Summerville Journal Scene ®

With all the discussion in the media centered on the stimulus debate, I wanted to take a moment to bring to your attention a bill that passed the General Assembly this year that is good for our most vulnerable citizens – children in our foster care system. On June 2, 2009, Governor Sanford signed the Responsible Birthfather Registry Act into law. This new law should shorten the amount of time that foster children remain in the DSS system and consequently save the state millions in foster care support payments.    In South Carolina, there are over 6,000 children in our foster care system because of alleged abuse or neglect. Sadly, many of these children have fathers whose whereabouts are unknown because that father has not taken an active parental role in that child’s life.  Often DSS adoptions are delayed for months or even years because the identity of the birthfather or his geographic location is unknown.    The Responsible Birthfather Registry Act will require fathers who wish to be notified of a termination of parental rights proceeding to take the affirmative step of registering with a confidential state database. This registry can then be checked by DSS during the termination of parental rights (“TPR”) proceedings before a child is adopted into a permanent and loving home. This new registry does away with the antiquated practice of placing Joe Doe notices in the local newspapers. The notices cost the state money and serve only as a legal fiction which further delays the adoption process. The Act also requires that TPR proceedings be heard within 120 days of the filing of the action. This new time requirement will cut down on the time that children are left in limbo in our foster care system. In passing this registry, South Carolina joins 33 other states in creating a centralized registry for absent fathers. I am proud to have co-sponsored H. 3311, and I spent a significant amount of time this year shepherding this bill through the House of Representatives. On the day of third reading in the House, the bill was almost held up again because of the 120-day language.  Thankfully, the legislators and the advocates working on the bill were able to convince the bill’s opponents that this bill was good for foster kids and good for South Carolina.   Summerville resident George Milner worked very hard to advance this legislation.  George is the current Chair of the non-profit group, Children Come First.  Mr. and Mrs. Milner have provided foster care in their home for over 50 children. Their commitment and passion for shortening the amount of time children are in foster care is inspiring.   When I first talked to George Milner about this bill, I was surprised to learn that the bill was first introduced in 1991. Mr. Milner had served as co-chair on Governor Sanford’s 2007 Task Force on Children in Foster Care Adoption Services. The task force had recommended that the Birthfather Registry be put in place in South Carolina. I asked myself, how could it be that a bill that made sense for foster children and the taxpayers of this state had taken this long to advance? Now that I have completed my first six months of service in the General Assembly, I know why. I am disappointed that many important legislative items did not get through the General Assembly this year; however, I am delighted that South Carolina now has a Responsible Birthfather Registry. It makes me smile to think that instead of a three-year old child spending an extra six months, or one-sixth of his or her life, in DSS custody that child will be nurtured by a loving and stable adoptive family.