjudicated delinquent for an offense that would carry a maximum term of imprisonment of five years or more if committed by an adult, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the law enforcement agency who took the child into custody must destroy the fingerprints and all records created as a result of such information. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18. Section 16-3-612, referenced in subsection (E)(4), was repealed by 2010 Act No. 273, SECTION 7. Editor's Note 2010 Act No. 273, SECTION 7.C, provides: "Wherever in the 1976 Code of Laws reference is made to the common law offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, it means assault and battery with intent to kill, as contained in repealed Section 16-3-620, and, except for references in Section 16-1-60 and Section 17-25-45, wherever in the 1976 Code reference is made to assault and battery with intent to kill, it means attempted murder as defined in Section 16-3-29."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3380 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3380
SECTION 63-17-3380. Discovery powers of tribunal.
Status: in_force

A tribunal of this State may: (1) request a tribunal outside this State to assist in obtaining discovery; and (2) upon request, compel a person over which it has jurisdiction to respond to a discovery order issued by a tribunal outside this State. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, in (1) and (2), substituted "outside this State" for "of another state"; and in (2), substituted "which" for "whom".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-930 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-930
SECTION 63-7-930. Classification categories.
Status: in_force

(A) Reports of child abuse and neglect must be classified in the department's data system and records in one of three categories: Suspected, Unfounded, or Indicated. If the report is categorized as unfounded, the entry must further state the classification of unfounded reports as set forth in subsection (C). All initial reports must be considered suspected. Reports must be maintained in the category of suspected for no more than sixty days after the report was received by the department. By the end of the sixty-day time period, suspected reports must be classified as either unfounded or indicated pursuant to the agency's investigation. (B)(1) Indicated findings must be based upon a finding of the facts available to the department that there is a preponderance of evidence that the child is an abused or neglected child. Indicated findings must include a description of the services being provided the child and those responsible for the child's welfare and all relevant dispositional information. (2) If the family court makes a determination or the process described in Subarticle 9 results in a determination that the indicated finding is not supported by a preponderance of evidence that there was any act of child abuse or neglect, the case classification must be converted to unfounded and Section 63-7-940 applies. (3) If the family court makes a specific determination, or the process described in Subarticle 9 results in a determination that there is not a preponderance of evidence that the person who was the subject of the report committed an act of child abuse or neglect, but that the child was abused or neglected by an unknown person, the department must maintain the case as an indicated case and access to records of the case may be granted as provided in Section 63-7-1990. The department shall not delete from its data system or records information indicating that the person was the subject of the report. The department's data system and records must clearly record the results of the court or administrative proceeding. If the case record and data system included a designation with the name of the subject of the report indicating that the person committed the abuse or neglect, that designation must be removed following the determination that there is not a preponderance of evidence that the subject of the report committed an act of child abuse or neglect. (C) All reports that are not indicated at the conclusion of the investigation and all records of information for which an investigation was not conducted pursuant to Section 63-7-350 must be classified as unfounded. Unfounded reports must be further classified as Category I, Category II, Category III, or Category IV. (1) Category I unfounded reports are those in which abuse and neglect were ruled out following the investigation. A report falls in this category if evidence of abuse or neglect as defined in this chapter was not found regardless of whether the family had other problems or was in need of services. (2) Category II unfounded reports are those in which the investigation did not produce a preponderance of evidence that the child is an abused or neglected child. (3) Category III unfounded reports are those in which an investigation could not be completed because the department was unable to locate the child or family or for some other compelling reason. (4) Category IV unfounded reports are records of information received pursuant to Section 63-7-350, but which were not investigated by the department.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-310 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 5 / Article 3 / Section 63-5-310
SECTION 63-5-310. Ratification of minor's contracts.
Status: in_force

No action shall be maintained whereby to charge any person upon any promise made after full age to pay any debt contracted during infancy or upon any ratification after full age of any promise (except upon contracts for necessaries) made during infancy unless such promise or ratification shall be made by some writing signed by the party to be charged therewith.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-740 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 1 / Section 63-9-740
SECTION 63-9-740. Itemized accounting of disbursements.
Status: in_force

(A) At the final hearing on the adoption, the petitioner shall file a full, itemized accounting of disbursements of anything of value made, agreed to be made, or anticipated being made by or on behalf of the petitioner for expenses incurred or fees for services rendered in connection with the adoption. The accounting must be verified by the petitioner under penalty of perjury. (B) The accounting by the petitioner must include: (1) dates and amounts of disbursements made, agreed to be made, or anticipated being made and by whom the disbursements were or are to be made; (2) names and addresses of persons to whom the disbursements were made or are to be made; (3) services received for the disbursements and by whom the services were received; (4) receipts for reasonable living expenses incurred by the mother and child assessed as costs under Section 63-9-310(F)(1). No assessment is allowed for a cost which does not have a corresponding receipt or which is unreasonable.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-1710 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 17 / Section 63-11-1710
SECTION 63-11-1710. Board established; administrative responsibilities.
Status: repealed

(A) There is established the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees, an eleemosynary corporation, which shall oversee the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative, a broad range of innovative early childhood development and education, family support, health services, and prevention efforts to meet critical needs of South Carolina's children through the awarding of grants to partnerships at the county level as provided for in Section 59-152-90. (B) The board may accept gifts, bequests, and grants from any person or foundation. The fund and grants from the fund shall supplement and augment, but not take the place of, services provided by local, state, or federal agencies. The board of trustees shall carry out activities necessary to administer the fund, including assessing service needs and gaps, soliciting proposals to address identified service needs, and establishing criteria for the awarding of grants. (C) The board must ensure the fiscal and programmatic accountability of the administration of the State Office of First Steps through the submission of annual reports as required by a state agency including, but not limited to, required reports to the Office of the Governor, General Assembly, State Department of Administration, State Fiscal Accountability Authority, Comptroller General, Inspector General, and State Auditor, which includes the annual accountability report, debt collection report, composite bank account report, sole source reportings, annual budget request beginning with the Governor's annual deadline, recovery audits, Inspector General's fraud, waste, and abuse report, and agency head salary commission reports. Required reporting is to be made public on the recipient's website in the same manner in which state agency reports are made public. Editor's Note 2006 Act No. 412, SECTION 2, provides in part as follows: "Act 99 of 1999, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized until July 1, 2013." 2013 Act No. 101, SECTION 117.114, provides as follows: "117.114. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2013-2014." 2014 Act No. 286, SECTION 117.108, provides as follows: "117.108. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2014-2015." 2018 Act No. 152, SECTION 8, provides as follows: "SECTION 8. Section 20B. of Act 287 of 2014 [reauthorizing the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act until July 1, 2016] is repealed. Act 99 of 1999, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, as amended by this act, is reauthorized until June 30, 2025." Effect of Amendment 2018 Act No. 152, SECTION 5, added (C) and made a nonsubstantive change.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-2270 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 22 / Section 63-11-2270
SECTION 63-11-2270. Duties; reports; access.
Status: in_force

The Department of Children's Advocacy shall: (1) ensure that children under the care of a state agency, particularly children served by the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, receive timely, safe, and effective services and shall safeguard the health, safety, and well-being of all children receiving services; (2) examine, on a system-wide basis, the care and services that state agencies provide children and shall provide recommendations to improve the quality of those services in order to give each child the opportunity to live a full and productive life; (3) develop and promote a broad vision for reform, driven by the values and goals of child-serving agencies, to make the services and programs provided by state agencies more effective for children, youth, families, and communities; (4) receive and investigate complaints related to the provision of services to children by a state agency, shall review and monitor the complaints that reasonably cause the department to believe that a child may be in need of assistance, and shall ensure that the complaints are resolved. If a complaint is not resolved by the relevant state agency within a reasonable period of time in light of the circumstances, if the resolution is determined to be unsatisfactory to the State Child Advocate, or if the complaint reasonably causes the State Child Advocate to believe that a child may be in need of immediate assistance, then the State Child Advocate may conduct an investigation of the complaint; (5) receive and investigate complaints from children in the care of the State, shall assist such children in resolving problems and concerns associated with their placement and plans for lifelong adult connections and independent living, shall ensure that relevant state agencies have been alerted to the complaints, and shall facilitate intra-agency cooperation, if appropriate; (6) undertake activities designed to educate the public regarding the services and the independent role of the department and the mission of state agencies in providing services to children and families; (7) annually submit a report to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children detailing the State Child Advocate's activities; and (8) have access at any and all reasonable times to any facility, residence, program, or portion thereof that is operated, licensed, or funded by a state agency and shall have unrestricted access to all electronic information systems records, reports, materials, and employees in order to better understand the needs of children in the custody of the State or children who are receiving services from a state agency. The Department of Children's Advocacy shall also have access to relevant records held by the clerks of the family courts and the clerks of the probate courts and shall also have the right to inspect and copy such records, without cost. Editor's Note 2018 Act No. 160, SECTIONS 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows: "SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations." "B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer." 2019 Act No. 1, SECTION 97, provides as follows: "SECTION 97. The Code Commissioner is directed to change all references to 'President Pro Tempore', 'President Pro Tempore of the Senate', or 'President of the Senate Pro Tempore' not specifically addressed in this act to 'President of the Senate'."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-1360 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 13 / Section 63-11-1360
SECTION 63-11-1360. Annual report.
Status: in_force

The Continuum of Care Division shall submit, through the Department of Children's Advocacy's annual report to the Governor and General Assembly, its activities and recommendations for changes and improvements in the delivery of services by public agencies serving children. Editor's Note 2018 Act No. 160, SECTIONS 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows: "SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations." "B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer." Effect of Amendment 2014 Act No. 121, SECTION 7.MM.4, substituted "Department of Administration" for "Governor". 2018 Act No. 160, SECTION 8, substituted "Governor" for "Department of Administration". 2025 Act No. 8, SECTION 4.B, substituted "submit, through the Department of Children's Advocacy's annual report to the Governor and General Assembly," for "submit an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly on".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2710 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 8 / Section 63-7-2710
SECTION 63-7-2710. Definitions.
Status: in_force

For purposes of this article: (1) "Administrative case review" means a review open to the child and if the child consents, the child's parents, conducted by a panel of appropriate persons. Although at least one member of the panel must be a person who is not responsible for the case management of or the delivery of services to the child or the child's parents, employees of the Department of Social Services are appropriate persons and may participate as panelist. (2) "Child" means a person who is or was in the legal custody of the department on the person's eighteenth birthday, who has not attained age twenty-one, and who meets at least one of the following requirements: (a) is completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential; (b) is enrolled in an institution which provides post-secondary or vocational education; (c) is participating in a program or activity designed to promote or remove barriers to employment; (d) is employed for at least eighty hours a month; or (e) is incapable of doing any of the above-described activities due to a physical, intellectual, emotional, or psychiatric condition that limits participation, and the presence of the condition is supported by regularly updated information in the transition plan. (3) "Childcare institution" means a private childcare institution, or a public childcare institution which accommodates no more than twenty-five children, that is licensed by the department. "Childcare institution" does not include wilderness camps or training schools, nor does it include any facility that exists primarily for the detention or correction of children. (4) "Court" means the family court. (5) "Department" means the Department of Social Services. (6) "Foster family home" means the private home of an individual or family that is licensed by the department and in which a child in foster care has been placed in the care of an individual who resides with the child; has been licensed by the department to be a foster parent that the department deems capable of adhering to the reasonable and prudent parent standard as defined in Section 63-7-20(24); provides twenty-four hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or other caretakers; and provides care for children subject to capacity limitations set forth in Section 63-7-2400. This term also includes kinship, relative, and child-specific homes. (7) "Legal custody" means the right to the physical custody, care, and control of the child; the right to determine where the child shall live; the right and duty to provide protection, food, clothing, shelter, ordinary medical care, education, supervision, and discipline for a child and in an emergency to authorize surgery or other extraordinary care. The court may in its order place other rights and duties with the legal custodian. (8) "Placement and care responsibility" means the authority conveyed through the court, through written authorization prior to the child's eighteenth birthday, or through a voluntary placement agreement to provide supervision of the child and the child's placement. (9) "Supervised independent living setting" means any housing arrangement that is licensed or approved by the department and which makes support services for a successful transition to adulthood available to the child. Case management for the child must be provided by the department or a contracted provider. The child must reside in the setting voluntarily and the setting does not include wilderness camps or training schools, nor does it include any facility that exists primarily for the detention or correction of children. (10) "Transition plan" means a written case plan that is personalized, as detailed as the child may elect, and that includes specific options on housing, health insurance, education, local opportunities for mentors and for continuing support services, work force supports, and employment services. A transition plan also must include information about the importance of designating another individual to make health care treatment decisions on behalf of the child if the child becomes unable to participate in such decisions and the child does not have, or does not want, a relative who would otherwise be authorized to make such decisions, and provides the child with the option to execute a health care power of attorney or health care proxy. (11) "Voluntary placement agreement" means a written agreement, binding on the child and the department, which describes at a minimum, the legal status of the child, as well as the rights and obligations of the child and the department while the child is under the placement and care responsibility of the department. Editor's Note 2022 Act No. 143, SECTION 3, provides as follows: "SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and is contingent upon funding in the general appropriations bill."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-460 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 3 / Section 63-17-460
SECTION 63-17-460. Medical bills as evidence of costs.
Status: in_force

(A) If copies of bills are furnished to the adverse party at least ten days before the date of an administrative or judicial hearing, the bills for testing for parentage and for prenatal and postnatal health care of the mother and child must be admitted as evidence without third party foundation testimony and are prima facie evidence of the amounts incurred for the services or for testing and that the amounts were reasonable, necessary, and customary. (B) Any individual or entity who prepares or submits falsified billing information shall be subject to the contempt powers of the court.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-40 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 1 / Section 63-17-40
SECTION 63-17-40. Settlement and voluntary agreements.
Status: in_force

(A) The court must encourage settlements and voluntary agreements and must examine and approve them whenever they are warranted. Upon a finding of fairness the court shall approve, without a hearing, settlements and voluntary agreements which are reduced to writing, signed by the parties, and properly verified. The agreement must be accompanied by financial declarations and affidavits from the custodial and noncustodial parents stating that they have read, or have had read to them, and understand the agreement and that they have voluntarily executed the agreement or consent order. The parties may submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the court by a settlement or voluntary agreement which must be filed with the summons and complaint. A defendant's affidavit must state that the defendant is capable of fulfilling any financial requirements of the agreement or consent order applicable to the defendant. Upon the court's approval, the settlement or voluntary agreement becomes an order of the court. (B) In actions commenced by the Department of Social Services or any other authorized agency, an employee of the department or the agency who is familiar with the action may make, on behalf of the custodial parent, the required affidavit accompanying a settlement, voluntary agreement, or consent order. In cases where the child is the recipient of public assistance, the affidavit must state that the employee has reviewed the case and that the child involved is receiving public assistance due in part to inadequate support from the noncustodial parent.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-960 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-960
SECTION 63-7-960. Consolidation and delivery of services.
Status: in_force

The department is charged with providing, directing, or coordinating the appropriate and timely delivery of services to children found to be abused or neglected and those responsible for their welfare or others exercising temporary or permanent control over these children. Services must not be construed to include emergency protective custody provided for in Subarticle 3.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-1-20 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 1 / Section 63-1-20
SECTION 63-1-20. Policy.
Status: in_force

(A) A children's policy is hereby established for this State. (B) This policy shall be interpreted in conjunction with all relevant laws and regulations and shall apply to all children who have need of services including, but not limited to, those mentally, socially, emotionally, physically, developmentally, culturally, educationally or economically disadvantaged or handicapped, those dependent, neglected, abused or exploited and those who by their circumstance or action violate the laws of this State and are found to be in need of treatment or rehabilitation. (C) It shall be the policy of this State to concentrate on the prevention of children's problems as the most important strategy which can be planned and implemented on behalf of children and their families. The State shall encourage community involvement in the provision of children's services including, as an integral part, local government, public and private voluntary groups, public and private nonprofit groups and private-for-profit groups in order to encourage and provide innovative strategies for children's services. To maximize resources in providing services to children in need, all agencies providing services to children shall develop methods to coordinate their services and resources. For children with multiple needs, the furtherance of this policy requires all children's services agencies to recognize that their jurisdiction in meeting these children's needs is not mutually exclusive. (D) When children or their families request help, state and local government resources shall be utilized to compliment community efforts to help meet the needs of children by aiding in the prevention and resolution of their problems. The State shall direct its efforts first to strengthen and encourage family life as the most appropriate environment for the care and nurturing of children. To this end, the State shall assist and encourage families to utilize all available resources. For children in need of services, care, and guidance the State shall secure those services as are needed to serve the emotional, mental, and physical welfare of children and the best interests of the community, preferably in their homes or the least restrictive environment possible. When children must be placed in care away from their homes, the State shall insure that they are protected against any harmful effects resulting from the temporary or permanent inability of parents to provide care and protection for their children. It is the policy of this State to reunite the child with his family in a timely manner, whether or not the child has been placed in the care of the State voluntarily. When children must be permanently removed from their homes, they shall be placed in adoptive homes so that they may become members of a family by legal adoption or, when adoption is not appropriate, in the legal guardianship of relatives or fictive kin to preserve family connections, or absent that possibility, other permanent settings. (E) The children's policy provided for in this chapter shall be implemented through the cooperative efforts of state, county and municipal legislative, judicial and executive branches, as well as other public and private resources. Where resources are limited, services shall be targeted to those children in greatest need. (F) In order to carry out this policy each agency, department, institution, committee, and commission which is concerned or responsible for children shall submit as a part of its annual budget request a listing of programs and services for children, the priority order of these programs and services in relation to other services, if any, that are provided by the agency, department, institution, committee, or commission, and a summary of the expenses incurred for the administration of its children's services and programs. In addition, each agency, department, institution, committee, and commission which must submit pursuant to law an annual report to the General Assembly shall include as part of the report a comprehensive statement of how its children's services and programs contributed to the implementation of this policy. Copies of all these budget requests and annual reports must be provided to the Office of the Governor by the agency, department, institution, committee, or commission. Effect of Amendment 2023 Act No. 25, SECTION 7, in (D), in the last sentence, inserted "when adoption is not appropriate, in the legal guardianship of relatives or fictive kin to preserve family connections, or", and made nonsubstantive changes.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-1040 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 9 / Section 63-13-1040
SECTION 63-13-1040. Department of Social Services curriculum restrictions.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding the staff training requirements of Section 63-13-1010(A) and (B)(3), the department may not prescribe the curriculum for staff training, other than curriculum addressing administration, child growth and development, and health and safety, for a church congregation, established religious denomination, or religious college or university, childcare center or group childcare home. Additionally, the department may not prescribe the content of curriculum activities for children provided by these childcare centers or group childcare homes.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-340 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 5 / Article 3 / Section 63-5-340
SECTION 63-5-340. Minor's consent to health services.
Status: in_force

Any minor who has reached the age of sixteen years may consent to any health services from a person authorized by law to render the particular health service for himself and the consent of no other person shall be necessary unless such involves an operation which shall be performed only if such is essential to the health or life of such child in the opinion of the performing physician and a consultant physician if one is available.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2570 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 7 / Section 63-7-2570
SECTION 63-7-2570. Grounds.
Status: repealed

The family court may order the termination of parental rights upon a finding of one or more of the following grounds and a finding that termination is in the best interest of the child: (1) The child or another child while residing in the parent's domicile has been harmed as defined in Section 63-7-20, and because of the severity or repetition of the abuse or neglect, it is not reasonably likely that the home can be made safe within twelve months. In determining the likelihood that the home can be made safe, the parent's previous abuse or neglect of the child or another child may be considered. (2) The child has been removed from the parent pursuant to subarticle 3 or Section 63-7-1660 and has been out of the home for a period of six months following the adoption of a placement plan by court order or by agreement between the department and the parent and the parent has not remedied the conditions which caused the removal. (3) The child has lived outside the home of either parent for a period of six months, and during that time the parent has wilfully failed to visit the child. The court may attach little or no weight to incidental visitations, but it must be shown that the parent was not prevented from visiting by the party having custody or by court order. The distance of the child's placement from the parent's home must be taken into consideration when determining the ability to visit. (4) The child has lived outside the home of either parent for a period of six months, and during that time the parent has wilfully failed to support the child. Failure to support means that the parent has failed to make a material contribution to the child's care. A material contribution consists of either financial contributions according to the parent's means or contributions of food, clothing, shelter, or other necessities for the care of the child according to the parent's means. The court may consider all relevant circumstances in determining whether or not the parent has wilfully failed to support the child, including requests for support by the custodian and the ability of the parent to provide support. (5) The presumptive legal father is not the biological father of the child, and the welfare of the child can best be served by termination of the parental rights of the presumptive legal father. (6)(a) The following circumstances exist, subject to the requirements set forth in Section 63-21-20: (i) the parent has a diagnosable condition unlikely to change within a reasonable time including, but not limited to, addiction to alcohol or illegal drugs or prescription medication abuse; and (ii) the condition makes the parent unlikely to provide minimally acceptable care of the child. (b) It is presumed that the parent's condition is unlikely to change within a reasonable time upon proof that the parent has been required by the department or the family court to participate in a treatment program for alcohol or drug addiction, and the parent has failed two or more times to complete the program successfully or has refused at two or more separate meetings with the department to participate in a treatment program. (c) The department, and any other covered entity, must not terminate the rights of a parent or legal guardian with a disability solely on the basis of the disability. (7) The child has been abandoned as defined in Section 63-7-20. (8) The child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the State for fifteen of the most recent twenty-two months. (9) The physical abuse of a child of the parent resulted in the death or admission to the hospital for in-patient care of that child and the abuse is the act for which the parent has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to committing, aiding, abetting, conspiring to commit, or soliciting an offense against the person as provided for in Chapter 3, Title 16, criminal domestic violence as defined in Section 16-25-20, criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature as defined in Section 16-25-65, or an assault and battery offense as provided in Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 16. (10) A parent of the child pleads guilty or nolo contendere to or is convicted of the murder of the child's other parent. (11) Conception of a child as a result of the criminal sexual conduct of a biological parent, as found by a court of competent jurisdiction, is grounds for terminating the rights of that biological parent, unless the sentencing court makes specific findings on the record that the conviction resulted from consensual sexual conduct when neither the victim nor the actor were younger than fourteen years of age nor older than eighteen years of age at the time of the offense. (12) The parent of the child pleads guilty or nolo contendere to or is convicted of murder, voluntary manslaughter, or homicide by child abuse, of another child of the parent. Editor's Note 2010 Act No. 273, SECTION 7.C, provides: "Wherever in the 1976 Code of Laws reference is made to the common law offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, it means assault and battery with intent to kill, as contained in repealed Section 16-3-620, and, except for references in Section 16-1-60 and Section 17-25-45, wherever in the 1976 Code reference is made to assault and battery with intent to kill, it means attempted murder as defined in Section 16-3-29." Effect of Amendment The 2010 amendment in subsection (1) substituted "while residing in the parent's domicile" for "in the home" in the first sentence, and deleted "in the home" preceding "may be considered" at the end of the second sentence; in subsection (6) added "unable or" following "and the condition makes the parent" in the first sentence; and in subsection (9) deleted "of the parent" following "The physical abuse of a child" at the beginning. 2014 Act No. 281, SECTION 8, in paragraph (2), inserted "and" following "63-7-1660"; in paragraph (6), substituted "addiction to alcohol or illegal drugs, prescription medication abuse, mental deficiency, mental illness, or extreme physical incapacity, and the condition makes the parent unlikely" for "alcohol or drug addiction, mental deficiency, mental illness, or extreme physical incapacity, and the condition makes the parent unable or unlikely"; in paragraph (9), inserted "of the parent" after "physical abuse of a child", and substituted "an assault and battery offense as provided in Article 7, Chapter 3, Title 16" for "the common law offense of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature"; and made other nonsubstantive changes. 2017 Act No. 36, SECTION 5, rewrote (6), prohibiting the termination of parental rights solely on the basis of a disability.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-1070 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 9 / Section 63-13-1070
SECTION 63-13-1070. Appeals.
Status: in_force

(A) When the registration of a facility has been suspended, the operator must be given prompt written notice. The notice must indicate the reasons for the suspension and inform the operator of the right to appeal the decision through administrative channels to the department and according to established appeals procedure for the department. (B) Upon appeal, the decision of the department is final unless appealed by a party pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-90 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 1 / Section 63-11-90
SECTION 63-11-90. Penalties.
Status: in_force

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 imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-30 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 1 / Section 63-15-30
SECTION 63-15-30. Child's preference.
Status: in_force

In determining the best interests of the child, the court must consider the child's reasonable preference for custody. The court shall place weight upon the preference based upon the child's age, experience, maturity, judgment, and ability to express a preference.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-1010 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 9 / Section 63-19-1010
SECTION 63-19-1010. Intake and probation.
Status: in_force

(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide intake and probation services for juveniles brought before the family courts of this State and for persons committed or referred to the department in cooperation with all local officials or agencies concerned. The role and function of intake is to independently assess the circumstances and needs of children referred for possible prosecution in the family court. Recommendations by the department as to intake must be reviewed by the office of the solicitor in the circuit concerned, and the final determination as to whether or not the juvenile is to be prosecuted in the family court must be made by the solicitor or by the solicitor's authorized assistant. Statements of the juvenile contained in the department's files must not be furnished to the solicitor's office as part of the intake review procedure, and the solicitor's office must not be privy to these statements in connection with its intake review. (B) Where circumstances do not warrant prosecution in the discretion of the solicitor, the intake counselor shall offer referral assistance for services as appropriate for the child and family. In the event that a juvenile is adjudicated to be delinquent or found by the family court to be in violation of the terms of probation, the intake counselor shall offer appropriate dispositional recommendations to the family court for its consideration and determination of the disposition of the case.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-680 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-680
SECTION 63-7-680. Emergency protective custody extension.
Status: in_force

The period of emergency protective custody may be extended for up to twenty-four additional hours if: (1) the department concludes that the child is to be placed with a relative or other person instead of taking legal custody of the child; (2) the department requests the appropriate law enforcement agency to check for records concerning the relative or other person, or any adults in that person's home; and (3) the law enforcement agency notifies the department that the extension is needed to enable the law enforcement agency to complete its record check before the department's decision on whether to take legal custody of the child.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-2320 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 17 / Section 63-17-2320
SECTION 63-17-2320. Information from financial institutions.
Status: repealed

(A) In the manner and form prescribed by the Child Support Enforcement Division, a financial institution, as defined in Section 63-17-2310(A)(2), on a quarterly basis, shall provide the division or its designee information on account holders for use in the establishment, enforcement, and collection of child support obligations including, but not limited to: (1) full name; (2) social security number or taxpayer identification number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number; (3) record address; (4) account numbers; and (5) information on assets and liabilities. (B) Utilizing automated data exchanges to the maximum extent feasible, a financial institution shall provide for each calendar quarter the name, address, social security number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number, and other identifying information for each noncustodial parent who maintains an account at the institution and who owes past-due support, as identified by the division by name and social security number, or the alien identification number assigned to a resident alien who does not have a social security number. (C) In response to a notice of lien or levy, a financial institution shall encumber or surrender, as the case may be, assets held by the institution on behalf of a noncustodial parent who is subject to a child support lien. (D) The department shall pay a reasonable fee to a financial institution for conducting the data match, not to exceed the actual costs incurred by the financial institution. (E) This section remains in effect until the federal mandate requiring the operation of a financial institution data match is repealed.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3030 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3030
SECTION 63-17-3030. Initiating or responding tribunals.
Status: in_force

Under this article, a tribunal of this State may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state or a foreign country. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, inserted "a tribunal of" before "another state" and inserted "or a foreign country" at the end.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-1350 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 3 / Section 63-9-1350
SECTION 63-9-1350. Department of Social Services to obtain accreditation.
Status: in_force

The department shall take all actions necessary to achieve accreditation of its adoption program by a nationally recognized accreditation organization, such as the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, as soon as practicable.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3880 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3880
SECTION 63-17-3880. Procedure to register child-support order of foreign country for modification.
Status: in_force

A party or support enforcement agency seeking to modify, or to modify and enforce, a foreign child-support order not under the convention may register that order in this State under Sections 63-17-3610, 63-17-3620, 63-17-3630, 63-17-3640, 63-17-3710, 63-17-3720, 63-17-3730, and 63-17-3740 if the order has not been registered. A petition for modification may be filed at the same time as a request for registration, or at another time. The petition must specify the grounds for modification. Part VII Support Proceeding under Convention DERIVATION TABLE Showing the section in former Chapter 7, Title 20 from which the section in this part was derived.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-670 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 6 / Section 63-15-670
SECTION 63-15-670. Warrant to take physical custody of child.
Status: in_force

(A) If a petition under this article contains allegations, and the court finds that there is a credible risk that the child is imminently likely to be wrongfully removed, the court may issue an ex parte warrant to take physical custody of the child. (B) The respondent on a petition under subsection (A) must be afforded an opportunity to be heard at the earliest possible time after the ex parte warrant is executed, but no later than the next judicial day unless a hearing on that date is impossible. In that event, the court shall hold the hearing on the first judicial day possible. (C) An ex parte warrant under subsection (A) to take physical custody of a child must: (1) recite the facts upon which a determination of a credible risk of imminent wrongful removal of the child is based; (2) direct law enforcement officers to take physical custody of the child immediately; (3) state the date and time for the hearing on the petition; and (4) provide for the safe interim placement of the child pending further order of the court. (D) If feasible, before issuing a warrant and before determining the placement of the child after the warrant is executed, the court may order a search of the relevant databases of the National Crime Information Center system and similar state databases to determine if either the petitioner or respondent has a history of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect. (E) The petition and warrant must be served on the respondent when or immediately after the child is taken into physical custody. (F) A warrant to take physical custody of a child, issued by this State or another state, is enforceable throughout this State. If the court finds that a less intrusive remedy will not be effective, it may authorize law enforcement officers to enter private property to take physical custody of the child. If required by exigent circumstances, the court may authorize law enforcement officers to make a forcible entry at any hour. (G) If the court finds, after a hearing, that a petitioner sought an ex parte warrant under subsection (A) for the purpose of harassment or in bad faith, the court may award the respondent reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses. (H) This article does not affect the availability of relief allowed under the laws of this State other than this article.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-1630 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 15 / Section 63-19-1630
SECTION 63-19-1630. Institutional transfer.
Status: in_force

A child committed to an institution under the provisions of this chapter may be transferred by the department to an institution, facility, or vocational training center under its jurisdiction.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-1600 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 11 / Section 63-17-1600
SECTION 63-17-1600. Recording arrearages.
Status: in_force

When a delinquency occurs as defined in Section 63-17-1410, the obligor must be given notice pursuant to Section 63-17-1440 of the proposed lien. Where no petition to stay service is timely filed or where no relief is granted to the obligor pursuant to Section 63-17-1450, the arrearage may be recorded or provided for in Section 63-17-1460 in the appropriate index in the office of the Clerk of Court or Register of Deeds. Upon recordation the arrearage has the same force and effect as a judgment and it is cumulative to the extent of any and all past due support, until the arrearage is paid in full. The judgment may be recorded in any county in which the obligor resides or in which he owns real property by the filing of a transcript of judgment in that county. A lien imposed pursuant to this section is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-410 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 3 / Section 63-7-410
SECTION 63-7-410. Failure to report; penalties.
Status: in_force

A person required to report a case of child abuse or neglect or a person required to perform any other function under this article who knowingly fails to do so, or a person who threatens or attempts to intimidate a witness is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-810 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 7 / Section 63-13-810
SECTION 63-13-810. Registration required for family childcare homes.
Status: in_force

(A) As used in this chapter, "family childcare home" means a facility within a residence occupied by the operator in which childcare regularly is provided for no more than six children, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, including those children living in the home and the children received for childcare who are related to the resident caregiver. However, an occupied residence in which childcare is provided only for a child or children related to the resident caregiver or only for the child or children of one unrelated family, or only for a combination of these children, is not a family childcare home. (B) An operator of a family childcare home shall register with the department within six months of June 13, 1977. (C)(1) A family childcare home which elects to participate in a federal program which requires licensing as a prerequisite to participation may elect to be licensed under the procedures in Section 63-13-820. A family childcare home electing licensing shall demonstrate compliance with the suggested standards developed by the department under Section 63-13-180 and shall comply with provisions of Sections 63-13-420 and 63-13-430 relating to criminal history conviction records checks, a Central Registry check to be conducted by the department to determine any abuse or neglect perpetrated by the person upon a child, and a search of the National Crime Information Center National Sex Offender Registry and the state sex offender registry pursuant to Section 23-3-430 upon original licensing and upon renewal. The person shall be subject to a state criminal register or repository check, a state sex offender check, and a state child abuse and neglect registry and database check in each state where the person has lived in the previous five years. (2) Operators and caregivers of licensed family childcare homes are held to the standards in Sections 63-13-420 and 63-13-430 regarding criminal convictions and Central Registry and sex offender checks. Effect of Amendment 2019 Act No. 52, SECTION 7, in (C), inserted the (1) identifier, rewrote the second and third sentences, and added (2).
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-1220 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 11 / Section 63-13-1220
SECTION 63-13-1220. Committee duties.
Status: in_force

The State Advisory Committee on the Regulation of Childcare Facilities shall: (1) Review changes in the regulations and suggested standards proposed by the director or his designee and make recommendations on these changes to the director or his designee. The committee shall evaluate the regulations and suggested standards at the three-year review period (subsection (C) of Section 63-13-180) and recommend necessary changes. No regulation may be promulgated if the standard has been disapproved by a simple majority of the committee. (2) Advise the department regarding the improvement of the regulation of childcare facilities. (3) Advise the department on matters of regulatory policy, planning, and priorities. (4) As it considers necessary, hold a public hearing at least thirty days before adoption of the regulations. (5) Plan with the department for the procedures to be used in notifying licensees, approved operators, and registrants regarding regulatory changes sixty days before intended promulgation. (6) Maintain through the department the essential liaison with other departments and agencies of state and local government so as to preclude imposition of duplicate requirements upon operators subject to regulations under this chapter. (7) Act to move the adoption of its recommendations and other pertinent disposition of matters before it by decision of a simple majority of those members present and voting, provided there is a quorum of eight members.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-710 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 5 / Section 63-17-710
SECTION 63-17-710. Jurisdiction.
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding Section 63-3-530 and any other provision of law, the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Social Services, or its designee, also has jurisdiction to establish paternity, to establish and enforce child support, and to administratively change the payee in cases brought pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act in accordance with this article.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-1750 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 17 / Section 63-11-1750
SECTION 63-11-1750. Funding.
Status: repealed

(A) A separate fund must be established to accept nongovernmental grants, gifts, and donations from any public or private source for the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative. Each donor may designate up to one-half of their contribution to specific counties or a county. Both the designated and undesignated funds may be used to meet the local match required in Section 59-152-130. All funds may be carried forward from fiscal year to fiscal year. The State Treasurer shall invest the monies in this fund in the same manner as other funds under his control are invested and all interest derived from the investment of these funds shall remain in the fund. The South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall administer and authorize any disbursements from the fund. Private individuals and groups must be encouraged to contribute to this endeavor. (B) In addition, a separate fund within the state general fund must be established for monies that may be appropriated by the General Assembly for the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness initiative. These funds may be carried forward from fiscal year to fiscal year. The State Treasurer shall invest the monies in this fund in the same manner as other funds under his control are invested. The South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees shall administer and authorize any disbursements from the fund. (C) All interest derived from the investment of the funds in subsections (A) and (B) shall remain a part of each respective fund. Editor's Note 2013 Act No. 101, SECTION 117.114, provides as follows: "117.114. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2013-2014." 2014 Act No. 286, SECTION 117.108, provides as follows: "117.108. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2014-2015." 2018 Act No. 152, SECTION 8, provides as follows: "SECTION 8. Section 20B. of Act 287 of 2014 [reauthorizing the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act until July 1, 2016] is repealed. Act 99 of 1999, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, as amended by this act, is reauthorized until June 30, 2025."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-3-60 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 3 / Article 1 / Section 63-3-60
SECTION 63-3-60. Retirement for abolished officers.
Status: in_force

A judge or master whose judicial office is eliminated by the provisions of this act shall be given credit for state retirement purposes for the time in which he served as judge or master under a formula to be determined by rule and regulation of the Public Employee Benefit Authority. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, references in this section to the offices of the former State Budget and Control Board, Office of the Governor, or other agencies, were changed to reflect the transfer of them to the Department of Administration or other entities, pursuant to the directive of the South Carolina Restructuring Act, 2014 Act No. 121, SECTION 5(D)(1).
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-1435 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 13 / Section 63-19-1435
SECTION 63-19-1435. Use of restraints on juveniles in court.
Status: in_force

(A) If a juvenile appears before the court wearing instruments of restraint, such as handcuffs, chains, irons, or straightjackets, the court in any proceeding may not continue with the juvenile required to wear instruments of restraint unless the court first finds that: (1) the use of restraints is necessary due to one of the following factors: (a) the juvenile poses a threat of serious harm to himself or others; (b) the juvenile has a demonstrable recent record of disruptive courtroom behavior that has placed others in potentially harmful situations; or (c) there is reason to believe the juvenile is a flight risk; and (2) there are no less restrictive alternatives to restraints that will prevent flight or physical harm to the juvenile or another person, including, but not limited to, court personnel, law enforcement officers, or bailiffs. (B) The court shall provide the juvenile's attorney an opportunity to be heard before the court orders the use of restraints. If restraints are ordered, the court shall make findings of fact in support of the order.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-40 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 1 / Section 63-11-40
SECTION 63-11-40. Temporary crisis placements.
Status: in_force

(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 screened by the department for the sole purpose of these placements. The screening of volunteer crisis homes shall include Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect and criminal history records checks in accordance with Section 63-7-2340. The department shall develop criteria for screening volunteer crisis homes through promulgation of regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. (C) Children in temporary crisis placements are not in the custody of the department and must not be considered to be in foster care. No placement of a child in a temporary crisis home or facility may occur unless it is agreed to by the child's parent, guardian, or custodian and the department. Temporary crisis placements may last no longer than seventy-two hours.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-780 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 1 / Section 63-9-780
SECTION 63-9-780. Confidentiality of hearings and records.
Status: in_force

(A) Unless the court otherwise orders, all hearings held in proceedings under this article and Article 7 are confidential and must be held in closed court without admittance of any person other than those persons involved in the proceedings and their counsel. (B) All papers and records pertaining to the adoption and filed with the clerk of court are confidential from the time of filing and upon entry of the final adoption decree must be sealed and kept as a permanent record of the court and withheld from inspection. No person may have access to the records except for good cause shown by order of the judge of the court in which the decree of adoption was entered. (C) All files and records pertaining to the adoption proceedings in the State Department of Social Services, or in any authorized agency, or maintained by any person certified by the department under the provisions of Section 63-9-360, are confidential and must be withheld from inspection except upon court order for good cause shown. (D) The provisions of this section must not be construed to prevent any adoption agency from furnishing to adoptive parents, biological parents, biological grandparents, biological siblings, or adoptees nonidentifying information when in the sole discretion of the chief executive officer of the agency the information would serve the best interests of the persons concerned either during the period of placement or at a subsequent time nor must the provisions of this article and Article 7 be construed to prevent giving nonidentifying information to any other person, party, or agency who in the discretion of the chief executive officer of the agency has established a sufficient reason justifying the release of that nonidentifying information. As used in this subsection "nonidentifying information" includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) the health and medical histories of the biological parents, biological grandparents, or biological siblings; (2) the health and medical history of the adoptee; (3) the adoptee's general family background without name references or geographical designations; and (4) the length of time the adoptee has been in the care and custody of the adoptive parent. (E)(1) The public adoption agency responsible for the placement shall furnish to an adoptee the identity of the adoptee's biological parents, biological grandparents, and biological siblings and to the biological parents, biological grandparents, and biological siblings the identity of the adoptee under the following conditions: (a) for an adoptee applying for identifying information about a biological parent or biological grandparent: (i) the adoptee must be twenty-one years of age or older, and must apply in writing to the adoption agency for the information; and (ii) the adoption agency must have a current file containing affidavits from the adoptee and the biological parent or biological grandparent, as applicable, agreeing to the disclosure of their identity to each other. The affidavit also must include a statement releasing the agency from any liability due to the disclosure. It is the responsibility of the person furnishing the affidavit to advise the agency of a change in his status, name, and address; (b) for an adoptee applying for identifying information about a biological sibling: (i) the adoptee and the biological sibling must be twenty-one years of age or older, and the adoptee must apply in writing to the adoption agency for the information; and (ii) the adoption agency must have a current file containing affidavits from the adoptee and the biological sibling agreeing to the disclosure of their identity to each other. The affidavit also must include a statement releasing the agency from any liability due to the disclosure. It is the responsibility of the person furnishing the affidavit to advise the agency of a change in his status, name, and address; (c) for a biological parent or biological grandparent applying for identifying information about an adoptee: (i) the adoptee must be twenty-one years of age or older, and the biological parent or biological grandparent must apply in writing to the adoption agency for the information; and (ii) the adoption agency must have a current file containing affidavits from the adoptee and the biological parent or biological grandparent, as applicable, agreeing to the disclosure of their identity to each other. The affidavit also must include a statement releasing the agency from any liability due to the disclosure. It is the responsibility of the person furnishing the affidavit to advise the agency of a change in his status, name, and address; and (d) for a biological sibling applying for identifying information about an adoptee: (i) the biological sibling and adoptee must be twenty-one years of age or older, and the biological sibling must apply in writing to the adoption agency for the information; and (ii) the adoption agency must have a current file containing affidavits from the adoptee and the biological sibling, agreeing to the disclosure of their identity to each other. The affidavit also must include a statement releasing the agency from any liability due to the disclosure. It is the responsibility of the person furnishing the affidavit to advise the agency of a change in his status, name, and address. (2) The adoption agency shall establish and maintain a confidential register containing the names and addresses of the adoptees and the biological parents, biological grandparents, and biological siblings who have filed affidavits. It is the responsibility of a person whose name and address are in the register to provide the agency with his current name and address. The adoption agency shall release the identifying information requested pursuant to this subsection of only those adoptees, biological parents, biological grandparents, and biological siblings who have provided an affidavit pursuant to item (1). (3) The adoptee and the biological parent, biological grandparent, or biological sibling, as applicable, shall undergo counseling by the adoption agency concerning the effects of the disclosure. The adoption agency may charge a fee for the services, but services must not be denied because of inability to pay. (4) No disclosure may be made within thirty days after compliance with these conditions. The director of the adoption agency may waive the thirty-day period in extreme circumstances. (5) The adoption agency may delay disclosure for twenty days from the expiration of the thirty-day period to allow time to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction to enjoin the disclosure for good cause shown. (F)(1) It is unlawful for a person having custody of or access to the papers, records, or files described in subsection (B) or (C) to disseminate or permit dissemination of information contained in them except as otherwise authorized in this section. (2) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both. Effect of Amendment 2017 Act No. 79, SECTION 1, in (D), inserted "biological grandparents, biological siblings" twice, and made nonsubstantive changes; and rewrote (E), revising provisions relating to access to and disclosure of nonidentifying and identifying information about adoptees, biological parents, and biological siblings, to also apply to biological grandparents.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-50 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 1 / Section 63-13-50
SECTION 63-13-50. Fingerprint exemptions.
Status: in_force

The fingerprint-based background checks required by this chapter are not required of a certified education personnel who has undergone a fingerprint-based background check pursuant to Section 59-26-40 or of a person licensed as a foster parent who has undergone a state and federal fingerprint-based background check pursuant to Section 63-7-2340, and the results of these fingerprint-based background checks have been submitted to the department and the person has remained employed since the fingerprint-based background check in certified education or licensed as a foster parent or the fingerprint-based background checks have been conducted within the preceding six months. Effect of Amendment 2019 Act No. 52, SECTION 2, substituted "six months" for "year" at the end. 2024 Act No. 195, SECTION 7, rewrote the section, substituting references to "fingerprint-based background checks" for "fingerprint reviews" throughout.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2370 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 5 / Section 63-7-2370
SECTION 63-7-2370. Disclosure of information to foster parents.
Status: in_force

Prior to and at the time the department places a child with a foster parent, the department shall disclose to the foster parent all information known by the person making the placement or reasonably accessible to the person making the placement that is necessary to provide adequate care and supervision for the child and to protect the health and safety of the child and the foster family. The information that must be disclosed pursuant to this section includes, but is not limited to, medical and mental health conditions and history of the child, the nature of abuse or neglect to which the child has been subjected, behavioral strengths and challenges, and matters related to the child's educational needs. If the department does not have this information at the time of making the placement, a member of the child's casework team or the child's caseworker shall contact the foster parent and provide the information known to the casework team or reasonably accessible during the first working day following the placement. The child's caseworker shall research the child's record and shall supplement the information provided to the foster parent no later than the end of the first week of placement if additional information is found. When the child's caseworker acquires new information which is likely to affect either the ability of the foster parent to provide adequate care and supervision for the child or is likely to place the health and safety of the child or the foster family at risk, the department shall disclose that information to the foster parent. The obligation to provide this information continues until the placement ends. Effect of Amendment 2018 Act No. 165, SECTION 5, rewrote the section.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-504 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 5 / Section 63-15-504
SECTION 63-15-504. Remedies for noncompliance.
Status: in_force

In addition to other relief provided by the law of this State, other than this article, if a court finds that a party to a proceeding under this article has acted in bad faith or intentionally failed to comply with this article or a court order issued pursuant to this article, the court may assess reasonable attorney's fees and costs of the opposing party and order other appropriate relief.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-950 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 9 / Section 63-11-950
SECTION 63-11-950. Disbursement of funds.
Status: in_force

(A) The amount deposited in the trust fund from contributions plus all earnings from the investment of monies of the trust fund credited during the previous fiscal year, after allowances for operating expenses, is available for disbursement upon the authorization of the board of directors. (B) A quorum of the board members is necessary to authorize the disbursement of funds.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-20 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 1 / Section 63-17-20
SECTION 63-17-20. Jurisdiction.
Status: in_force

(A) Any person who has sexual intercourse in this State thereby submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this State as to an action brought under this article with respect to a child who may have been conceived by that act of intercourse. In addition to any other method provided by law, personal jurisdiction may be acquired by service of process outside this State in the manner authorized by the provisions of Section 36-2-806. (B) Unless the court orders otherwise, the custody of an illegitimate child is solely in the natural mother unless the mother has relinquished her rights to the child. If paternity has been acknowledged or adjudicated, the father may petition the court for rights of visitation or custody in a proceeding before the court apart from an action to establish paternity. (C) All actions commenced under this article must be dealt with as separate proceedings before the court without a jury. The general public is to be excluded from these proceedings and only those persons whom the judge finds to have a direct interest in the proceeding or in assisting the court in its work are to be permitted to attend. (D) Any proceeding commenced under this article is a civil action. The natural mother of the child and the alleged father are competent to testify and may be compelled by the court to appear and give testimony.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3080 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3080
SECTION 63-17-3080. Multiple registrations of orders.
Status: in_force

In responding to registrations or petitions for enforcement of two or more child-support orders in effect at the same time with regard to the same obligor and different individual obligees, at least one of which was issued by a tribunal of another state or a foreign country, a tribunal of this State shall enforce those orders in the same manner as if the orders had been issued by a tribunal of this State. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, inserted "or a foreign country".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-660 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 6 / Section 63-15-660
SECTION 63-15-660. Provisions and measures to prevent abduction.
Status: in_force

(A) If a petition is filed under this article, the court may enter an order that must include: (1) the basis for the court's exercise of jurisdiction; (2) the manner in which notice and opportunity to be heard were given to the persons entitled to notice of the proceeding; (3) a detailed description of each party's custody and visitation rights and residential arrangements for the child; (4) a provision stating that a violation of the order may subject the party in violation to civil and criminal penalties; and (5) identification of the child's country of habitual residence at the time of the issuance of the order. (B) If, at a hearing on a petition under this article or on the court's own motion, the court after reviewing the evidence finds a credible risk of abduction of the child, the court shall enter an abduction prevention order. The order must include the provisions required by subsection (A) and measures and conditions, including those in subsections (C), (D), and (E), that are reasonably calculated to prevent abduction of the child, giving due consideration to the custody and visitation rights of a party. The court shall consider the age of the child, the potential harm to the child from an abduction, the legal and practical difficulties of returning the child to the jurisdiction if abducted, and the reasons for the potential abduction, including evidence of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect. (C) An abduction prevention order may include one or more of the following: (1) an imposition of travel restrictions that require that a party traveling with the child outside a designated geographical area provide the other party with the following: (a) the travel itinerary of the child; (b) a list of physical addresses and telephone numbers at which the child may be reached at specified times; and (c) a copy of all travel documents; (2) a prohibition of the respondent directly or indirectly: (a) removing the child from this State, the United States, or another geographical area without permission of the court or the petitioner's written consent; (b) removing or retaining the child in violation of a child-custody determination; (c) removing the child from school or a childcare or similar facility; or (d) approaching the child at a location other than a site designated for supervised visitation; (3) a requirement that a party register the order in another state as a prerequisite to allowing the child to travel to that state; (4) with regard to the child's passport: (a) a direction that the petitioner place the child's name in the United States Department of State's Child Passport Issuance Alert Program; (b) a requirement that the respondent surrender to the court or the petitioner's attorney any United States or foreign passport issued in the child's name, including a passport issued in the name of both the parent and the child; and (c) a prohibition upon the respondent from applying on behalf of the child for a new or replacement passport or visa; (5) as a prerequisite to exercising custody or visitation, a requirement that the respondent provide: (a) to the United States Department of State Office of Children's Issues and the relevant foreign consulate or embassy, an authenticated copy of the order detailing passport and travel restrictions for the child; (b) to the court: (i) proof that the respondent has provided the information in subitem (a); and (ii) an acknowledgment in a record from the relevant foreign consulate or embassy that no passport application has been made, or passport issued, on behalf of the child; (c) to the petitioner, proof of registration with the United States Embassy or other United States diplomatic presence in the destination country and with the Central Authority for the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, if that convention is in effect between the United States and the destination country, unless one of the parties objects; and (d) a written waiver under the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552a, as amended, with respect to any document, application, or other information pertaining to the child authorizing its disclosure to the court and the petitioner; and (6) upon the petitioner's request, a requirement that the respondent obtain an order from the relevant foreign country containing terms identical to the child-custody determination issued in the United States. (D) In an abduction prevention order, the court may impose conditions on the exercise of custody or visitation that: (1) limit visitation or require that visitation with the child by the respondent be supervised until the court finds that supervision is no longer necessary and order the respondent to pay the costs of supervision; (2) require the respondent to post a bond or provide other security in an amount sufficient to serve as a financial deterrent to abduction, the proceeds of which may be used to pay for the reasonable expenses of recovery of the child, including reasonable attorney's fees and costs if there is an abduction; and (3) require the respondent to obtain education on the potentially harmful effects to the child from abduction. (E) To prevent imminent abduction of a child, a court may: (1) issue a warrant to take physical custody of the child under Section 63-15-670 or the laws of this State other than this article; (2) direct the use of law enforcement to take any action reasonably necessary to locate the child, obtain return of the child, or enforce a custody determination under this article or the laws of this State other than this article; or (3) grant other relief allowed under the laws of this State other than this article. (F) The remedies provided in this article are cumulative and do not affect the availability of other remedies to prevent abduction.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-1510 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 11 / Section 63-17-1510
SECTION 63-17-1510. Unemployment benefits notification.
Status: in_force

If the Division of Child Support of the Department of Social Services is notified by the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce in accordance with Section 41-35-140 that an obligor is receiving unemployment insurance benefits, the division must notify the court for the intercept of unemployment insurance benefits if a delinquency occurs and the obligor's case is a Title IV-D case. The intercept of unemployment insurance benefits must be in accordance with Section 41-35-140. Code Commissioner's Note Pursuant to the directive to the Code Commissioner in 2010 Act No. 146, SECTION 122, "Department of Employment and Workforce" was substituted for all references to "Employment Security Commission", and "Executive Director of the Department of Employment and Workforce" or "executive director" was substituted for all references to the "Chairman of the Employment Security Commission" or "chairman" that refer to the Chairman of the Employment Security Commission, as appropriate.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-7-2620 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 7 / Article 7 / Section 63-7-2620
SECTION 63-7-2620. Construction of law.
Status: in_force

This article must be liberally construed in order to ensure prompt judicial procedures for freeing minor children from the custody and control of their parents by terminating the parent-child relationship. The interests of the child shall prevail if the child's interest and the parental rights conflict.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-850 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 7 / Section 63-19-850
SECTION 63-19-850. Transportation to detention facility.
Status: in_force

No child may be transported to a juvenile detention facility in a police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. When a child is to be transported to or from a juvenile detention facility following a detention screening review conducted by the Department of Juvenile Justice or after a detention order has been issued by the court, the local law enforcement agency which originally took the child into custody shall transport this child to or from the juvenile detention facility. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-2000 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 9 / Section 63-9-2000
SECTION 63-9-2000. Compact authorized.
Status: in_force

(A) The Department of Social Services may develop, participate in the development of, negotiate, and enter into one or more interstate compacts on behalf of this State with other states to implement one or more of the purposes set forth in this article. The compact has the effect of law. (B) For the purposes of this article: (1) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or a territory or possession of or administered by the United States. (2) "Adoption assistance state" means the state that is signatory to an adoption assistance agreement in a particular case. (3) "Residence state" means the state of which the child is a resident by virtue of the residence of the adoptive parents.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-3710 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-3710
SECTION 63-17-3710. Notification of registration.
Status: in_force

(A) When a support order or income-withholding order issued in another state or a foreign support order is registered, the registering tribunal of this State shall notify the nonregistering party. Notice must be given by first-class, certified, or registered mail or by any means of personal service authorized by the law of this State. The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the registered order and the documents and relevant information accompanying the order. (B) A notice must inform the nonregistering party: (1) that a registered order is enforceable as of the date of registration in the same manner as an order issued by a tribunal of this State; (2) that a hearing to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order must be requested within twenty days after notice unless the registered order is under Section 63-17-3940; (3) that failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the registered order in a timely manner will result in confirmation of the order and enforcement of the order and the alleged arrearages; and (4) of the amount of any alleged arrearages. (C) If the registering party asserts that two or more orders are in effect, a notice also must: (1) identify the two or more orders and the order alleged by the registering party to be the controlling order and the consolidated arrears, if any; (2) notify the nonregistering party of the right to a determination of which is the controlling order; (3) state that the procedures provided in subsection (B) apply to the determination of which is the controlling order; and (4) state that failure to contest the validity or enforcement of the order alleged to be the controlling order in a timely manner may result in confirmation that the order is the controlling order. (D) Upon registration of an income-withholding order for enforcement, the support enforcement agency or the registering tribunal shall notify the obligor's employer pursuant to Articles 11, 13, and 15. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, in (A), inserted "or a foreign support order" and "of this State" in the first sentence; in (B)(2), inserted "unless the registered order is under Section 63-17-3940"; in (C)(1), substituted "party" for "person"; and in (D), inserted "the support enforcement agency or".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-21-30 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 21 / Section 63-21-30
SECTION 63-21-30. Prohibition against denying a person with a disability the right to pursue adoption solely on the basis of the disability.
Status: in_force

(A) A child placing agency must not deny a person with a disability the right to pursue adoption of a child solely on the basis of the disability, without considering whether adaptive parenting equipment, instruction in adaptive parenting techniques, and other supportive services could enable the person to parent adequately. (B) The department or other covered entity that provides pre- or postadoption services must not deny a person with a disability the right to access services solely on the basis of the disability, without considering whether adaptive parenting equipment, instruction in adaptive parenting techniques, and other supportive services could enable the person to parent adequately.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-2290 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 22 / Section 63-11-2290
SECTION 63-11-2290. Toll-free public telephone number and electronic complaint submission form; agencies required to post number and web address.
Status: in_force

(A) The Department of Children's Advocacy shall establish a toll-free public telephone number and an electronic complaint submission form on the department's website for the purpose of receiving complaints relative to the provision of services to children by a state agency. The department shall transfer a complainant to the appropriate agency if the complainant's submission is related to abuse, neglect, or an open matter within another agency. (B) The following agencies must post the toll-free public telephone number and the web address of the department's electronic complaint submission form prominently in clear view of all employees and the public and in a conspicuous location on the agency's website: (1) Department of Social Services; (2) Office of Mental Health; (3) Department of Juvenile Justice; (4) Department of Health and Environmental Control; (5) Department of Health and Human Services; (6) Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; (7) John de la Howe School; (8) School for the Deaf and the Blind; and (9) Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18. Editor's Note 2018 Act No. 160, SECTIONS 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows: "SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations." "B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer."
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-9-1370 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 9 / Article 3 / Section 63-9-1370
SECTION 63-9-1370. Adoption services fees.
Status: in_force

(A) The department shall establish fees for certain adoption and related services. The fees must be charged on a scale related to income as established by the state board, but the inability to pay a fee does not preclude the providing of any service. (B) A fee may not be charged for the placement of a child with special needs, as defined in Section 63-9-30, into an adoptive home. (C) Fees collected under this section must be forwarded to the State Treasurer who shall hold them in a separate account. These funds may be expended only as provided for by the General Assembly. Of the funds authorized to be expended, not less than seventy-five percent must be used for the sole purpose of paying for the medical and maternity home expenses incurred by clients: (1) who are pregnant; (2) who have requested the services of the Department of Social Services in planning for permanence for their child; and (3) for whom other public or private funds are not available, and the remainder of the funds may be used to defray other operating expenses related to adoption service delivery.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-520 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 3 / Section 63-17-520
SECTION 63-17-520. Distribution of fines.
Status: in_force

Fines collected pursuant to Sections 63-17-850, 63-17-2310(C), and 43-5-598(G) must be distributed as follows: (1) The Department of Social Services shall pay to the federal government the federal share of the amount collected. (2) The Department of Social Services shall use the state share of the amount collected pursuant to item (1) in the administration of the child support enforcement program.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-730 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 7 / Section 63-11-730
SECTION 63-11-730. Background checks for employees and board members.
Status: in_force

(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 Child Abuse and Neglect pursuant to subarticle 13, Article 3, Chapter 7; (2) has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to: (a) an "offense against the person" as provided for in Title 16, Chapter 3; (b) an "offense against morality or decency" as provided for in Title 16, Chapter 15; or (c) contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as provided for in Section 16-17-490. (B) Before a person is employed by the Division for Review of the Foster Care of Children or before an appointment or reappointment is made to the state or a local foster care review board, the division shall submit the name of the potential employee or a list containing the names, addresses, and social security numbers of persons nominated to serve on the state or local boards to the Department of Social Services for a records check of indicated reports or affirmative determinations from the Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect and to SLED for a criminal records background check to certify that no potential employee or person nominated to serve on the state or a local board is in violation of subsection (A). A list of the persons employed by the division or serving on the state or local boards also must be submitted annually to the Department of Social Services for a records check of indicated reports or affirmative determinations to certify that no person employed by the division or serving on a board is in violation of subsection (A)(1). The division may not be charged by the Department of Social Services for these records checks. Editor's Note 2018 Act No. 160, SECTIONS 18.A and 18.B, provide as follows: "SECTION 18. A. Where the provisions of this act transfer duties, programs, or services of the Department of Administration to the Department of Children's Advocacy, the employees, authorized appropriations, and assets and liabilities of these divisions, services, and programs also are transferred to and become part of the Department of Children's Advocacy. All classified or unclassified personnel employed by the divisions, programs, services, or initiatives transferred from the Department of Administration, either by contract or by employment at will, become on July 1, 2019, employees of the Department of Children's Advocacy, with the same compensation, classification, and grade level, as applicable. Before the transfer of the applicable divisions, programs, services, or initiatives of the Department of Administration pursuant to this act, these agencies and organizations shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish this transfer in accordance with state and federal laws and regulations." "B. Applicable regulations promulgated by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be promulgated by the Department of Children's Advocacy. Applicable contracts entered into by the Department of Administration are continued and are considered to be devolved upon the Department of Children's Advocacy at the time of the transfer." Effect of Amendment 2014 Act No. 121, SECTION 7.KK.2, in subsection (A), substituted "within the Department of Administration" for "Office of the Governor". 2018 Act No. 160, SECTION 5, in (A), substituted "Department of Children's Advocacy" for "Division for Review of the Foster Care of Children, within the Department of Administration," and, in (1), substituted "subarticle" for "Subarticle".
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-15-316 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 15 / Article 3 / Section 63-15-316
SECTION 63-15-316. Immunity.
Status: in_force

(A) A party to a child custody proceeding, including a modification proceeding, or a petitioner or respondent in a proceeding to enforce or register a child custody determination, is not subject to personal jurisdiction in this State for another proceeding or purpose solely by reason of having participated, or of having been physically present for the purpose of participating, in the proceeding. (B) A person who is subject to personal jurisdiction in this State on a basis other than physical presence is not immune from service of process in this State. A party present in this State who is subject to the jurisdiction of another state is not immune from service of process allowable under the laws of that state. (C) The immunity granted by subsection (A) does not extend to civil litigation based on acts unrelated to the participation in a proceeding under this act committed by an individual while present in this State.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-850 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 5 / Section 63-17-850
SECTION 63-17-850. Issuance of subpoenas.
Status: in_force

When necessary in the discharge of the duties of the department to establish, modify, or enforce a child support order, the department may issue an administrative subpoena or subpoena duces tecum to a state, county, or local agency, board or commission, or to any private entity or individual or to any representative of a state, county, or local agency, board or commission, or private entity to compel the production of documents, books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and other records relevant to the discharge of the department's duties. The department may assess a civil fine of one hundred dollars per occurrence for failure to obey a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued pursuant to this section, in addition to any other remedies as permitted by law. A subpoena or subpoena duces tecum issued under this section may be enforced pursuant to Section 63-3-530.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-1720 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 17 / Section 63-11-1720
SECTION 63-11-1720. Board of trustees; composition; oversight.
Status: repealed

(A) There is created the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees which must be chaired by the Governor, or his designee, and must include the State Superintendent of Education, or his designee, who shall serve as ex officio voting members of the board. (B) In making the appointments specified in subsection (C)(1), (2), and (3) of this section, the Governor, President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall seek to ensure diverse geographical representation on the board by appointing individuals from each congressional district as possible. (C) The board shall include members appointed in the following manner: (1) the Governor shall appoint one member from each of the following sectors: (a) parents of young children; (b) business community; (c) early childhood educators; (d) medical providers; (e) child care and development providers; and (f) the General Assembly, one member from the Senate and one member from the House of Representatives; (2) the President of the Senate shall appoint one member from each of the following sectors: (a) parents of young children; (b) business community; (c) early childhood educators; and (d) medical or child care and development providers; (3) the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member from each of the following sectors: (a) parents of young children; (b) business community; (c) early childhood educators; and (d) medical or child care and development; (4) the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee or his designee; (5) the Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee or his designee; and (6) the chief executive officer of each of the following shall serve as an ex officio voting member: (a) Department of Social Services; (b) Department of Health and Environmental Control; (c) Department of Health and Human Services; (d) Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; (e) State Head Start Collaboration Officer; (f) Children's Trust of South Carolina; and (g) Office of Mental Health. (D) The terms of the members are for four years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. The appointments of the members from the General Assembly shall be coterminous with their terms of office. (E) Vacancies for any reason must be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the unexpired term. A member may not serve more than two terms or eight years, whichever is longer. A member who misses more than three consecutive meetings without excuse or a member who resigns must be replaced in the same manner as his predecessor. Members may be paid per diem, mileage, and subsistence as established by the board not to exceed standards provided by law for boards, committees, and commissions. A complete report of the activities of the First Steps to School Readiness Board of Trustees must be made annually to the General Assembly. (F) In the event South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness is not reviewed by the House and Senate Legislative Oversight Committees within the period prescribed by Section 2-2-20, a joint House and Senate committee shall conduct a review. The joint committee shall consist of five members appointed by the Chairman of the House Education and Public Works Committee and five members appointed by the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. The committee must be co-chaired by one member of the House and one member of the Senate. A report must be provided to the Speaker of the House and President Pro Tempore of the Senate within one hundred eighty days after the first meeting of the joint committee. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18. Editor's Note 2013 Act No. 101, SECTION 117.114, provides as follows: "117.114. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2013-2014." 2014 Act No. 286, SECTION 117.108, provides as follows: "117.108. (GP: First Steps Reauthorization) Act 99 of 1999, the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, is reauthorized for the duration of Fiscal Year 2014-2015." 2015 Act No. 130, eff June 1, 2015, SECTION 1, provides as follows: "SECTION 1. The deadline in Section 63-11-1720(F)(4) of the 1976 Code requiring the Office of First Steps Study Committee to complete its review and present its recommendations to the General Assembly, as provided in Section 20 of Act 287 of 2014, is extended from March 15, 2015, to January 1, 2016." 2018 Act No. 152, SECTION 8, provides as follows: "SECTION 8. Section 20B. of Act 287 of 2014 [reauthorizing the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act until July 1, 2016] is repealed. Act 99 of 1999, South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Act, as amended by this act, is reauthorized until June 30, 2025." Effect of Amendment 2014 Act No. 287, SECTION 20.A, rewrote the section. 2018 Act No. 152, SECTION 6, in (C), made nonsubstantive changes in (4) and (5); and rewrote (F), deleting provisions concerning the Office of First Steps Study Committee and providing for legislative review of the State Office of First Steps to School Readiness under certain circumstances. 2019 Act No. 1, SECTION 77, in (B), substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate"; and in (C), in (2), substituted "President of the Senate" for "President Pro Tempore of the Senate". 2023 Act No. 81, SECTION 5, in (C)(6), added (g), and made nonsubstantive changes.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-19-390 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 19 / Article 3 / Section 63-19-390
SECTION 63-19-390. Peace officers and constables.
Status: in_force

Juvenile correctional employees of the department, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of a juvenile offender within the jurisdiction of the department, and other employees of the department authorized by the director to perform similar functions as part of their official duties, have the status of peace officers anywhere in this State in a matter relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of the juvenile. Employees of the department's Division of Public Safety, on proper training and certification from the Criminal Justice Academy and after having taken the oath of office prescribed by law and the Constitution of this State, must continue to be commissioned as state constables pursuant to Section 23-1-60.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-840 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 5 / Section 63-17-840
SECTION 63-17-840. Administrative change of payee.
Status: in_force

In cases in which support is subject to an assignment or a requirement to pay through any state disbursement unit which may be established, the division or its designee may direct the obligor or the payor to change the payee to the appropriate government entity. The division shall provide written notification of this change to the obligor and the obligee not less than ten days before the effective date of the change.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-13-170 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 13 / Article 1 / Section 63-13-170
SECTION 63-13-170. Penalties.
Status: in_force

A person violating the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-17-4020 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 17 / Article 23 / Section 63-17-4020
SECTION 63-17-4020. Prerequisites to compliance with extradition.
Status: in_force

(A) Before making a demand that the governor of another state surrender an individual charged criminally in this State with having failed to provide for the support of an obligee, the Governor of this State may require a prosecutor of this State to demonstrate that at least sixty days previously the obligee had initiated proceedings for support pursuant to this article or that the proceeding would be of no avail. (B) If, under this article or a law substantially similar to this article, the governor of another state makes a demand that the Governor of this State surrender an individual charged criminally in that state with having failed to provide for the support of a child or other individual to whom a duty of support is owed, the Governor may require a prosecutor to investigate the demand and report whether a proceeding for support has been initiated or would be effective. If it appears that a proceeding would be effective but has not been initiated, the Governor may delay honoring the demand for a reasonable time to permit the initiation of a proceeding. (C) If a proceeding for support has been initiated and the individual whose rendition is demanded prevails, the Governor may decline to honor the demand. If the petitioner prevails and the individual whose rendition is demanded is subject to a support order, the Governor may decline to honor the demand if the individual is complying with the support order. Effect of Amendment 2015 Act No. 33, SECTION 1, reenacted this section with no change. Part IX Miscellaneous Provisions
S.C. Code Ann. § 63-11-790 — SC Code / Title 63 / Chapter 11 / Article 7 / Section 63-11-790
SECTION 63-11-790. Effect of article on other agencies.
Status: in_force

The provisions of this article may not be construed to limit or delay actions by agencies or facilities to arrange for adoptions, foster care, termination of parental rights, or other related matters on their own initiative, nor do the provisions of this article in any manner alter or restrict the duties and authority of these agencies and facilities in those matters.