The South Carolina Department of Social Services is committed to the well-being of children and their families.  Our mandate, as the state’s child welfare agency, encompasses a wide-range of services, including:  child protective services; assistance to help families stay safely together or be reunited; foster care and adoption services; and, support to youth and young adults transitioning from foster care to independence.

SCDSS works in partnership with local community-based services providers, family courts, and other public and private human services agencies to ensure the safety, timely permanency, and well-being of children. Our child well-being services are directed toward these goals:

• Prevention of separation of children from their families;
• Protection of children alleged to be abused, neglected, or abandoned including provision of emergency and long-term alternate living arrangements;
• Reunification of families who have had children placed with relatives or in foster care;
• Establishment of permanent living arrangements for children who cannot be reunited with their families or when reunification would not be in the best interest of the child;
• Support services for young adults preparing to exit foster care to make successful transitions into adulthood.