Foster parents provide safe and loving care for children temporarily in need of a home. There are just over 3,600 children in foster care in the state of South Carolina.
Through foster parenting, kids in South Carolina foster care have the chance to experience a stable, nurturing environment during challenging times.Bill Ewolt, a foster parent in Maryland, expresses this dedication:
"I want you to understand that my commitment to you goes beyond words. I am here to support you, to listen to you, and to fight for you every step of the way."
There is a tremendous need for foster parents across the U.S., including right here in South Carolina.
If you want to make a positive impact in your community, state, and the life of a child, here’s how to start the rewarding journey of becoming a foster parent in South Carolina.
As a foster parent, you have the unique opportunity to create space for a child in foster care to feel secure and comfortable. This can significantly help them on the path to healing from potentially traumatic experiences.
Children in foster care deserve a safe environment that is full of love and nurture.
South Carolina foster parents provide a foundation to ensure the healthy growth of these children. This includes:
Foster parents offer many of the simple things that help a child in foster care feel included and live a normal, stable life.
As Elizabeth Murrell, a Maryland foster parent, puts it in her letter to her child in foster care:
"We want you to feel safe and loved in our home. We understand that this may be a new and unfamiliar environment for you, but please know that we are here to support you every step of the way."
From birth to age 18, kids in South Carolina enter foster care for different reasons — usually to preserve their safety and well-being. Foster parents who invest their time and energy into creating a welcoming, comforting home can have a life-changing impact on a child’s sense of belonging and value.
Understandably, kids in foster care may struggle with their emotions and the ability to trust others. Foster parents who can teach and model positive relationships are especially important in helping to overcome these challenges.
For many children in foster care, especially those in therapeutic foster care, building relationships with people can be hard at first. They may have difficulty processing their situation and feel uncertain about getting to know new people.
However, love, patience, and understanding from foster parents can help kids in foster care develop long-lasting relationships. This allows them to understand the value of connections, recognize healthy interactions, and start to trust others – even if it takes time.
Kids in foster care often have unique experiences and backgrounds that can lead to more complex emotional needs. As a foster parent, you can help them learn healthy strategies for understanding and acting on their feelings.
Children in foster care may have difficulty expressing emotions and even asking for help, especially if they have been through trauma. The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the impact of traumatic experiences on the well-being of these children — from sudden losses and transitions to persistent uncertainty.
For example, kids in foster care are frequently overwhelmed by separation from their birth families while simultaneously expected to adapt to a new environment and family dynamic. This puts a strain on emotional health and forming attachments.
Foster parents can learn how to support and address these emotional needs. Preservice sessions and informational programs for foster parents in South Carolina help people like you learn tools to best support and emotionally connect with children in foster care.
By providing a sense of security, love, and inclusion in the family, foster parents help these children heal.
Tacole Robinson, a foster parent with Mentor Foster Care, highlights this beautifully:
"I just love to see how wonders can happen and how we can be in awe of what can happen when children are nurtured, when they're supported, where they're loved."
According to the U.S. Department of Education, kids in foster care are at high risk of dropping out of school. Many do not graduate from high school, and even fewer attend or graduate from college.
Without educational support, children in foster care face future consequences such as joblessness, homelessness, and other undesirable outcomes.
By collaborating with teachers and other professionals, foster parents can help prioritize the academic success of a child in foster care. This collaboration allows everyone to address the child’s unique needs and overcome school-related challenges.
Foster parents in South Carolina can support the education of kids in their care through encouragement, accessing helpful resources, and communication. This includes:
These simple investments in a child’s education can inspire a brighter future.
A big part of being a foster parent is preparing a child or teenager in foster care to navigate adulthood. This can be a challenge for any parent, but teaching important life skills to youth and teens in foster care can have a lasting impact on their life path.
Through emotional support and patience, foster parents in South Carolina can ensure that adolescents in their care are prepared to live as adults when the time comes. This can include how to manage money, practice healthy behaviors, and how to access support once they leave foster care.
For some kids, this might mean providing support with college applications, studying for the SATs or ACTs, and finding scholarships.
For others, this might mean helping them identify jobs that might be a good fit, and working through day-to-day skills needed to maintain employment.
In both cases, foster parents can help kids in their care understand the importance of responsibility and believing in themselves through changing life circumstances.
In addition to helping kids in foster care prepare for the next chapter of life, it’s also important for foster parents in South Carolina to encourage participation in activities that build social skills and foster a sense of responsibility.
This provides a sense of community and is key to forming relationships and growing as an adult.
South Carolina also offers support for youth and teenagers making the transition out of foster care with Chafee Funded Services. This program is designed to promote success in several areas, including:
To ensure the health and safety of children in foster care, there are some basic requirements for becoming a foster parent. Those who qualify can begin their journey to improve the life of a child in foster care in South Carolina.
To become a foster parent in South Carolina, you must:
Though you don’t have to be married to foster in South Carolina, if you are, the marriage must have lasted at least a year before you begin the process.
If you meet these qualifications, you can start the process of becoming a foster parent in South Carolina.
Foster parents need to be in good physical and mental health to care for a child in foster care.
You and your household members must not have any health issues that could harm a child or make it difficult to properly care for them. This applies to physical, mental, and emotional health.
Complete medical screenings and health checks are required for all household members.
All prospective foster parents in South Carolina must provide references and submit to background checks.
Requirements include:
Foster parents must have enough income for their household’s cost of living. This financial stability reflects that they can meet their own basic needs and shelter costs.
To help cover the cost of parenting a child in foster care, the South Carolina General Assembly recently increased state board rates. The SC stipend is intended for the child and meeting their daily needs and well-being.
South Carolina requires enough income to care for a child without the daily board rate for up to three months. A complete financial statement and supporting documents must be submitted and verified.
This ensures that foster parents in SC can offer children a healthy home and opportunities for them to heal and grow.
Every foster home must be a safe and healthy environment for children in foster care. This includes having enough space, working utilities, and safety measures to ensure your home is hazard free.
Each prospective foster parent in South Carolina must also complete a home study and meet all state requirements. This home study is designed to ensure that your house is up to safety standards as well as a welcoming place for children.
Bedrooms should provide a safe, welcoming, and comfortable space for children in foster care — for some, this may be an experience of having their own bed or room for the first time.
Here are some of the requirements for bedrooms in South Carolina:
In addition, no home can have more than eight children total under age 18, whether they are biological, adopted, or in foster care. More than two infants under age one is also not allowed.
To confirm the identity of anyone who wants to foster a child, South Carolina requires copies of certain paperwork and identification verification.
This may include:
The steps to becoming a South Carolina foster parent might feel like a lot, but they’re worth it to find purpose in your life and improve the life and future of a child in foster care.
The first step is to choose a foster care organization to partner with near you. This ensures that you receive accurate information and support with each step.
Mentor Foster Care, a Sevita company, helps prospective foster parents in South Carolina with the application process and to become foster parents. You can also get support and answers to any questions about fostering along the way!
You can find offices across the state, including therapeutic foster care providers:
(803) 649-3220
(843) 573-1905
(843) 676-0790
(864) 233-9727
(803) 366-3330
(803) 799-9025
(888) 249-5150
Once you’ve chosen a foster care organization to partner with, they can help you fill out the application to become a foster parent.
During this stage, you’ll also need to provide written references and undergo background checks — these are important steps to ensure the safety of children in foster care.
Becoming a foster parent involves taking part in preservice sessions so you can provide the best possible care and support for a child in foster care.
In South Carolina, these preservice sessions take 15 hours total and are often provided by the SC Foster Parent Association. You will learn about foster care parenting, roles and responsibilities, and important rules and regulations.
Foster parents in South Carolina are also required to be certified in CPR and First Aid.
For foster parents of children with more complex needs, such as therapeutic foster care, more hours of preservice sessions are required.
Every state in the U.S. requires a home study for potential foster parents — including South Carolina. During a home study, professionals will make sure that your home meets safety standards and is a secure environment for a child in foster care.
They will also learn about your family dynamics, lifestyle, and reasons for wanting to be a foster parent.
Home studies can take several weeks to gather necessary information and complete safety checks. While patience and flexibility are important, it will all be worth it when a child in foster care enters your home.
Among the steps involved in a home study, some that foster parents in South Carolina can expect include:
During the home study, you must also provide the previously mentioned required paperwork. For example, your financial and medical statements, references, and other paperwork should be ready to submit.
The home study does involve interviews and paperwork. This also provides the opportunity for foster care services to ensure your home meets safety standards.
While the thought of a home inspection may feel intimidating, your house does not have to be perfect. Many of these home safety requirements are standard and likely in place.
For example, some of the requirements, including those in the state Fire Marshal inspection, include:
If you don’t have children in your home, you may not have thought of things like a fire escape plan. But the good news is that you have time to prepare, your foster care organization is there to help, and, these are good safety measures for you, too!
Once the entire process of application, preservice sessions, and home study is completed, you will be notified of your status. Once everything has been approved, you will receive your South Carolina foster care license.
This moment is meaningful and rewarding. Even though you don’t yet have your placement of a child in foster care, it is a milestone worth celebrating with your family. It also allows the matching process to begin!
Once you’ve been approved and have your foster parent license, the matching process begins.
This is where your unique strengths and family dynamics are carefully considered and assessed to find the best match for both you and the child in foster care.
You may share your preferences in the matching process, such as the child’s age and gender.
It can pay to have an open mind. Too many preferences around age and gender can increase the time it takes for your first placement. Not only that, you never know what joys you could be missing.
Many foster parents start out thinking they only want to foster young children, only to discover a love of fostering older kids and teens.
The goal is to place a child in your home where they feel loved and can grow emotionally and physically. Caseworkers are thorough to ensure the child placed with you fits with your family’s capabilities and lifestyle, making a happy and healthy home for everyone.
Remember: It doesn’t matter how old you are, everyone longs for a place to call home.
Placement is when a child in foster care is officially welcomed into your home.
You’ll receive necessary information about the child, including their background, medical history, and any specific care requirements, such as dietary needs. Your caseworker will provide ongoing support for a positive transition for you, your family, and the child.
For example, support from an organization like Mentor Foster Care continues well beyond placement with a network of coordinators and services. This includes 24/7 emergency help and additional education programs.
A child’s placement in your home is a time to celebrate, embrace joy, and begin your journey of making a lifelong impact.
Even after placement occurs for a child in foster care, foster parents must continue with preservice sessions. The state of South Carolina requires foster parents to complete 14 hours of continuing education and re-licensing procedures every two years..
In South Carolina, you are not alone when you become a foster parent.
The state offers various means of support for foster parents.
Foster parents in South Carolina receive a monthly board rate stipend to help cover the cost of caring for a child. This includes the basics, but also clothing that fits well and is weatherproof.
Knowing how children’s needs change as they get older, the rate increases with a child’s age.
As of July 1, 2024, the board rates are:
The amount depends on the child's age and needs. Board rate funds can be used for everyday expenses for the child in care like food, clothing, and transportation. It’s also important to encourage participation in activities for enjoyment and development.
An initial, one-time clothing stipend, usually $100, is provided as well.
South Carolina children in foster care are eligible for Medicaid. This covers a wide range of medical and dental services, which are essential for kids in foster care.
Medicaid eligibility ensures that children in foster care receive necessary health care without placing a financial burden on foster parents. This also ensures that these children receive important treatment and support, when needed.
Medicaid covers doctor visits, hospital stays, prescriptions, mental health services, dental care, and vision care. Foster parents can find medical providers who accept Medicaid to maximize these benefits and prioritize the health and well-being of children in their care.
Do you have questions about how becoming a foster parent in South Carolina might fit into your life?
Get advice from an expert about what you can expect for your specific situation. Taking this first step can mean opening up a new world for you and a child in need.
Talk to a foster care expert and begin your foster parent journey in South Carolina.
You can make an important and life-changing difference in the life of a child in foster care, with expert help along the way.