(A) Before a child‘s eighteenth birthday, the child may provide written authorization to remain under the placement and care responsibility of the department after the child attains age eighteen and the court may conclude that it is in the child’s best interests to remain under the placement and care responsibility of the department after the child’s eighteenth birthday. In such cases, the court’s jurisdiction shall continue until the court issues an order terminating its jurisdiction. In no case may the court’s jurisdiction pursuant to this article continue beyond the child’s twenty-first birthday.

(B) Subject to eligibility criteria established by the department, after attaining age eighteen, a child may enter into a voluntary placement agreement with the department to remain under or return to the placement and care responsibility of the department. The department must develop a transition plan for a child who remains in or returns to the placement and care responsibility of the department.

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 63-7-2730

  • Child: means a person under the age of eighteen. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • Court: means the family court. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • Department: means the Department of Social Services. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • 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.

(C) A voluntary placement agreement terminates within one hundred eighty days after it is executed, unless the court determines that it is in the child’s best interests to remain under the placement and care responsibility of the department.