South Carolina Adoption Law Blog : South Carolina Adoption Lawyer & Attorney : Russell Hall Law Firm : Termination of Parental Rights, Relinquishment

Please note that Section 63-9-60(A)(2) was amended to require a non-resident to initiate and finalize his adoption in South Carolina. The full update is at this blog post and was past into law on 25 May 2010. Below is the code section; the added language is in bold.

SECTION    8.    Section 63-9-60(A)(2) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 361 of 2008, is amended to read:

"(2)    Before a child is placed within or outside the boundaries of this State for adoption with nonresidents of this State, compliance with Article 11 (Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) is required, and a judicial determination must be made in this State that one of the circumstances in items (a) through (f) of subsection (A)(1) applies, whether or not the adoption proceedings are instituted in this State. Additionally, in order to determine if any of the circumstances in items (a) through (f) of subsection (A)(1) apply so as to permit placement with a nonresident for the purpose of adoption or adoption by a nonresident, a petition may be brought for the determination before the birth of the child or before placement of the child with the prospective adoptive parents. In ruling on this question the court must include in its order specific findings of fact as to the circumstances allowing the placement of a child with a nonresident or the adoption of a child by a nonresident. The court also must analyze the facts against the objective criteria established in Sections 16-3-1060 and 63-9-310(F) and make specific findings in accordance with the pertinent law and evidence presented. The order resulting from this action does not prohibit or waive the right to refuse to consent to a release of rights or relinquish rights at a later time or to withdraw a consent or relinquish at a later time as provided in this article. The order must be merged with and made a part of any subsequent adoption proceeding, which must be initiated and finalized in this State."

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If you are a non-resident  seeking to adopt a child from South Caroina or the non-resident's attorney, seek South Carolina legal assitance as early in the process as possible.

In addition to requiring the couple to comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Chilren, South Carolina requires a judicial determination as to wether the couple meets one of the statutory exceptions allowing a non-resident to adopt. You may be able to get the judicial determination prior to the child's birth; this will help make the adoption more seamless.

Those exceptions may be found in this blog post.

We have severly great attorneys in this state that work with interstate adoptions; please contact my office if you need guidance.

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The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children(ICPC) is a compact between all 50 state, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. South Carolina's ICPC statutes are in the Sections 63-9-2200 through 63-9-2290 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended. The compact was instituted among the states to help ensure that a child being moved from one jurisdiction to another for purposes of adoption is protected and his best interests are being looked after.

In South Carolina, adoptive parents who are not residents of South Carolina may adopt only under certain circumstances; the circumstances are listed in Section 63-9-60 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, as amended. In that same section the Code reads:

Before a child is placed within or outside the boundaries of this State for adoption with nonresidents of this State, compliance with [the] Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is required.

Because compliance with ICPC is required, a basic understanding of it will help ease some of your anxiety in working through the adoption process.

The Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC) has a wonderful website that helps you understand the ICPC better. This link will take you to their Frequently Ask Question Page and you can navigate the website from there to find more help.

Below I have listed one of the questions from the AAICPC website for your review.

How does the ICPC work?

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is an agreement between all fifty states, Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Compact Agreement provides for the movement and safe placement of children between states when the children are in the custody of a state, being placed for private/independent adoption, or under certain circumstances, being placed by a parent or guardian in a residential treatment facility (RTF). The process involves several steps.

In order for an ICPC placement request to get started, a caseworker (or adoption entity) in the state the child is located creates a packet that includes such items as the child’s social, medical, and educational history and the current status of any court case involving the child. The packet will also include information about the person who is being considered for placement of the child in the receiving state so that the receiving state will know who they should be evaluating for possible placement.

Once the placement request packet is created by the local person in the sending state, it gets sent to the central ICPC office in the sending state (usually the state capital, e.g., Austin, Texas). The ICPC central office in the state makes sure everything is in the packet, approves it for sending out, and then transmits it to the ICPC central office in the state where the child would be sent. Once it arrives in the central office of the receiving state of the proposed placement, that office also looks at the packet and if all is in order, the central office will send it down to the social services agency office in the local community where the prospective placement lives. The social services agency will then go out to the home, meet with everyone in the home, do background screening, and make a determination as to whether the home should be approved for the child to come and live there.

A completed home study report is then sent from the local agency to the central ICPC office in that state and the placement request is either approved or denied based on the recommendation of the home study report. The packet is then sent from the receiving state to the central office in the first state for review. Finally, the local office that started the placement request is sent a copy of the completed home study along with documentation of the receiving state’s decision to either approve or deny the placement request. If the request has been approved by the receiving state, the child can be placed in the chosen home.

While there is much more detail to the process in terms of the forms, financial arrangements for the child, and licensing that may need to be put in place, this is a simple overview of each of the steps that the placement request process will take to go from the local level in one state, through the central office of each state, to the local level in the other state and back again. The process ensures that when children are placed out of state, they are placed in a safe and nurturing environment that can meet their particular needs.

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Section 63-9-60 of the South Carolina Code of Laws provides that any South Carolina resident may petition the court to adopt a child.

Placement of children for adoption pursuant to this article is limited to South Carolina residents with exceptions being made in the following circumstances only:

(a) the child is a special needs child, as defined by Section 63-9-30 (Please see the definition below in "Continue Reading");

(b) there has been public notoriety concerning the child or child's family, and the best interests of the child would be served by placement outside this State;

(c) the child is to be placed for adoption with a relative related biologically or by marriage;

(d) at least on of the adoptive parents is in the military service stationed in South Carolina;

(e) there are unusual or exceptional circumstances such that the best interests of the child would be served by placement with or adoption by nonresidents of this State; or

(f) the child has been in foster care for at least six months after having been legally freed for adoption and no South Carolina resident has been identified as a prospective adoptive home.

Interstate adoptions are much more complex than an intrastate adoption; please move forward with great care if you are adopting interstate. If the child fits into subsection (a)-(d) and (f) above, the interstate hurtles are much easier to leap because these subsections more clearly define the category in which the child needs to fit to be considered an exception to the rule limiting adoption to South Carolina residents.

If you are trying to work with subsection (e) which is much more ambiguous than the rest, proceed with caution. Though you may ultimately show the court that the circumstances are unusual or exceptional and that the best interest of the child would be served by placement with or adoption by nonresident of this State, the financial and emotion cost to do so could be great.

The Courts have determined that the selection of the adoptive parents by the biological parent or parents is an unusual and exceptional circumstance. Even under this circumstance, I advise you to proceed with caution because you may need the mother to testify that she in fact selected the adoptive parents. The problem arises when you do need the biological mother to testify and she has changed her mind and does not want to give her child up for adoption. Though the biological mother in unable to withdrawal her consent and relinquishment without an order from the court, she can refuses to testify or testify that she did not pick the adoptive parents.  If this is the case, then the Court will probably rule that there is no unusual and exceptional circumstances; this leaves the adoptive parents stuck in South Carolina with a child that they are unable to leave the state with.  It essentially forces the adoptive parents to relinquish custody of the child or fight a battle that is not winnable because the financial and emotional burden is to great and the outcome so uncertain.

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