The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a uniform law enacted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, to ensure protection and services to children who are placed across state lines for foster care, temporary placement for services in residential treatment facilities between party states, or as a preliminary to adoption. The compact establishes uniform guidelines and procedures to ensure these placements promote the best interests of each child.
Please follow this link to learn some FAQ’s on ICPC from the national webpage:
Types of placements covered:
- Placement preliminary to adoption
- Placements into foster homes, group homes, residential treatment facilities, and institutions
- Placements with parents or relatives when a parent or relative is not making the placement
Not all placements of children into other party states are subject to compliance with the compact. Compact compliance is not required for placements made in medical or psychiatric hospitals, institutions for the mentally ill or in boarding schools, or any institution primarily educational in nature.
The compact must be used by:
- A state party to the compact, or any officer or employee of a party state
- A subdivision of the party state, such as a county or city, or any officer or employee of the subdivision
- A court of a party state
- Any person (including parents and relatives in some instances), corporation, association, charitable agency, or other entity which sends, brings, or causes to be sent or brought any child to another party state
Please contact ICPC State Office at 803-898-7532 for more information.
Tara Williams, Director of ICPC
Tara.Williams@dss.sc.gov
803-898-7640
