Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Amended

February 15, 2023

S. 342

Introduced by Senators Shealy, Jackson and Hutto

S. Printed 02/15/23--S.

Read the first time January 10, 2023

________

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-1-40, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS in the south carolina children's code, SO AS TO DEFINE UNACCOMPANIED HOMELESS YOUTH, HOMELESS CHILD OR YOUTH, AND YOUTH AT RISK OF HOMELESSNESS.

   Amend Title To Conform

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

ECTION 1.   Section 63-1-40 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

   Section 63-1-40.   When used in this title and unless otherwise defined or the specific context indicates otherwise:

   (1) "Child" means a person under the age of eighteen.

   (2) "Court" means the family court.

   (3) "Guardian" means a person who legally has the care and management of a child.

   (4) "Judge" means the judge of the family court.

   (5) "Parent" means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody.

   (6) "Status offense" means any offense which would not be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, such as, but not limited to, incorrigibility (beyond the control of parents), truancy, running away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine or gaining admission to a theater by false identification.

   (7) "Child caring facility" means a campus with one or more staffed residences and with a total population of twenty or more children who are in care apart from their parents, relatives, or guardians on a continuing full-time basis for protection and guidance.

   (8) "Foster home" means a household of one or more persons who are licensed or approved to provide full-time care for one to five children living apart from their parents or guardians.

   (9) "Residential group care home" means a staffed residence with a population fewer than twenty children who are in care apart from their parents, relatives, or guardians on a full-time basis.

SECTION 2.   Chapter 1, Title 63 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

   Section 63-1-45.   For purposes of developing an accurate statewide count of homeless children and youth in this State, the following statewide definitions shall be used:

   (1) "Unaccompanied homeless youth" means an unaccompanied individual twenty-four years of age or younger who is not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian and lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

      (a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;

      (b) children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, such as a car, a park, public spaces, an abandoned building, a bus or train station, or similar settings; or

      (c) children and youth who live in a supervised publicly- or privately-owned shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements or in a transitional housing program or other time-limited housing.

      (d)"Unaccompanied homeless youth" does not include any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to a federal or state law except when a youth is exiting an institution having resided there for ninety days or fewer and meets the criteria in subsections (a), (b), or (c) immediately prior to entering the institution.

   (2) "Homeless child or youth" means children and youth from birth through twenty-one years of age who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes:

      (a) children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals;

      (b) children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, such as a car, a park, public spaces, an abandoned building, a bus or train station, or similar settings;

      (c) children and youth who live in a supervised publicly- or privately-owned shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements or in a transitional housing program or other time-limited housing; or

      (d) migratory children as defined in 20 U.S.C. Section 6399, who are legally in the United States, and who qualify as homeless because they are living in circumstances described in subsections (a) through (c).

      (e) "Homeless youth" does not include any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to a federal or state law except when a youth is exiting an institution having resided there for ninety days or less and met the criteria in subsections (a), (b), or (c) immediately prior to entering the institution.

   (3) "Youth at risk of homelessness" means an individual twenty-four years of age or younger whose status or circumstances indicate a significant danger of experiencing homelessness in the near future and includes:

      (a) children and youth exiting a publicly-funded institution or system of care;

      (b) children and youth who have previously experienced homelessness;

      (c) children and youth whose primary caregivers are currently homeless or have previously been homeless; or

      (d) children and youth who experience serious or sustained conflict with the individual's caregivers that is likely to result in family separation.

SECTION 3.   This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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