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A168, R168, S222
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Shealy, McLeod, Hutto, Jackson, Matthews, Gustafson, K. Johnson and McElveen
Document Path: l:\s-res\ks\002kins.kmm.ks.docx
Companion/Similar bill(s): 3214
Introduced in the Senate on January 12, 2021
Introduced in the House on February 17, 2021
Passed by the General Assembly on May 6, 2022
Governor's Action: May 16, 2022, Signed
Summary: Kinship foster care program
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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12/9/2020 Senate Prefiled
12/9/2020 Senate Referred to Committee on Family and Veterans' Services
1/12/2021 Senate Introduced and read first time (Senate Journal-page 223)
1/12/2021 Senate Referred to Committee on Family and Veterans' Services
(Senate Journal-page 223)
2/10/2021 Senate Committee report: Favorable Family and Veterans'
Services (Senate Journal-page 4)
2/11/2021 Senate Read second time (Senate Journal-page 168)
2/11/2021 Senate Roll call Ayes-39 Nays-0 (Senate Journal-page 168)
2/16/2021 Senate Read third time and sent to House (Senate Journal-page 7)
2/17/2021 House Introduced and read first time (House Journal-page 11)
2/17/2021 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and
Municipal Affairs (House Journal-page 11)
4/21/2022 House Committee report: Favorable Medical, Military, Public
and Municipal Affairs (House Journal-page 20)
4/27/2022 House Debate adjourned until Thur., 5-5-22
(House Journal-page 29)
5/5/2022 House Read second time
5/5/2022 House Roll call Yeas-111 Nays-0
5/5/2022 House Unanimous consent for third reading on next legislative
day
5/6/2022 House Read third time and enrolled (House Journal-page 2)
5/12/2022 Ratified R 168 (Senate Journal-page 201)
5/16/2022 Signed By Governor
5/31/2022 Effective date 05/16/22
5/31/2022 Act No. 168
View the latest legislative information at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
(A168, R168, S222)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 63-7-2320, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE KINSHIP FOSTER CARE PROGRAM, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT FICTIVE KIN ARE ELIGIBLE TO BE FOSTER PARENTS UNDER THE KINSHIP FOSTER CARE PROGRAM, TO PROVIDE THAT RELATIVES AND FICTIVE KIN MAY FOSTER A CHILD BEFORE BEING LICENSED AS A KINSHIP FOSTER CARE PROVIDER UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AND TO DEFINE NECESSARY TERMS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Kinship Foster Care Program
SECTION 1. Section 63-7-2320 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 146 of 2018, is further amended to read:
"Section 63-7-2320. (A) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) 'Department' means the Department of Social Services.
(2) 'Foster parent' means any person with whom a child in the care, custody, or guardianship of the department is placed for temporary or long-term care.
(3) 'Fictive kin' means an individual who is not related by birth, adoption, or marriage to a child but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child's family.
(B) There is established a 'Kinship Foster Care Program' in the State Department of Social Services.
(C) When a child has been removed from his home and is in the care, custody, or guardianship of the department, the department shall attempt to identify a relative or fictive kin who would be appropriate for placement of the child in accordance with the preliminary investigation requirements of subarticle 3, Article 3 and in accordance with Section 63-7-1680(E)(1). If the department determines that it is in the best interest of a child requiring out-of-home placement that the child be placed with a relative or fictive kin for foster care, or if a relative or fictive kin advises the department that the relative or fictive kin is interested in providing placement for a child requiring foster care, and the relative or fictive kin is not already licensed to provide foster care, the department shall inform the relative or fictive kin of the procedures for being licensed as a kinship foster parent, assist the foster parent with the licensing process, and inform the relative or fictive kin of availability of payments and other services to kinship foster parents. If the relative or fictive kin is licensed by the department to provide kinship foster care services, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the department regarding kinship foster care, and a placement with the relative or fictive kin is made, the relative or fictive kin may receive payment for the full foster care rate for the care of the child and any other benefits that might be available to foster parents, whether in money or in services.
(D) The department shall establish, in accordance with this section and the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder, eligibility standards for becoming a kinship foster parent.
(1) A person may be eligible for licensure as a kinship foster parent if he is:
(a) a relative within the first, second, or third degree to the parent or stepparent of a child who may be related through blood, marriage, or adoption; or
(b) a person who has been identified by the department as fictive kin.
(2) The kinship foster parent must be twenty-one years of age or older, except that if the spouse or partner of the relative or fictive kin is twenty-one years of age or older and living in the home, and the relative or fictive kin is between eighteen and twenty-one years of age, the department may waive the age requirement.
(3)(a) A person may become a kinship foster parent only upon the completion of a full kinship foster care licensing study performed in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this section. Residents of the household who are eighteen years of age or older must undergo the state and federal fingerprint review procedures as provided for in Section 63-7-2340. The department shall apply the screening criteria in Section 63-7-2350 to the results of the fingerprint reviews and the licensing study.
(b) The department shall maintain the confidentiality of the results of fingerprint reviews as provided for in state and federal regulations.
(4) Notwithstanding the requirement that a relative or fictive kin licensed as a kinship foster parent must be licensed in accordance with the same requirements as nonrelative applicants, the department may waive, on a case-by-case basis, for relative or fictive kin applicants nonsafety elements as the department deems appropriate. Safety elements, such as criminal and child abuse and neglect background checks required by Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 671(a)(20)(A), may not be waived. The department may not license a relative or fictive kin as a kinship foster parent or place the child with the relative or fictive kin if the placement would violate any provision of Section 63-7-2350. The department shall note on the standard license if there was a waiver of a nonsafety element and identify the element being waived.
(5) The department shall determine, after a thorough review of information obtained in the kinship foster care licensing process, whether the person is able to care effectively for the foster child. The review must take into consideration the parental preference and the preference for placement with a relative or fictive kin who is known to the child and who has a constructive and caring relationship with the child, as provided in Section 63-7-1680(E)(1). The review also must take into consideration the preference for the placement with a relative or fictive kin who, but for the removal of the child at birth, would have had a constructive and caring relationship with the child, based on the relative's or fictive kin's fitness and ability to care for the child.
(E)(1) The department shall involve the kinship foster parents in development of the child's permanent plan pursuant to Section 63-7-1700 and other plans for services to the child and the kinship foster home. The department shall give notice of proceedings and information to the kinship foster parent as provided for elsewhere in this chapter for other foster parents. If planning for the child includes the use of childcare, the department shall pay for childcare arrangements, according to established criteria for payment of these services for foster children. If the permanent plan for the child involves requesting the court to grant custody or guardianship of the child to the kinship foster parent, the department must ensure that it has informed the kinship foster parent about adoption, including services and financial benefits that might be available.
(2) The kinship foster parent shall cooperate with any activities specified in the case plan for the foster child, such as counseling, therapy or court sessions, or visits with the foster child's parents or other family members. Kinship foster parents and placements made in kinship foster care homes are subject to the requirements of Section 63-7-2310.
(F)(1) If a relative or fictive kin is not licensed as a kinship foster parent, then the department may still place the child with the relative or fictive kin notwithstanding the licensure requirement contained in this section if:
(a) the relative or fictive kin begins the kinship foster parent licensure process within a reasonable time after the placement of the child; and
(b)(i) the child has been removed from his home and is in the care, custody, or guardianship of the department, as provided in subsection (C), and the department determines that it is in the best interest of the child to be placed with a relative or fictive kin for foster care; or
(ii) a relative or fictive kin advises the department that the relative or fictive kin is interested in providing placement for the child requiring foster care.
(2) During the licensure process, a relative or fictive kin with whom a child has been placed pursuant to item (1) and who has begun the kinship licensure process shall have the same legal status and access to services as a licensed kinship foster care provider including, but not limited to, the availability of payments and other services."
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Ratified the 12th day of May, 2022.
Approved the 16th day of May, 2022.
This web page was last updated on June 10, 2022 at 3:56 PM