2013 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 63 - South Carolina Children's Code
CHAPTER 11 - CHILDREN'S SERVICES AGENCIES
SECTION 63-11-720. Functions and powers of local boards.

(A) The functions and powers of local foster care review boards are:

(1) to review every six months but no less frequently than once every six months the cases of children who have resided in public foster care for a period of more than four consecutive months and to review every six months the cases of children who have resided in private foster care for a period of more than six consecutive months to determine what efforts have been made by the supervising agency or child caring facility to acquire a permanent home for the child. Following review of a case pursuant to this section, the local foster care review board shall submit a written report and recommendations to the court concerning the case. In order for the report and recommendations of the foster care review board to be easily identifiable and accessible by the judge, the report and recommendations must be visually distinct from other documents in the case file in their coloring or other prominent aspect. A child's return home for temporary placements, trial placements, visits, holidays, weekend visits, or changes from one foster care placement to another must not be construed to mean a break or lapse in determination of a consecutive four-month period for children in public foster care or six-month period for children in private foster care;

(2) to recommend continued placement of a child in the child caring facility, unless the parent is able to resume care, in at least those instances when:

(a) children are privately placed in privately-owned facilities or group homes;

(b) a notarized affidavit of summary review is executed by the child caring facility and is valid on its face. The affidavit of summary review must be submitted to the board every six months and accepted by the board if it is valid on its face. The affidavit must attest to the following conditions:

(i) the person who placed the child has legal custody of the child;

(ii) no court has ordered or approved the placement of the child in the care of the child caring facility except as a part of an order granting legal custody of the child to a parent or legal guardian;

(iii) the facility has no knowledge that a child has ever been abused, neglected, or abandoned while under the care of the person who placed the child in the facility;

(iv) the person who placed the child contributes regularly to the support of the child to the level of his ability and has done so for a period of six months immediately prior to the date of the affidavit;

(v) the person who placed the child has maintained contact and visitation with the child to the best of his ability under existing circumstances.

(3) to encourage the return of children to their natural parents, except as provided in item (2) of this section, or, upon determination during a case review of the local review board that this return is not in the best interest of the child, to recommend to the appropriate agency action be taken for a maximum effort to place the child for adoption;

(4) to promote and encourage all agencies and facilities involved in placing children in foster care to place children with persons suitable and eligible as adoptive parents;

(5) to advise foster parents of their right to petition the family court for termination of parental rights and for adoption and to encourage these foster parents to initiate these proceedings in an appropriate case when it has been determined by the local review board that return to the natural parent is not in the best interest of the child;

(6) to recommend that a child caring facility or agency exert all possible efforts to make arrangements for permanent foster care or guardianship for children for whom return to natural parents or adoption is not feasible or possible as determined during a case review by the local review board;

(7) to report to the state office of the Department of Social Services and other adoptive or foster care agencies any deficiencies in these agencies' efforts to secure permanent homes for children discovered in the local board's review of these cases as provided for in items (1) and (2) of this section.

(B) Any case findings or recommendations of a local review board are advisory.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 361, Section 2.