Terms Used In South Carolina Code 63-3-550

  • Child: means a person under the age of eighteen. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Parent: means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
The parent or custodian of any child, an official of a child welfare board, any public official charged by law with the care of the poor, the recognized agents of any duly authorized agency, association, society or institution, any person having knowledge or information of a nature which convinces such person that a child is neglected or delinquent or that a child, by reason of its condition, environment or its own acts, is, in accordance with the provisions of this article, subject to the jurisdiction of the court or any person who has suffered injury through the delinquency of any such child or is concerned in its guardianship or adoption or an officer having an arrested child in charge may institute a proceeding respecting such child.