H 4633

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 4633
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH
CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-710, RELATING TO PROBABLE CAUSE
HEARINGS, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO BEGIN
FACILITATING VISITATION BETWEEN THE PARENT AND THE CHILD FOLLOWING THE PROBABLE
CAUSE HEARING IF THE CHILD IS PLACED OUTSIDE OF THE HOME AT THE PROBABLE CAUSE
HEARING, WITH EXCEPTIONS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-1680, RELATING TO
PLACEMENT PLANS, SO AS TO ADDRESS THE APPROPRIATENESS OF SUPERVISED OR
MONITORED VISITATION AFTER A CERTAIN TIME.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 63-7-710 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
63-7-710.  (A) The family court
shall schedule a probable cause hearing to be held within seventy-two hours of
the time the child was taken into emergency protective custody. If the third
day falls upon a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the probable cause hearing must
be held no later than the next working day. If there is no term of court in the
county when the probable cause hearing must be held, the hearing must be held
in another county in the circuit. If there is no term of family court in
another county in the circuit, the probable cause hearing may be heard in
another court in an adjoining circuit.
    (B)
The probable cause hearing may be conducted by video conference at the
discretion of the judge.
    (C)
At the probable cause hearing, the family court shall undertake to fulfill the
requirements of Section 63-7-1620 and shall determine whether there was
probable cause for taking emergency protective custody and for the department
to assume legal custody of the child and shall determine whether probable cause
to retain legal custody of the child remains at the time of the hearing.
    (D)
At the probable cause hearing, the respondents may submit affidavits as to
facts which are alleged to form the basis of the removal and to cross-examine
the department's witnesses as to whether there existed probable cause to effect
emergency removal.
    (E)(1) At the probable cause hearing, if
the child is placed out of the home of a parent, guardian, or legal custodian,
the court shall order the department to facilitate regular visitation with the
parent, guardian or legal custodian, and siblings, as early, consistent, and
frequent visitation is crucial for maintaining parent-child relationships and enabling
family reunification. The court shall order a visitation plan individualized to
the needs of the family with a goal of providing the maximum parent, child, and
sibling contact possible.
       (2) Visitation required pursuant to
this subsection may not be limited as a sanction for a parent's failure to
comply with recommended services.
       (3) Visitation required pursuant to
this subsection may be limited only when necessary to ensure the health,
safety, or welfare of the child.
       (4) The first visit of a visitation
plan ordered by the court pursuant to this subsection must take place within
seventy-two hours of the probable cause hearing, unless the court makes a
finding, in writing, that extraordinary circumstances require delay,
identifying the extraordinary circumstances.
       (5) If the first visit of a visitation
plan ordered by the court pursuant to this subsection is to occur in person,
the visitation must be supervised unless the department determines that
supervision is not necessary.
       (6) When a parent, guardian, legal
custodian, or sibling has been identified as a suspect in an active criminal
investigation for a violent crime that, if the allegations are true, would
impact the safety of the child, the department may petition the court to forego
ordering a visitation plan at the probable cause hearing until the department
is satisfied that a visitation plan can be created to protect the health,
safety, and welfare of the child.
    (E)(F) The hearing on the merits to determine whether removal
of custody is needed, pursuant to Section 63-7-1660, must be held within
thirty-five days of the date of receipt of the removal petition. At the
probable cause hearing, the court shall set the time and date for the hearing
on the merits. A party may request a continuance that would result in the
hearing being held more than thirty-five days after the petition was filed, and
the court may grant the request for continuance only if exceptional circumstances
exist. If a continuance is granted, the hearing on the merits must be completed
within sixty-five days following receipt of the removal petition. The court may
continue the hearing on the merits beyond sixty-five days without returning the
child to the home only if the court issues a written order with findings of
fact supporting a determination that the following conditions are satisfied,
regardless of whether the parties have agreed to a continuance:
       (1)
the court finds that the child should remain in the custody of the department
because there is probable cause to believe that returning the child to the home
would seriously endanger the child's physical safety or emotional well-being;
       (2)
the court schedules the case for trial on a date and time certain which is not
more than thirty days after the date the hearing was scheduled to be held; and
       (3)
the court finds that exceptional circumstances support the continuance or the
parties and the guardian ad litem agree to a continuance.
    (F)(G) The court may continue the case past the date and time
certain set forth in subsection (E)(F) only if the court issues a new order as required in
subsection (E)(F).
    (G)(H) The court may continue the case because a witness is
unavailable only if the court enters a finding of fact that the court cannot
decide the case without the testimony of the witness. The court shall consider
and rule on whether the hearing can begin and then recess to have the witness'
testimony taken at a later date or by deposition. The court shall rule on
whether the party offering the witness has exercised due diligence to secure
the presence of the witness or to preserve the witness' testimony.
    (H)(I) This section does not prevent the court from
conducting a pendente lite hearing on motion of any party and issuing an order
granting other appropriate relief pending a hearing on the merits.
    (I)(J) If the child is returned to the home pending the
merits hearing, the court may impose such terms and conditions as it determines
appropriate to protect the child from harm, including measures to protect the
child as a witness.
    (J)(K) When a continuance is granted pursuant to this
section, the family court shall ensure that the hearing is rescheduled within
the time limits provided in this section and give the hearing priority over
other matters pending before the court except a probable cause hearing held
pursuant to this section, a detention hearing held pursuant to Section
63-19-830, or a hearing held pursuant to Section 63-19-1030 or 63-19-1210
concerning a child who is in state custody pursuant to Chapter 19. An exception
also may be made for child custody hearings if the court, in its discretion,
makes a written finding stating compelling reasons, relating to the welfare of
the child, for giving priority to the custody hearing.
SECTION 2.  Section 63-7-1680(D) and (G) of the S.C. Code is
amended to read:
    (D)(1) The third section of the plan shall set forth rights
and obligations of the parents or guardian while the child is in custody
including, but not limited to:
       (1)(a) the responsibility of the parents or guardian for
financial support of the child during the placement; and
       (2)(b) the visitation rights and obligations of the parents
or guardian during the placement.
        (2) The department may move
before the family court for termination or suspension of visits between the
parent or guardian and the child. The family court may order termination or
suspension of the visits if ongoing contact between the parent or guardian and
the child would be contrary to the best interests of the child. This section of
the plan must include a notice to the parents or guardian that failure to
support or visit the child as provided in the plan may result in termination of
parental rights.
        (3) If the court previously ordered that
visitation between a parent, guardian, or legal custodian and the child be
supervised or monitored, there is a presumption that continued supervision or
monitoring will not be necessary after ninety days of supervised or monitored
visitation. To rebut this presumption, the department must provide a report to
the court with evidence establishing that unsupervised or unmonitored visitation
would pose a risk to the child's health, safety, or welfare, and the court
shall make a determination as to whether supervised or monitored visitation
must continue.
    (G)(1) The court shall include in its order and shall advise
defendants on the record that failure to remedy the conditions that caused the
removal within six months, may result in termination of parental rights,
subject to notice and a hearing as provided in Article 7. Before the court
orders return of the child, the court must find that the changes in the home
and family situation specified in section one of the plan have occurred and
that the child can be safely returned to the home. Completion of the tasks
specified in section two of the plan is not in itself sufficient basis for
return of the child.
       (2) The court shall include in its
order and shall advise the department that the failure to facilitate
court-ordered visitation may result in a finding that the department failed to
make reasonable efforts. The lack of sufficient visitation providers will not
excuse the failure to facilitate court-ordered visitation.
SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on December 17, 2025 at 01:05 PM