South Carolina Emergency Kinship Placement: What Happens When DSS Places a Child with a Relative

How Emergency Placement Happens

When the South Carolina Department of Social Services determines that a child must be removed from their home because of safety concerns related to abuse or neglect, the agency looks for a relative or fictive kin placement before considering a non-relative foster home. Federal law and South Carolina policy both prioritize keeping children with family.

The process moves fast. A caseworker identifies potential relatives, often by asking the child or the parents. If you're a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other relative, you might get a phone call asking if you can take the child that same day.

What SCDSS Requires Before Placement

Before placement, ask the caseworker which safety checks are required and when they must be complete. Full kinship foster-care licensing includes background checks and a home inspection; the caseworker can explain which steps apply before placement and which remain for licensing.

A criminal record can affect whether SCDSS approves a placement. Ask the caseworker how a specific record will be treated before assuming you qualify.

Benefits to Confirm After Placement

Once SCDSS places the child with you:

Medicaid coverage is automatic for children in foster care. Ask the caseworker how to confirm active coverage and get the child's Medicaid information.

Foster care maintenance payments are for licensed relative foster parents. Current rates are $670/month for children ages 0–5, $783/month for ages 6–12, and $27.92–$32.00/day for special circumstances. Ask the caseworker which rate applies and when payments can begin in your placement.

SC Voucher / Child Care Scholarship has a priority pathway for some placements authorized through SCDSS child protective or preventive services, with family income tests and copayments waived. General applications were paused effective December 1, 2025, so confirm with SCDSS whether the priority pathway is currently accepting referrals.

Provisional Placement vs. Full Licensing

If a child is placed with you before licensing is complete, ask the caseworker what requirements and deadlines apply to your placement. Full kinship foster-care licensing under S.C. Code § 63-7-2320 includes:

• Background checks
• A home inspection
• Pre-service foster-parent training
• Any additional safety steps and documentation SCDSS requires for your household

The caseworker should give you the applicable checklist and timeline. Foster-care maintenance payments and KinGAP eligibility depend on meeting the foster-care licensing and placement requirements.

The Path from Emergency Placement to Permanency

An emergency placement puts you on a track toward one of several permanent outcomes:

1. Reunification — the child returns to their biological parents after the parents complete a case plan
2. Licensed kinship foster care — you complete licensing and the child remains in your care while SCDSS maintains oversight
3. KinGAP — after at least six consecutive months as a licensed kinship foster parent, you may qualify for KinGAP. The written subsidy agreement must be signed before the Family Court grants guardianship.
4. Adoption — you adopt the child. Ask SCDSS whether adoption assistance is available for the child's case and what terms would apply.

The permanency decision isn't yours alone — it involves the Family Court, the SCDSS case plan, and often the biological parents' progress. Your caseworker coordinates the timeline.

What You Can Do for the Child Right Away

While the administrative process runs, the child needs immediate practical help:

• School enrollment: Ask the caseworker and school what placement paperwork is needed for enrollment and what school-stability protections apply. Children in foster care may have protections to maintain school of origin.
• Medical care: Use the Medicaid coverage. If you don't have the Medicaid card yet, the SCDHHS Member Help Center ((888) 549-0820) can confirm active coverage.
• Prescriptions and medical records: Ask the caseworker to help transfer medical records from the child's previous provider.

For a detailed walkthrough of every benefit available during and after a DSS placement — including the full licensing process, KinGAP eligibility, and what to do if a benefit application is denied — our South Carolina guide covers it all.

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