Subcommittee updates certification rules, background checks and small fee increases for adoption investigators

The Health and Healthcare Industry Subcommittee voted to approve Regulation 5303, which updates certification standards for adoption investigators and for persons who obtain consents or relinquishments in adoption proceedings.

Colleen Connolly, Department of Social Services staff, told the committee the regulation had not been substantially updated since the 1990s and that the agency sought to clarify, streamline and modernize citations and standards. The rule would add a certification pathway requiring either a two-year degree plus supervision or a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree in a human-services-related field for adoption investigators.

Connolly said the rule also requires background checks and checks of the South Carolina Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect for investigators and persons who obtain consents. The package includes modest fee increases: certification fees would rise from $15 to $20, and combined certifications from $20 to $35.

Members asked whether the new education requirements would disqualify existing contracted providers; Connolly said the rule provides alternative pathways (the “a or b” option) and that the agency did not expect it to displace current contracted investigators.

The committee approved the regulation by voice vote; the chair announced, “The ayes have it and so is ordered.”

Why it matters: The changes revise decades-old certification standards, require modern background checks tied to state child-protection records, and update fees that the agency says have not been adjusted since the 1990s.