Subcommittee gives favorable report to bill shifting child-advocacy hiring and reporting to Department of Children’s Advocacy

The South Carolina House Domestic Relations, Business and Probate Laws Subcommittee on Oct. 12, 2025, voted 5-0 to give House Bill 3654 a favorable report, moving regulatory authority and certain hiring and reporting responsibilities for parts of the child advocate system to the Department of Children’s Advocacy.

House Bill 3654, introduced by Representative Paula Calhoun, updates how state and county guardian ad litem programs interact with the state child advocacy system. The bill, summarized to the subcommittee by legislative staff, explicitly allows county and state guardian ad litem program staff and the state child advocate access to child-welfare records, transfers authority for regulations and hiring to the Department of Children’s Advocacy, and requires the department to include activities and recommendations of the continuum-of-care division in its annual report to the governor and General Assembly.

The changes remove certain powers previously held by the foster care review board and move hiring decisions for division directors from gubernatorial appointment to Department of Children’s Advocacy decision-making, according to the summary presented to the committee. Amanda Whittle, identified in the hearing record as head of the child advocacy agency, provided testimony to the committee during prior hearings and was listed by staff as a witness during discussion of the bill.

During roll call, Representative Bernstein, Representative Paula Calhoun, Representative Val Gess, Representative John Richard C. King and Representative David Martin each voted “aye.” The clerk announced the tally as five in favor, zero opposed. The subcommittee recorded the bill as having a favorable report and will forward it according to the chamber’s rules for further consideration.

Committee members and staff also used the remaining time in the meeting to schedule an additional subcommittee hearing to receive public testimony on several guardian ad litem–related bills that had been filed, so the bill’s advancement occurred alongside the subcommittee’s agreement to gather more public input on related matters.

The bill’s supporters say the changes will centralize oversight, streamline hiring and improve transparency in child-welfare cases; the committee did not adopt substitutions or amendments at the meeting. The bill summary and committee roll call were added to the subcommittee’s record and will be posted with other materials on SCStatehouse.gov following adjournment.