Almost half of children referred are matched to ‘forever’ homes

The Heart Gallery is a national program that uses the power of photography to help find adoptive homes for children lingering in foster care.  Begun in New Mexico in 2001, the program was brought to SC in 2005.  Since then, up to 45% of the SC children referred have been matched with families by the Department of Social Services Adoption Division.

Millie Qualls, Program Coordinator, manages and directs the program through a special partnership between the Children’s Foster Care Review Board and the SC Department of Social Services (DSS).  Children in foster care who are legally free and waiting for adoption are referred by DSS.  Local photographers donate their services to provide beautiful, black and white portraits of the children, reflecting each child’s unique spirit and personality.  The portraits are displayed in public venues around the state and on the Heart Gallery website at http://www.scheartgallery.org The children also…

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

…

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”…