Senate subcommittee forwards broad DSS regulatory package on adoption, foster care and child-care licensing
March 20, 2025 | 2025 Legislative Meetings, South Carolina
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The South Carolina Senate subcommittee on child welfare on Thursday forwarded a package of Department of Social Services regulatory proposals to the full committee after agency witnesses described updates intended to modernize decades-old rules.
Connolly Ann Ragley, chief external affairs officer at the Department of Social Services, summarized several proposals and told the panel the agency is reviewing many regulations that have not been updated since the 1990s. "Some of the regulations that we'll discuss today have not been reviewed since the 1990s," Ragley said.
The subcommittee considered multiple documents by number and purpose: document 5303 would amend regulation 114-43-70 to tighten education, training and background-check requirements for certified adoption investigators; document 5308 would replace regulations 114-4910 through 114-4980 to update licensure and definitions for child-placing agencies; document 5313 would amend regulations to clarify foster-parent appeal rights in administrative hearings; and a larger package (referred to as document 5314 in testimony) would overhaul licensed child‑care center regulations.
On 5303, Ragley and staff said the proposal would require adoption investigators to have relevant human-services education or work experience (not necessarily a social-work degree), submit FBI fingerprint background checks and be checked against the state's central child-abuse-and-neglect registry. The proposal includes modest fee increases: the certified adoption investigator fee from $15 to $20, consent/relinquishment certification from $15 to $20, and a combined fee from $20 to $35. Ragley said the agency does not expect a fiscal impact for the regulation updates.
Document 5308 is a strike-all replacement for older child‑placing agency rules. Ragley said the department worked with the Palmetto Association for Children and Families (PAFCAF) and accepted about 90% of that group's suggestions. The changes updated definitions (for example, therapeutic foster care, caseworker and casework supervisor), aligned background-check requirements with other foster-care rules and updated statutory citations after the 2008 recodification of the children's code.
On 5313, Ragley described clarifications to the administrative appeals process for foster parents who receive public benefits. The regulation update spells out when foster parents may appeal agency decisions such as placement changes and also identifies categories that are not appealable — for example, agency reunification decisions, placement with kin, or sibling placements. Ragley told senators the agency has 369 frontline case managers who visit children and assess placements.
The largest package addresses licensed child-care centers and reflects changes from Act 216 of 2024, which extended center licensure from two years to three and created additional staff‑qualification pathways (including acceptability of a high-school-equivalency credential combined with experience). Ragley said the committee that advises DSS on child-care regulation met for months and recommended updates on safe‑sleep training for infant caregivers (the "ABCs" of safe sleep: Alone, on the Back, in a Crib), reporting requirements after a child or staff death, and new reporting when centers undergo major renovations or building alterations.
Ragley also noted operational details: DSS employs its own fire marshals to review centers and their structural plans; the department will review major renovations to ensure compliance with international building and fire codes; and DHEC references were updated to the Department of Public Health where appropriate.
Committee members moved and seconded motions to forward each regulation to the full committee. Votes on the motions were recorded and each item was carried to the full committee for further review.
Agency witnesses framed the package as aligning regulations with statute and modern practice, tightening background checks and training expectations for employees who work with children, and addressing safety issues in infant care. Stakeholder groups such as PAFCAF and providers including Epworth were cited as participants in the drafting process.
Connolly Ann Ragley, chief external affairs officer at the Department of Social Services, summarized several proposals and told the panel the agency is reviewing many regulations that have not been updated since the 1990s. "Some of the regulations that we'll discuss today have not been reviewed since the 1990s," Ragley said.
The subcommittee considered multiple documents by number and purpose: document 5303 would amend regulation 114-43-70 to tighten education, training and background-check requirements for certified adoption investigators; document 5308 would replace regulations 114-4910 through 114-4980 to update licensure and definitions for child-placing agencies; document 5313 would amend regulations to clarify foster-parent appeal rights in administrative hearings; and a larger package (referred to as document 5314 in testimony) would overhaul licensed child‑care center regulations.
On 5303, Ragley and staff said the proposal would require adoption investigators to have relevant human-services education or work experience (not necessarily a social-work degree), submit FBI fingerprint background checks and be checked against the state's central child-abuse-and-neglect registry. The proposal includes modest fee increases: the certified adoption investigator fee from $15 to $20, consent/relinquishment certification from $15 to $20, and a combined fee from $20 to $35. Ragley said the agency does not expect a fiscal impact for the regulation updates.
Document 5308 is a strike-all replacement for older child‑placing agency rules. Ragley said the department worked with the Palmetto Association for Children and Families (PAFCAF) and accepted about 90% of that group's suggestions. The changes updated definitions (for example, therapeutic foster care, caseworker and casework supervisor), aligned background-check requirements with other foster-care rules and updated statutory citations after the 2008 recodification of the children's code.
On 5313, Ragley described clarifications to the administrative appeals process for foster parents who receive public benefits. The regulation update spells out when foster parents may appeal agency decisions such as placement changes and also identifies categories that are not appealable — for example, agency reunification decisions, placement with kin, or sibling placements. Ragley told senators the agency has 369 frontline case managers who visit children and assess placements.
The largest package addresses licensed child-care centers and reflects changes from Act 216 of 2024, which extended center licensure from two years to three and created additional staff‑qualification pathways (including acceptability of a high-school-equivalency credential combined with experience). Ragley said the committee that advises DSS on child-care regulation met for months and recommended updates on safe‑sleep training for infant caregivers (the "ABCs" of safe sleep: Alone, on the Back, in a Crib), reporting requirements after a child or staff death, and new reporting when centers undergo major renovations or building alterations.
Ragley also noted operational details: DSS employs its own fire marshals to review centers and their structural plans; the department will review major renovations to ensure compliance with international building and fire codes; and DHEC references were updated to the Department of Public Health where appropriate.
Committee members moved and seconded motions to forward each regulation to the full committee. Votes on the motions were recorded and each item was carried to the full committee for further review.
Agency witnesses framed the package as aligning regulations with statute and modern practice, tightening background checks and training expectations for employees who work with children, and addressing safety issues in infant care. Stakeholder groups such as PAFCAF and providers including Epworth were cited as participants in the drafting process.
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