1. A. Foster Home Licensing

   1. (1) Child placing agency foster homes shall be licensed/relicensed in accordance with R. 114-550.
   2. (2) The child placing agency shall complete a home study using the Department’s home study guide and record the assessment/home study in the Agency’s foster home records. The home study must be written by a Certified Investigator.
   3. (3) The child placing agency shall notify the affected person in writing if a license is being denied, revoked, or not renewed. The affected person is entitled to appeal such adverse decisions through the Department’s fair hearing procedures. Child placing agencies must participate and cooperate in the fair hearing process until final disposition.

   4. (4) Foster Home Relicensing

      1. (a) Foster family homes shall be relicensed in accordance with Regulation 114-550;
      2. (b) The Department may issue, deny or revoke a license based on the relicensing assessment study.

2. B. Monitoring Foster Homes

   1. (1) The child placing agency shall monitor its licensed foster homes for compliance with the foster home regulations established by the Department.

   2. (2) When a complaint is received that may indicate possible violations of foster home regulations, the child placing agency shall:

      1. (a) Conduct an investigation to assess the complaint;
      2. (b) Send a written report to the foster home stating findings, conclusions, and any anticipated actions;
      3. (c) Notify the Department, in writing, of the complaint and pertinent information including, but not limited to, findings, conclusions, and any anticipated actions; and
      4. (d) Report any suspected cases of abuse or neglect as required by law.

3. C. Amendments to and Revocation of a Foster Family Home License

   1. (1) The child placing agency shall utilize the regulations established by the Department whenever there is an amendment to the foster home license.
   2. (2) In the event a child placing agency needs to revoke a foster family home license, the child placing agency shall document violations of any and all regulations, stating with specificity, any regulatory violations informing the decision to revoke.

4. D. Selection of a Foster Family Home

   1. (1) Through matching, the child placing agency shall select a family for a child’s placement, consistent with the family assessment, the child’s needs, and the terms of the license.
   2. (2) The child placing agency shall not place children in foster homes licensed by another entity without written permission of that entity and the Department.
   3. (3) At the time of referral, the child placing agency shall review all information provided, assess the needs and strengths of the child, and through the matching process, select the child’s placement with a foster and/or adoptive family.
   4. (4) Once a placement is made, the child placing agency shall not move a child to a different foster family home without the express permission of the Department.
   5. (5) The child placing agency shall identify the most appropriate foster family home or adoptive home placement for the child, consistent with the child’s needs and the skills and abilities of the foster or adoptive parent to assist in the achievement of goals in the child’s case plan.
   6. (6) The Department approves all (initial and subsequent) placement recommendations.
   7. (7) The child placing agency shall make every effort to place a child in a home within close proximity to the child’s family.
   8. (8) The child placing agency shall make every effort to place siblings together or in close proximity to each other.
   9. (5) ¹The child placing agency shall recommend and assist in identifying specialized services the child may need while in placement.
   10. (9) The child placing agency shall adhere to Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children rules and regulations when placing a child for adoption.

5. E. Case Plan

   1. (1) At the time of placement, the Department shall provide the child placing agency with the portion of the case plan that identifies the child’s specific needs and services and includes the permanency and visitation plan.
   2. (2) For children receiving Therapeutic Foster Care, the child placing agency shall develop a case plan for the child in accordance with the Department’s standards for identified treatment services and needs within 30 days of placement.
   3. (3) Prior to accepting a child for adoptive placement, a child placement agency shall secure from the parents, guardians, or agency having custody, written authority to place the child for adoption.
   4. (4) Prior to placing a child in a foster family home, the child placing agency shall secure written authorization from the Department to provide routine medical care and to sign educational plans. Prior to accepting a child for adoptive placement, a child placing agency shall secure from the parents, guardians, or agency having custody, written authority to provide routine medical care and to sign educational plans.
   5. (5) Child placing agencies that provide adoptive services shall help the parents or legal guardians to understand the legal rights and obligations that they retain and those that are delegated to the child placing agency, and shall document this explanation in writing.

6. F. Supervision and Review of the Case Plan

   1. (1) The child placing agency shall participate, as determined by the Department, in case plan reviews of children placed in the Agency’s foster family homes.
   2. (2) Child placing agencies providing therapeutic foster care shall conduct case plans reviews following standards determined by the Department.
   3. (3) The parent(s) and the child shall participate in these reviews.

7. G. Adoptive Services

   1. (1) Child placing agencies providing adoption services shall provide information to prospective adoptive parent(s) about the adoption process, the agency’s policies and practices, legal procedures, adoptive record content, types of children available, the fees, structure and the availability of subsidy.

   2. (2) Adoptive Home Application

      1. (a) The child placing agency shall provide an application form for prospective adoptive parent(s);
      2. (b) The child placing agency in response to an application for adoption and acceptable screening interview shall conduct an adoptive study to assess the applicant(s) appropriateness to be an adoptive parent(s).

   3. (3) Adoptive Study/Adoptive Home Assessment

      1. (a) The child placing agency shall include in any home study at least two (2) face- to- face interviews in the family’s home. Separate face-to-face interviews with each member of the household must be conducted. The study process shall be a joint effort of the child placing agency and the applicant(s).

      2. (b) The child placing agency shall also study the following areas and shall record the information in the adoptive applicant(s) record:

         1. i. Motivation for adoption;

            ii. Strengths and weaknesses of each member of the household;

            iii. The attitudes and feelings of the family, extended family, and significant others involved with the family toward accepting adoptive children, and parenting children who are not born to them;

            iv. Attitudes of the applicant(s) toward the birth parent(s) and the reason(s) the child is in need of adoption;

         2. v. The applicant’s plan for discussing adoption with the child;

            vi. Record of arrests and criminal convictions and checks with the Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect.

            vii. Adjustment of birth children, foster children or previously adopted children, including school reports, if applicable;

            viii. A report of a physical examination for members of the adoptive family living in the household within six (6) months of the study which verifies that each person suffers no communicable disease, specific illness, or disabilities which would interfere with the family’s ability to parent a child;

            ix. Ability to provide financially for the child or children to be adopted with or without agency financial assistance through adoption subsidy;

         3. x. Personal and community character references;

            xi. Religious orientation, if any;

            xii. Location and physical environment of the home;

            xiii. Plan for child care if parent(s) work; and

            xiv. Recommendations for adoption in regard to number, age, sex, characteristics, and special needs of children best served by the family.

   4. (4) Notification Regarding Application

      1. (a) The child placing agency shall notify applicant(s) in writing within thirty (30) days of completion of the adoption investigation of the acceptance or denial of their application;
      2. (b) When applicant(s) are not accepted, the child placing agency shall inform them of the reasons why the application is denied.

   5. (5) Service to Adoptive Parent(s)

      1. (a) The child placing agency shall prepare the adoptive family for the placement of a particular child. Preparation shall include:

         1. i. Information about the needs, characteristics, expectations of the child, the child’s biological family and foster family, excluding identifying information on the child’s biological family;

            ii. Review of medical histories of the child and of the child’s biological family; and

            iii. Visits with the child prior to placement, where age appropriate to the child.

      2. (b) The case worker must make monthly in person contact with the child and family until a final decree of adoption is entered.
      3. (c) A child must be in the physical placement with the adoptive family for a period of 90 days unless the family court finds there is good cause for modifying the time within which the final adoption hearing may be held.
      4. (d) If the Agency is monitoring a child that has been placed by another State’s child welfare system, a minimum of 6 months monitoring is required before recommending final adoption.

8. H. Services to Families

   1. (1) The child placing agency shall make appropriate agency services available to parent(s). When custody of the child is held by another agency, these services may only be made available upon that agency’s approval.
   2. (2) The child placing agency shall make every reasonable effort to help the parent(s) to assume or to prepare them to resume their parental roles and responsibilities.
   3. (3) The child placing agency shall help the family gain access to the services necessary to preserve and strengthen the family and to accomplish the case plan goals. While the child is in care, the child placing agency shall assist parent(s) or legal guardian(s) with the problems and needs that led to the necessity for placement.
   4. (4) The child placing agency shall encourage contacts between parent(s) or legal guardian(s) and children after placement, in accordance with the case plan.
   5. (5) The child placing agency shall have a signed agreement with the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of the child in care which includes, but is not limited to, the expectations and responsibilities of the child placing agency and the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) for carrying out the steps to meet the case plan goals, the financial arrangements for the child in care, and visitation plans.

9. I. Services to Unmarried Parents

   1. (1) Upon request, the child placing agency shall make counseling services available to unmarried parents considering adoptive placement both prior to and after the birth of the child.
   2. (2) After the birth of the child, counseling services shall continue for a reasonable period of time to assist the unmarried parent(s) to accept their decision to release the child for adoption or to keep the child.

10. J. Adoption Preservation Services

    1. (1) Upon request of the adoptive family, the child placing agency must provide adoption preservation services to all families for which the Agency provided adoption services until the child reaches age 21.

    2. (2) The child placing agency must provide the Department with the following information:

       1. (a) The location of any stored adoption records and the location where records will be stored upon closure of the child placing agency;
       2. (b) Policies and procedures for adoptees, adoptive families, and birth parents to access adoption records.
    3. (3) Adoption records must be retained in accordance with the Department’s retention procedures.

11. K. Pre and Post Adoption Support of Children Adopted from Out-of-State Child Welfare Systems

    1. (1) An Agency that facilitates the placement of out-of-state foster children into the adoptive homes of South Carolina residents via the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children must provide to the Department a written assurance of the Agency’s agreement to provide pre and post adoption support to prevent disruption or dissolution of adoption.
    2. (2) The Agency is responsible for developing and implementing a case plan to prevent disruption or dissolution of adoption. The Agency is financially responsible for the provision of any necessary services. Financial responsibility may include the costs of out-of-home placement or foster care, medical expenses, educational support, and other costs as necessary to achieve permanency and stability for the child.
    3. (3) The Agency must report any disruption or dissolution of an adoption under this subsection within 24 hours of the occurrence. The Agency must provide a case plan for the provision of ongoing services and support, including financial support, within 7 days of a disruption or dissolution of adoption.
    4. (4) The Department will not approve a prospective adoptive parent to whom this subsection applies as being able to meet the needs of a child, including the child’s safety, permanency, health, well-being, and mental, emotional, and physical development, in the absence of the Agency’s assurance through a written agreement with the Department to provide pre and post adoption services and supports as outlined in this subsection.

    5. (5) An Agency’s failure to provide services and supports as outlined in this subsection may subject the Agency to penalties including license revocation, license suspension, and fines.

       ¹So in original.

HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 32, Issue No. 2, eff February 22, 2008; SCSR 49-5 Doc. No. 5308, eff May 23, 2025.