Senate subcommittee advances bill to shorten foster-care permanency timeline to 15 months

A Senate Family and Veterans' Services subcommittee on Tuesday gave a favorable report, as amended, to S.240, legislation that would shorten several timelines in South Carolina child-welfare cases to move children toward permanent homes more quickly. The subcommittee forwarded the bill to the full committee after a voice vote; the transcript records an affirmative voice vote and no roll-call tally was recorded.

Supporters said the bill aligns state law with federal timelines and Department of Social Services (DSS) practice and would reduce the length of time children spend in foster care. "We have been working on a plan to expedite and try to get adoptions in South Carolina done quickly," said Senator Billy Garrett, the bill sponsor, arguing the proposal would reduce the ostensible three-month gap between current state practice and federal expectations. Garrett said the bill would move the point at which a family moves from reunification efforts to a termination-of-parental-rights (TPR) filing from 18 months to 15 months and shift the permanency planning hearing from 12 months to 9 months.

The measure also includes other provisions supporters described as designed to speed adoption: allowing service by publication when a parent cannot be located, requiring preparation of a background summary for prospective…