(A) When the department determines that a child is eligible for supplemental legal guardianship benefits, the department and relative must execute a written agreement before the court may order legal guardianship. The department must provide a copy of the written agreement to the relative. At a minimum, the written agreement must specify:

(1) the amount of supplemental legal guardianship benefits the department will provide;

Terms Used In South Carolina Code 63-7-2850

  • Child: means a person under the age of twenty-one. See South Carolina Code 63-7-2820
  • Court: means the family court. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • Department: means the Department of Social Services. See South Carolina Code 63-7-2820
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Guardian: means a person who legally has the care and management of a child. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
  • Legal Guardian: means a person appointed by the court through the judicial establishment of a legal guardianship to become the caretaker of a child. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • Legal Guardianship: means :

    (a) a judicially established relationship between a child and caretaker that is intended to be permanent and self-sustaining and transfers to the caretaker the following parental rights and responsibilities with respect to the child:

    (i) the duty to provide protection, support, food, clothing, shelter, supervision, education, and care;

    (ii) physical custody of the child;

    (iii) legal custody when family court has not awarded legal custody to another person, agency, or institution;

    (iv) the right to consent to marriage, enlistment in the armed forces, and medical and surgical treatment;

    (v) the duty and authority to represent the child in legal actions and to make decisions of substantial legal significance affecting the child;

    (vi) the right to determine the nature and extent of the child's contact with other persons; and

    (vii) the right to manage the child's income and assets. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
  • Relative: means an individual within the first, second, or third degree to a parent or stepparent of a child who may be related through blood, marriage, or adoption or through the establishment of a fictive kin relationship. See South Carolina Code 63-7-2820
  • Supplemental legal guardianship benefits: means monthly payments made by the department to a legal guardian pursuant to and after entering a written agreement with a relative or fictive kin to provide support for a child who without supplemental support may not achieve permanency through legal guardianship. See South Carolina Code 63-7-2820

(2) when and how the department will provide the payment;

(3) the manner in which the payment may be adjusted based upon the circumstances of the legal guardian or child, and that prior to making an adjustment, the department must consult with the legal guardian;

(4) any additional services or assistance for which the child and legal guardian will be eligible;

(5) when and how the legal guardian may request additional services;

(6) that the agreement remains in effect regardless of the legal guardian’s state of residency; and

(7) that the amount of the payment cannot exceed the amount of the foster care board payment the child would have received if the child remained in foster care.

(B) The agreement terminates upon the occurrence of the following events:

(1) the department determines that the legal guardian is no longer responsible for a child under the age of eighteen;

(2) the department determines that the legal guardian is no longer providing support for the child; or

(3) the child attains the age of eighteen or twenty-one, if the child meets the department’s requirements for extended assistance under the agreement.

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