reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
SC Code § 63-9-1330 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1330. Department of Social Services to administer program.

 The Department of Social Services shall administer an adoption program on behalf of the State. Adoption services must be available statewide. The adoption program provided by the department must be a centrally administered state program. The department shall designate regions which will be administered by the state office. The adoption unit shall constitute a separate and distinct unit within the department so as to assure specialization of effort and effective access to the department director. This unit must be staffed with qualified personnel professionally trained in the social work or other related fields. The department shall continually evaluate its staffing, functions, policies, and practices on the basis of nationally recognized standards. A committee to advise the department on all children's services must be appointed by the department director. Persons appointed to the committee must be knowledgeable on adoption, protective services, foster care, and other children's services.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1340 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1340. Children's Bureau transferred; monitoring placements.

 (A) The General Assembly finds that there should no longer be two public adoption agencies in South Carolina and that a single system within a comprehensive children's services agency is needed to assure that public adoption services are provided in the most effective and efficient manner. Therefore, the functions of the Children's Bureau of South Carolina are transferred to the adoption program within the Department of Social Services.  (B) The public adoption agency shall monitor and evaluate all public placements so as to insure that placements are suitable and in the best interests of the child. Any administrative costs savings accrued through the establishment of a single public adoptive system must be directed into the provision of adoption services.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1350 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1350. Department of Social Services to obtain accreditation.

 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.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1360 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1360. Birth parent informational brochure; waiting period.

 (A) The Department of Social Services, before it may accept as a client a parent or parents, or prospective parent or parents who wish to relinquish their child for adoption, must first provide them with an informational brochure which outlines the services available from and the procedure used to select adoptive parents by the department and by the licensed private adoption agencies in this State. It must also contain a listing of the licensed private adoption agencies in this State. The information contained in the brochure relating to the private adoption agencies must be jointly authored by the private adoption agencies and furnished to the department.  (B) The department may not accept in subsection (A) persons as clients until a period of forty-eight hours has elapsed from the time they are furnished this brochure, and the department upon accepting these persons as clients must have them sign an affirmative statement that they have received this brochure and this statement must be kept in the adoption file maintained by the department.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1370 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1370. Adoption services fees.

 (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.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1510 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1510. Statewide adoption exchange.

 (A) The State Department of Social Services shall establish, either directly or through purchase of services, a statewide adoption exchange with a photograph listing component.  (B) The adoption exchange must be available to serve all authorized, licensed child-placing agencies in the State as a means of recruiting adoptive families for any child who meets one or more of the following criteria:  (1) the child is legally free for adoption;  (2) the child has been permanently committed to the department or to a licensed child-placing agency;  (3) the court system requires identification of an adoptive family for the child before ties to the biological parents are severed;  (4) the department has identified adoption as the child's treatment plan.  (C) The department shall register with the adoption exchange each child in its care who meets any one or more of the above criteria and for whom no adoptive family has been identified. This registration must be made at least thirty days from the determination date of the child's adoptable status and updated at least monthly.  (D) If an adoption plan has not been made within at least three months from the determination date of the child's adoptable status, the department shall provide the adoption exchange with a photograph, description of the child, and any other necessary information for the purpose of recruitment of an adoptive family for the child, including registration with the photograph listing component of the exchange which must be updated monthly. The department shall establish criteria by which a determination may be made that recruitment or photograph listing is not required for a child. The department also shall establish procedures for monitoring the status of children for whom that determination is made.  (E) In accordance with guidelines established by the department, the adoption exchange may accept from licensed child-placing agencies, referrals and registration for recruitment and photograph listing of children meeting the criteria of this section.  (F) The department shall refer appropriate children to regional and national exchanges when an adoptive family has not been identified within one hundred eighty days of the determination of the child's adoptable status. The department shall establish criteria by which a determination may be made that a referral to regional or national exchanges is not necessary, and the department shall monitor the status of those children not referred.  (G) The department shall provide orientation and training to appropriate staff regarding the adoption exchange procedures and utilization of the photograph listing component.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1700 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1700. Short title.

 This article may be cited as the "South Carolina Adoption Supplemental Benefits Act".  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1710 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1710. Purpose.

 The purpose of this article is to supplement the South Carolina adoption law by making possible through public supplemental benefits the most appropriate adoption of each child certified by the Department of Social Services as requiring a supplemental benefit to assure adoption.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1720 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1720. Definitions.

 As used in this article:  (1) "Child" means an individual up to twenty-one years of age.  (2) "Supplemental benefits" means payments made by the State Department of Social Services to provide services, including medical subsidies for payment for treatment pursuant to Section 63-9-1780, for children who without these services may not have been adopted.  (3) "Department" means the Department of Social Services.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1730 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1730. Program established.

 The department shall establish and administer an ongoing program of supplemental benefits for adoption. Supplemental benefits and services for children under this program must be provided out of funds appropriated to the department for these purposes.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1740 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1740. Notice to adoptive parents.

 At the time of placement for adoption, the department shall inform in writing the prospective adoptive parents of the:  (1) availability of supplemental benefits;  (2) conditions for which the supplemental benefits are available;  (3) procedure for application for supplemental benefits.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1750 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1750. Eligibility criteria.

 In order for a child to be eligible for supplemental benefits the department shall determine that the child legally is free for adoption, the child has been placed for adoption by the department, and one of the following provisions applies to the child:  (1) is a special needs child pursuant to Section 63-9-30;  (2) is at high risk of developing a physical, mental, or emotional disability;  (3) is one for whom other factors, as determined by the department, interfere with the child's ability to be placed for adoption;  (4) has established significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in their care as a foster child, and it is considered by the agency to be in the best interest of the child to be adopted by the foster parents.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1760 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1760. Eligible children.

 A child meeting criteria specified in Section 63-9-1750 for whom the department believes supplemental benefits are necessary to improve opportunities for adoption is eligible for the program. The agency shall document that reasonable efforts have been made to place the child in adoption without supplemental benefits through the use of adoption resource exchanges, recruitment, and referral to appropriate specialized adoption agencies.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1770 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1770. Adoptive parents; nature of supplemental benefits.

 (A) When the department determines that a child is eligible for supplemental benefits, a written agreement must be executed between the parents and the department.  (B) In individual cases supplemental benefits may begin with the adoptive placement or at the appropriate time after the adoption decree and will vary with the needs of the child as well as the availability of other resources to meet the child's needs.  (C) The supplemental benefits may be for special services only, or for money payments, and either for a limited period, for a long term, or for a combination of them. The amount of time-limited, long-term supplemental benefits may not exceed that which currently would be allowable for the child under foster family care or, in the case of a special service, the reasonable fee for the service rendered.  (D) When supplemental benefits last for more than one year the adoptive parents shall certify that the child remains under the parents' care and that the child's need for supplemental benefits continues. Based on the certification and investigation by the agency and available funds, the agency may approve continued supplemental benefits. These benefits may be extended so long as the continuing need of the child is verified and the child is the legal dependent of the adoptive parents.  (E) A child who is certified as eligible for supplemental benefits remains eligible and shall receive supplemental benefits, if necessary for adoption, regardless of the domicile or residence of the adopting parents at the time of application for adoption, placement, legal decree of adoption, or after adoption.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1780 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1780. Eligibility for supplemental benefits.

 Only certain children who have been certified as eligible for supplemental benefits may receive payments for medical, rehabilitative, or other treatment services under their supplemental benefits certification. To receive these payments, a child shall fall into one of the following categories:  (1) receiving payments for medical, rehabilitative, or other treatment services immediately before adoption for a physical, mental, or emotional condition;  (2) identified before adoption as being at a high risk for developing a physical, mental, or emotional condition in the future; or  (3) with a physical, mental, or emotional condition diagnosed after adoption if the condition existed before adoption but was not recognized or if substantial risk factors for the condition existed before adoption but were not recognized.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1790 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1790. Review of decisions.

 A decision concerning supplemental benefits by the department which the adoptive parents consider adverse to the child is reviewable according to department regulations.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1800 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1800. Benefits to substitute caregivers.

 Supplemental benefits may not end solely because the death or disability of the adoptive parents requires placement of the adopted child with another caregiver. The caregiver of the adopted child has the rights and duties imposed on the adoptive parents in this article.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-1810 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-1810. Authority to promulgate regulations.

 The department shall promulgate regulations to carry out the provisions of this article.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2000 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2000. Compact authorized.

 (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.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2010 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2010. Compact contents.

 A compact entered into pursuant to the authority conferred by this article must contain:  (1) a provision making it available for joinder by all states;  (2) a provision for withdrawal from the compact upon written notice to the parties but one year between the date of the notice and the effective date of the withdrawal;  (3) a requirement that the protections afforded by or pursuant to the compact continue in force for the duration of the adoption assistance and be applicable to all children and their adoptive parents who on the effective date of the withdrawal are receiving adoption assistance from a party state other than the one in which they are resident and have their principal place of abode;  (4) a requirement that each instance of adoption assistance to which the compact applies be covered by an adoption assistance agreement in writing between the adoptive parents and the state child welfare agency of the state which undertakes to provide the adoption assistance, and that the agreement be expressly for the benefit of the adopted child and enforceable by the adoptive parents and the state agency providing the adoption assistance;  (5) other provisions as may be appropriate to implement the proper administration of the compact.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2020 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2020. Additional provisions.

 A compact entered into pursuant to the authority conferred by this article may contain provisions in addition to those required by Section 63-9-2010 as follows:  (1) establishing procedures and entitlements to medical, developmental, child care, or other social services for the child in accordance with applicable laws, even though the child and the adoptive parents are in a state other than the one responsible for or providing the services or the funds to defray part or all of the costs of the services;  (2) other provisions as may be appropriate or incidental to the proper administration of the compact.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2030 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2030. Medical assistance identification.

 (A) A child with special needs who is a resident in the State who is the subject of an adoption assistance agreement with another state may receive medical assistance identification from this State upon the filing with the Department of Social Services of a certified copy of the agreement obtained from the adoption assistance state. In accordance with regulations of the department, the adoptive parents at least annually shall show that the agreement is still in force or has been renewed.  (B) The Department of Health and Human Services shall consider the holder of medical assistance identification pursuant to this section as any other holder of medical assistance identification under the laws of this State and shall process and make payment on claims on account of the holder in the same manner and pursuant to the same conditions and procedures as for other recipients of medical assistance.  (C) The Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Social Services shall provide coverage and benefits for a child who is in another state and who is covered by an adoption assistance agreement made by the department for the coverage or benefits, if any, not provided by the residence state. To this end, the adoptive parents acting for the child may submit evidence of payment for services or benefit amounts not payable in the residence state and must be reimbursed for them. However, there is no reimbursement for services or benefit amounts covered under insurance or other third party medical contract or arrangement held by the child or the adoptive parents. The department shall promulgate regulations implementing this subsection. The additional coverages and benefit amounts provided pursuant to this subsection are for the costs of services for which there is no federal contribution, or which, if federally aided, are not provided by the residence state. The regulations must include, but are not limited to, procedures to be followed in obtaining prior approval for services in those instances where required for the assistance.  (D) The provisions of this section apply only to medical assistance for children under adoption assistance agreements from states that have entered into a compact with this State under which the other state provides medical assistance to children with special needs under adoption assistance agreements made by this State. All other children entitled to medical assistance pursuant to adoption assistance agreements entered into by this State are eligible to receive assistance in accordance with the laws and procedures applicable to the agreements.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2040 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2040. Compliance with federal law.

 Consistent with federal law, the Department of Social Services in connection with the administration of this article and a compact pursuant to it must include in a state plan made pursuant to the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Public Law 96-272, Titles IV (e) and XIX of the Social Security Act, and other applicable federal laws, the provision of adoption assistance and medical assistance for which the federal government pays some or all of the cost. The department shall apply for and administer all relevant federal aid in accordance with the law.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2050 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2050. Penalties.

 A person who submits a claim for payment or reimbursement for services or benefits pursuant to this article or makes a statement in connection with payment or reimbursement, which he knows or should know to be false, misleading, or fraudulent, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon conviction, the person must be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.
SC Code § 63-9-2210 (2021)
2021 South Carolina Code of Laws|Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code|Chapter 9 - Adoptions|Section 63-9-2210. Financial responsibility for children.

 Financial responsibility for any child placed pursuant to the provisions of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Subsection 5 thereof in the first instance. However, in the event of partial or complete default of performance thereunder, the provisions of Article 23, Chapter 17 of this title also may be invoked.  HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.