Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Protection Name Change topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate committee gives unanimous favorable report to bill renaming child-abuse medical response system
Summary
The subcommittee unanimously reported favorably on S.276, which renames the South Carolina Children’s Advocacy Medical Response System to the South Carolina Child Abuse and Neglect Network; witnesses said the bill makes no programmatic change and is intended to avoid an awkward acronym.
Senate Bill S.276 received a favorable report from the Senate Child Welfare Subcommittee after testimony that the measure only changes the program’s name.
Quinton Gaddy, who summarized the bill for the committee, said S.276 “would rename the South Carolina Children's Advocacy Medical Response System to the South Carolina Child Abuse and Neglect Network.”
The name change drew brief testimony from Maggie Cash, who identified herself as representing the four children’s hospitals that serve as the state’s child-abuse medical providers. Cash said the bill “is quite simply only a name change” and that “it's just a name change.” She added the change followed a suggestion from Senator Young and noted the prior acronym unintentionally formed “SCCAMRS,” which she said created an unfortunate shorthand; the new acronym would be SCCAN.
Conley Ann Ragley of the Department of Social Services also testified in support, saying the change would have a positive impact on families and the child-serving community and would remove the need to explain the former acronym at national meetings.
A motion to give S.276 a favorable report was offered and seconded during the hearing. The committee then voted by voice and the bill was reported favorably with unanimous approval.
Because the bill makes no changes to services or program structure, witnesses emphasized it does not alter how referrals are made or how forensic pediatric evaluations are provided. Cash said the children’s hospitals “work very closely with DSS. We work very closely with the network of child advocacy centers, in the provision of forensic medical services for kids who are suspected victims of child abuse or neglect.”
The subcommittee moved S.276 forward without amendments.
The hearing then proceeded to other bills on the agenda.
