South Carolina Code 63-7-730. Expedited placement of child with relative
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(A) If the court finds at the probable cause hearing that the department made reasonable efforts to prevent removal of the child and that continuation of the child in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, the court may order expedited placement of the child with a grandparent or other relative of the first or second degree. In making this expedited placement decision, the court shall consider the totality of the circumstances including, but not limited to, the individual’s suitability, fitness, and willingness to serve as a placement for the child. A parent who complies with these requirements must be the first relative considered by the court for expedited placement. The court shall require the department to check the names of all adults in the home against the Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect, other relevant records of the department, county sex abuse registers, and records for the preceding five years of law enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction in which the person resides and, to the extent reasonably possible, jurisdictions in which the person has resided during that period. The court may hold open the record of the probable cause hearing for up to twenty-four hours to receive these reports. Nothing in this section precludes the department from requesting or the court from ordering pursuant to the department’s request either a full study of the individual’s home before placement or the licensing or approval of the individual’s home before placement.
(B) If the court orders expedited placement of the child with a grandparent or other relative of the first or second degree, the individual may be added as a party to the action for the duration of the case or until further order of the court.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 63-7-730
- 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.
- Parent: means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody. See South Carolina Code 63-1-40
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Probable cause: means facts and circumstances based upon accurate and reliable information, including hearsay, that would justify a reasonable person to believe that a child subject to a report under this chapter is abused or neglected. See South Carolina Code 63-7-20
