(A) Within thirty days of entering a voluntary placement agreement, the department shall initiate proceedings for the review of the agreement by filing with the court a summons, petition, and supplemental report as outlined in subsection (B). The summons, petition, and supplemental report must be served on the child and must include notice of the procedures to request counsel if the child desires representation at the proceedings. No responsive pleading is required. If the child does not have private representation, an attorney can be requested by the child and provided by the Commission on Indigent Defense under the Rule 608 contract program or Rule 608 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules.

(B) The supplemental report must include the following:

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 63-7-2740

  • Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
  • Child: means a person under the age of eighteen. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • 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
  • Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.

(1) information necessary to support a determination that the child is eligible to remain under the placement and care responsibility of the department, that the child wants to remain under the placement and care responsibility of the department, and that remaining under the placement and care responsibility of the department is in the child’s best interests;

(2) the voluntary placement agreement; and

(3) a transition plan which states specific, measurable goals and objectives.

(C) The court shall conduct a hearing on the petition within sixty days of the filing of the petition. The department must provide written notice of the hearing to the child at least ten days before the hearing and the child is entitled to be present for the hearing.

(D) The court shall include its findings and conclusions in a written order that addresses whether:

(1) the child wants to remain under the placement and care responsibility of the department;

(2) remaining under the placement and care responsibility of the department is in the best interests of the child;

(3) the services provided to the child improve placement;

(4) the services provided to the child further the child’s educational or vocational goals, as applicable; and

(5) the department has made reasonable efforts to support the child’s transition to living independently.

(E) Under no circumstances may a voluntary placement agreement exceed a child’s twenty-first birthday.

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