Less than a year after undertaking extensive research in 2007 to draft materials for lectures on representing parents in abuse and neglect cases, South Carolina’s legislature recodified the abuse an neglect code. Unlike the recent recodification of the children’s code, this was not mostly labeling old statutes with new statute numbers in a one-to-one mapping. [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Department of Social Services’
Updated abuse and neglect materials
Posted Friday, March 26th, 2010 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
1 Comment »
Tags: Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Social Services, Litigation Strategy
Posted in Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific | 1 Comment »
Court of Appeals clarifies standards for service of notice of UIFSA action and issuance of child support bench warrant
Posted Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Child Support, Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
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The December 30, 2009 Court of Appeals opinion in SCDSS v. Johnson, 386 S.C. 426, 688 S.E.2d 588 (2009), clarifies the service requirements for notification of attempted registration of a foreign order under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) and clarifies when the court can issue a bench warrant for an alleged failure to pay support. [...]
Tags: Child Support, Contempt Enforcement Rule to Show Cause, Department of Social Services, John Magera, South Carolina Court of Appeals, UIFSA, Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
Posted in Child Support, Contempt/Enforcement of Orders, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific | No Comments »
Court of Appeals finds reversible error to go forward with DSS Judicial Review Hearing when incarcerated mother had order of transport and the Department of Corrections failed to transport her to hearing
Posted Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
1 Comment »
Today the Court of Appeals, in Department of Social Services v. Laura D., 386 S.C. 382, 688 S.E.2d 130 (2009), reversed and remanded a family court’s decision to proceed with a DSS Judicial Review Hearing when the incarcerated Mother was not present but when another judge had previously issued an order of transport to the hearing. Her [...]
Tags: Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Social Services, South Carolina Court of Appeals
Posted in Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific | 1 Comment »
In a DSS abuse and neglect case, when the treatment plan is resolved, should the guardian ad litem have an opinion on the merits?
Posted Friday, November 13th, 2009 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Guardians Ad Litem, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific
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I have mediated a couple of DSS abuse and neglect cases recently in which the treatment plan was resolved (that is, everyone agreed what the defendant(s) needed to do to resume contact or custody of the children at issue) but in which the merits (that is, whether or not the defendant(s) had abused or neglected the [...]
Tags: Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Social Services, Guardian ad litem, Jurisprudence
Posted in Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Guardians Ad Litem, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific | No Comments »
Co-mediation
Posted Friday, October 30th, 2009 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific
1 Comment »
My wife, Karen Klickstein-Forman, LISW-CP, and I co-mediated our first cases today, mediating three abuse and neglect cases in the Charleston County Family Court, completely settling two and settling the treatment plan, but not the merits finding, in the third case. Social worker-attorney teams are considered quite effective in co-mediating family law issues, as are [...]
Tags: Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Social Services, Gregory Forman, Karen Klickstein-Forman, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution
Posted in Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to Family Court Litigants, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Specific | 1 Comment »
Despite guilty plea to simple assault and battery on child at issue, Court of Appeals reverses family court finding that defendant abused child
Posted Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
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The Court of Appeals’ decision in South Carolina Department of Social Services v. C.H., L.K., T.M. and D.M., 386 S.C. 58, 685 S.E.2d 835 (2009), reversed the family court’s finding that L.K. abused her friend’s child, and placing her on the Central Registry, despite L.K. pleading guilty to simple assault and battery on child at issue. The [...]
Tags: Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Social Services, South Carolina Court of Appeals
Posted in Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific | No Comments »
Abuse and neglect mediations
Posted Saturday, October 17th, 2009 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific
1 Comment »
The Chief Administrative Judge for the Charleston County Family Court, F.P. Segars-Andrews, has instituted mandatory mediation for all DSS abuse and neglect cases. Volunteers, such as myself, spend Friday mornings acting as mediators. I have mediated two abuse and neglect cases the past two weeks, with both reaching settlement, and will be volunteering one Friday [...]
Tags: Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Social Services, F.P. Segars-Andrews, Gregory Forman, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution
Posted in Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Mediation/Alternative Dispute Resolution, Of Interest to General Public, South Carolina Specific | 1 Comment »
Former foster parents who declined to adopt child lack standing to bring subsequent adoption proceeding; Judge Lockemy concerned that DSS deceived foster parents
Posted Friday, October 2nd, 2009 by Gregory Forman
Filed under Adoption/Termination of Parental Rights, Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific
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The Court of Appeals’ decision in Michael P. v. Greenville County Department of Social Services, 385 S.C. 407, 684 S.E.2d 211 (2009), has all the makings of an excellent melodrama [government malfeasance; lesbian adoption] buried within a decision over standing–the right of a person to bring a particular lawsuit. In Michael P., DSS placed a child with [...]
Tags: Adoption, Department of Social Services, South Carolina Court of Appeals, Termination of Parental Rights
Posted in Adoption/Termination of Parental Rights, Department of Social Services/Child Abuse and Neglect, Of Interest to Family Law Attorneys, South Carolina Appellate Decisions, South Carolina Specific | No Comments »