South Carolina S 179: Workforce Enhancement and Military Recognition Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 179 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 14, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 179

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 63-7-1990, RELATING TO CONFIDENTIALITY AND RELEASE OF RECORDS AND 
INFORMATION, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE DISCLOSURE OF CASE RECORDS TO COUNTY AND STATE 
GUARDIAN AD LITEM STAFF AND THE STATE CHILD ADVOCATE'S DIVISIONS; BY AMENDING 
SECTION 63-11-550, RELATING TO CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS AND INFORMATION, SO 
AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE APPOINTED GUARDIAN AD LITEM CAN SHARE CASE RECORDS TO 
COUNTY AND STATE GUARDIAN AD LITEM STAFF AND THE STATE CHILD ADVOCATE'S 
DIVISIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-700, RELATING TO THE DIVISION FOR REVIEW 
OF THE FOSTER CARE OF CHILDREN, SO AS TO UPDATE STATUTES RELATED TO THE STATE 
CHILD ADVOCATE'S DIVISION; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-11-1340, RELATING TO THE 
DIRECTOR AND OTHER STAFF, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; AND BY AMENDING 
SECTION 63-11-1360, RELATING TO THE ANNUAL REPORT, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING 
CHANGES.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 63-7-1990(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to 
read:

 (B) The department is authorized to 
grant access to the records of indicated cases to the following persons, 
agencies, or entities:

 (1) 
the Department of Children's Advocacy, including the 
Guardian ad Litem Division, and county Guardian ad Litem Staff, when carrying 
out their duties;

 (2) 
a person appointed as the child's guardian ad litem, the attorney for the 
child's guardian ad litem, or the child's attorney;

 (3) 
appropriate staff of the department;

 (4) 
a law enforcement agency investigating or prosecuting known or suspected abuse 
or neglect of a child or any other crime against a child, attempting to locate 
a missing child, investigating or prosecuting the death of a child, or 
investigating or prosecuting any other crime established in or associated with 
activities authorized under this article;

 (5) 
a person who is named in a report or investigation pursuant to this article as 
having abused or neglected a child, that person's attorney, and that person's 
guardian ad litem;

 (6) 
a child fourteen years of age or older who is named in a report as a victim of 
child abuse or neglect, except in regard to information that the department may 
determine to be detrimental to the emotional well-being of the child;

 (7) 
the parents or guardians of a child who is named in a report as a victim of 
child abuse or neglect;

 (8) 
county medical examiners or coroners who are investigating the death of a 
child;

 (9) 
the State Child Fatality Advisory Committee and the Department of Child 
Fatalities in accordance with the exercise of their purposes or duties pursuant 
to Article 19, Chapter 11;

 (10) 
family courts conducting proceedings pursuant to this article;

 (11) 
the parties to a court proceeding in which information in the records is 
legally relevant and necessary for the determination of an issue before the 
court, if before the disclosure the judge has reviewed the records in camera, 
has determined the relevancy and necessity of the disclosure, and has limited 
disclosure to legally relevant information under a protective order;

 (12) 
a grand jury by subpoena upon its determination that access to the record is 
necessary in the conduct of its official business;

 (13) 
authorities in other states conducting child abuse and neglect investigations 
or providing child welfare services;

 (14) 
courts in other states conducting child abuse and neglect proceedings or child 
custody proceedings;

 (15) 
the director or chief executive officer of a childcare facility, child placing 
agency, or child caring facility when the records concern the investigation of 
an incident of child abuse or neglect that allegedly was perpetrated by an 
employee or volunteer of the facility or agency against a child served by the 
facility or agency;

 (16) 
a person or agency with authorization to care for, diagnose, supervise, or 
treat the child, the child's family, or the person alleged to have abused or 
neglected the child;

 (17) 
any person engaged in bona fide research with the written permission of the 
state director or the director's designee, subject to limitations the state 
director may impose;

 (18) 
multidisciplinary teams impaneled by the department or impaneled pursuant to 
statute;

 (19) 
circuit solicitors and their agents investigating or prosecuting known or 
suspected abuse or neglect of a child or any other crime against a child, 
attempting to locate a missing child, investigating or prosecuting the death of 
a child, or investigating or prosecuting any other crime established in or 
associated with activities author