It’s time SC allowed every child to have a ‘forever’ home and a real childhood.

Children without ‘forever’ homes are those uprooted and shuffled through SC’s foster care system following abuse, neglect or abandonment by their birth parents.  While the courts and agencies can spend years deciding where a child will end up, he or she is often moved from one temporary home another. That means different schools, different rules and constantly changing friends and neighbors.  Too often, children in care are also separated from their siblings.  One can easily understand why they are at increased risk for problems down the road.  And so the cycle of dysfunction continues.

It’s not hard to grasp the human tragedy for these children, our hidden ‘homeless.’ But it’s not just their problem  This travesty affects every aspect of our lives, too — whether  you realize it or not. It negatively impacts our judicial, penal, educational and health care systems, as well as our…

Your support is vital.

Children Come First (CCF) is a non-profit organization supported entirely through donations made by individuals, community groups, businesses and foundations.  Its primary purpose is to provide a unified voice in advocating for systemic change in South Carolina’s foster care system.  Our goal is to end the problem of South Carolina’s hidden ‘homeless.’  If you care about South Carolina’s abandoned, abused and neglected children, as well as the economic health of our state, we invite you to join our effort.

Because Children Come First is a 501(c)4 organization, personal contributions are not tax-deductible, though corporate contributions may be considered a business expense.  Please give us a call for contributions larger than $1,000.  You may also send your contribution to:

Children Come First

602 Meeting Street, Suite B

West Columbia, SC  29169

(803) 603-0977

Almost half (45%) of all births in South Carolina are to single mothers, with the dad acknowledging paternity for fewer than half of those children. When both parents are involved and take responsibility for their child, this is less of an issue. But far too many do not, and then it does become an issue for our children and for our state as a whole. Permanency for these children can be delayed, contested and disrupted when paternity is in question. Fortunately, the SC General Assembly passed the Responsible Father Registry bill during the 2009 legislative session, making SC the 34th state to enact a law of this kind. The Registry will:

• Give unwed fathers the opportunity to document their possible claim for paternity rights or foreclose those rights in a timely manner
• Shorten the length of time children must spend in foster care by speeding adoptions
• Help avert disrupted adoptions
• Protect privacy
• Save the state money

…

Learn the facts.

For a better understanding of South Carolina’s hidden ‘homeless’, check out the Children’s Foster Care Review Board 2008 Annual Report at www.oepp.sc.gov/fcrb/

Summerville Journal Scene
Tuesday, June 09, 2009

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…

This year, Children Come First succeeded in passing S.1172, otherwise know as the Early Permanency and Adoption Bill.

To see the full bill go to:   http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/prever/1172_20100421.htm

Or read a summary of the bill’s objectives:

Early Permanence to Reduce the Time Children Spend in Foster Care:

This legislation would move children in foster care into permanent homes more quickly in cases where:

1.   child(ren) have entered foster care because of aggravated circumstances such as torture, abandonment, sexual abuse, and other forms of severe abuse and neglect, or

2.   parent(s) have not demonstrated due diligence in completing their treatment objectives within the 12-month time frame already mandated by state and federal law.

Current state and federal law allows DSS to forego efforts to reunify children with abusive or neglectful parents in extreme cases, but that does not always happen.  Existing law could be strengthened by:

·     allowing other parties to bring a motion before the court to address the aggravated circumstances;

·     adding “diagnosable condition”…

Become a child advocate.

Volunteer Guardian ad Litems are appointed representatives of the court who stand up for the rights and best interests of children who otherwise might be forgotten. You can stand up for a child who needs you. Learn more.

The Post and Courier
Sunday, May 10, 2009

Children all over South Carolina are celebrating Mother’s Day today, and there are 5,400 youngsters who would like nothing more than to do the same. They are awaiting adoption.

It’s a big number, but not as big as it used to be. The state’s Department of Social Services has made noteworthy strides in recruiting adoptive parents and placing children in their homes.

In 2003, 294 children in South Carolina were officially adopted out of foster care. In 2008, that number was 533.

That is a heartwarming success story for those children and a notable achievement for a troubled agency. In 2007, Gov. Mark Sanford called for a report on foster care and adoption services and engaged the expertise of social services agencies, the judiciary, the Legislature and medical professionals. Their recommendations, released a year ago, already have made a difference.

DSS Director Kathleen Hayes tells us that agency staff in each county…

Lost Jobs and Homes Exacerbate Family Stress Across Region
By Donna St. George and Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writers
washingtonpost.com
Monday, December 29, 2008; B01
As the economic downturn takes its toll on struggling families, child welfare workers across the region are seeing a marked rise in child abuse and neglect cases, with increases of more than 20 percent in some suburban counties.

Neglect investigations appear to have increased most, many resulting from families living without heat or electricity or failing to get children medical care. In Fairfax County, for example, such cases jumped 152 percent, from 44 to 111, comparing July through October with the same four-month period in 2007.

“It’s very concerning and certainly is reflective of what’s happening in the economic environment,” said Kathy Froyd, director of the Children, Youth and Families Division of the Fairfax County Department of Family Services.

Overall, there was a 23 percent jump in…

Task Force on Children in Foster Care and Adoption Services

Submitted to Governor Mark Sanford

February 1, 2008

Executive Summary

Children who are abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parents or children whose parents’ personal problems prevent them from providing adequate care, may enter the foster care system. The State of South Carolina currently has over 5,400 children in foster care. Each case represents tragedy in various forms – but mostly to the children who are torn from their normal surrounds, suddenly separated from their birth parent and sent to live in foreign circumstances while the adults and courts spend months or years deciding where these children should be. These children often experience emotional, behavioral, and health problems that are reflective of their dysfunctional home life. Systemic…