State child advocate tells oversight subcommittee she expanded complaint hotline, investigations unit after surge in incident reports

Amanda Whittle, state child advocate and director of the South Carolina Department of Children's Advocacy, told the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee that her office has expanded its complaint intake and investigative capacity after a sustained rise in public contacts and critical-incident notifications.

Whittle said the newly created intake channels include an online complaint submission form and a toll-free hotline (exact digits not specified during the hearing). She also described obtaining secure, read-access to other agencies' case-management systems, including the Department of Social Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice, to support timely reviews of child-specific complaints.

The agency logged 4,870 phone calls in fiscal year 2020 and 7,289 in fiscal year 2024, Whittle said. Critical-incident notifications — defined by the agency as fatalities,…