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Subcommittee approves multiple DSS regulation updates; childcare licensing draft carried to full committee
Summary
The Health and Health Care Industry Subcommittee advanced a package of Department of Social Services regulations (documents 5303, 5308, 5313, 5315 and others) and referred childcare licensing regulations (5314) to the full committee with instructions to withdraw and resubmit limited statutory-conforming changes.
The Health and Health Care Industry Subcommittee considered several Department of Social Services regulations on licensing, certification and adoption. After presentations and questions from members, the subcommittee voted to adopt multiple items and to refer one item to full committee with a recommendation for revision.
Certification standards for adoption investigators (document 5303) were updated to modernize citations and add minimum education and supervision requirements for certain certified adoption investigators, including an option requiring an associate degree plus agency supervision or a bachelor’s/master’s/doctoral degree in a human-services field. The regulation also adds mandatory background checks including checks of the South Carolina central registry for child abuse and neglect. The committee approved document 5303 by voice vote.
Child placing agency regulations (document 5308) were revised to streamline and consolidate regulatory requirements that previously differed across foster homes, group-care providers and child-placing agencies. The department said the update mirrors foster care and group home regulations and clarifies FBI fingerprint background-check requirements. The committee approved document 5308 by voice vote.
Foster care and adoption rule updates (document 5313) were adopted; among other changes, the regulation raises the threshold for when a foster parent may appeal the removal of a child from 120 days to 12 months and clarifies administrative fair-hearing rights in a number of circumstances. The committee approved document 5313 by voice vote.
Supplemental benefits for adoption and medical assistance (document 5315) were updated to align statutory citations and to preserve certain definitions tied to federal tax rules and subsidies used for adoptive assistance. The committee approved document 5315 by voice vote.
By contrast, regulations for licensing of child care centers (document 5314) generated requests from committee members and outside stakeholders. The agency noted that these rules must also be approved by the governor's committee that reviews licensed childcare center regulations and that the draft contains more than 20 citation updates tied to Act 216 of 2024 and other statutory changes. The subcommittee voted to send 5314 to the full committee with a recommendation that DSS withdraw and resubmit a version that includes only the conforming statutory changes, so stakeholders have additional time to comment.
Several members emphasized the agency’s multi-year review effort: presenters noted some regulations had not been updated since the 1990s and that the typical promulgation process takes about 10 months. The committee adopted the items presented by DSS (documents 5303, 5308, 5313, 5315) by voice votes; the childcare licensing regulation (5314) was referred to full committee with instructions to withdraw and resubmit limited, statutory-conforming changes.
All votes recorded in the hearing were voice votes; no roll-call tallies were listed in the transcript.
