Title 43, Social Services

(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly that all payments of aid to families with dependent children shall be utilized and managed in such manner as to support the needy child and his eligible caretaker. Such payments shall include current payments as well as any portion of …

When a recipient dies after issuance but before delivery or negotiation of his assistance check for the month in which his death occurs, endorsement of such check without recourse by the county director of social services to the "spouse or nearest living relative" of the recipien…

(a) Every applicant for family independence benefits who has a child by a parent who is alive but not living in the home at the time of approval for family independence must be immediately referred to the designated child support official of the department. The department shall b…

From the amounts collected by the South Carolina State Department of Social Services for children and the parents of such children who are currently recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), pursuant to Section 43-5-220 of the 1976 Code, the department may dis…

(a) A central registry of records shall be maintained in the department showing as far as it is known with respect to any parent who has deserted or abandoned any child receiving aid to families with dependent children: (1) the full and true name of such parent together with any …

There is hereby created in the office of the State Treasurer a revolving fund to be designated as the Public Welfare Cooperative Support Program Fund which shall be used by the department in carrying out such purposes as it deems necessary. All monies in the funds are hereby appr…

To the extent permitted by federal law, the department may enter into annual agreements with county governments, clerks of court, sheriffs, and other law enforcement entities having jurisdiction in that county to reimburse and to pay federal financial participation and incentives…

When an individual applies for assistance through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program, the Department of Social Services must provide the applicant with information on methods of contraception and family planning, excluding abortion counseling. The Department of H…

Any county desiring to obtain the benefits of appropriations from the Public Welfare Support Reimbursement Fund shall secure the formal joinder of the circuit solicitor and of the court having jurisdiction of support cases in that county in a joint plan and a cooperative support …

(a) The department shall prescribe the time at and the form on which the counties and judicial districts shall submit to the department annual plans for the total staff and equipment needs and annual estimates of the expenditures of the county for the staffing and operations of t…

Any person, other than a needy child, who wilfully and knowingly receives or uses any part of a payment of aid to dependent children for a purpose other than in the best interest of the needy children and any eligible caretaker is deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon convicti…

(a) If an overpayment or underpayment is made under the Family Independence Program, the department shall make every effort to correct payment. If the agency decides to terminate benefits to a client and payments are made pending an appeal of the agency's decision, these payments…

General assistance in the form of money payments shall be granted by the State Department to handicapped and unfortunate persons in need who are not eligible for other forms of assistance provided in Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 19 and 23 and who are unable to support themselves becau…

General assistance in the form of money payments may be made to persons who are essential to the welfare of aged, blind, or disabled persons receiving other forms of public assistance and who are unable to support themselves and would suffer unless so provided for. A recipient of…

Applications for assistance under this article shall be made to the county department of the county in which the applicant resides. The application shall be made in writing or reduced to writing in the manner and upon a form prescribed by the State Department.

Whenever the county department receives an application for assistance under this article, an investigation and record shall promptly be made of the circumstances of the applicant in order to ascertain the facts supporting the application and in order to obtain such other informat…

Upon the completion of the investigation the county department shall decide whether the applicant is eligible for assistance under the provisions of this article. The amount of assistance which any such person shall receive shall be determined by the county department with due re…

It is unlawful for a person to solicit, disclose, receive, make use of, authorize, knowingly permit, participate in, or acquiesce in the use of a list, name of, or any information concerning persons applying for or receiving public aid or assistance, directly or indirectly derive…

When used in this article and unless the specific context indicates otherwise: (1) "Aid to dependent children or needy relative" means money payments with respect to or medical care in behalf of or any type of remedial care recognized under state law in behalf of a dependent chil…

The State Department may cooperate with the Federal Government in the development of plans and policies for aid to dependent children. It shall administer all funds appropriated or made available for this purpose.

Any person having knowledge that any child is dependent and that the interest of such child or of the public requires that such child be granted aid may bring such fact to the attention of the county department in the county in which the dependent child has residence or to the St…

The county department shall make an investigation and examination of the circumstances of such child. Such investigation and examination shall be made in accordance with rules prescribed by the State Department. A report of such investigation and examination shall be made in writ…

If such child is found to be in need, the county department shall grant such aid as may be necessary for the support of such child in his own home or in the home of one of his relatives as set forth in this article, in a manner compatible with decency and health. In case applicat…

The department shall provide timely and adequate notice in all cases of intended action to discontinue, terminate, suspend, or reduce an assistance grant except in those cases where adequate notice alone would be consistent with the requirements of state law or regulation. "Timel…

In granting aid for dependent children the amount granted shall not exceed thirty dollars per month for one child in any home, nor twenty-one dollars per month for each additional child in the same home, and shall not exceed thirty dollars per month for a needy relative with whom…

Each county department shall prepare, as required by the State Department, an estimate of the amount needed for dependent children in its county. Such estimate shall set forth the number of children being aided, with the amounts of grants to each individual child and such informa…

The State Treasurer shall receive and deposit in the State Treasury any Federal funds allotted to the State under Section 403 of Title IV of the Federal Social Security Act, or otherwise, for aid to dependent children. Such sums shall be kept by the State Treasurer in a dependent…

In the event that a recipient of aid to families with dependent children does not receive an assistance check, or if such check is lost, stolen, or destroyed after receipt but before it is cashed, the county office may authorize a one-time grant in the amount of the original chec…

(a) Every applicant for Family Independence benefits who has a child or children whose parent is alive but not residing in the home must be referred to the Office of Child Support Enforcement within two working days of the furnishing of aid or the determination that an individual…

In accordance with a child support plan approved by the federal government, the department has the power and its duty must be to: (a) require as a condition of eligibility for assistance that the applicant or recipient: (i) furnish his social security account number or, to the ex…

(A) As used in this section: (1) "Business day" means a day on which state offices are open for regular business. (2) "Date of hire" means the first day the employee works for which the employee is entitled to compensation from the payor of income. (3) "Department" means the Depa…

All assistance granted under Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 19, and 23 shall be deemed to be granted and to be held subject to the provisions of any amending or repealing act that may be passed and no recipient shall have any claim for compensation, or otherwise, by reason of his assist…

Monies due from or payable by this State, including any agency, instrumentality, or authority of the State, and due to any individual is subject, in like manner and to the same extent as if the State were a private person, to legal process brought for the enforcement against such…

(A) A State Case Registry must be maintained in the department that contains records with respect to: (1) each case in which services are being provided by the department pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act; and (2) each support order established or modified in the …

(a) The director or his designees, in writing, shall have access to all records and the departments, in cooperation with all other departments of the executive branch, shall establish a single uniform system of information clearance and retrieval, wherever possible. (b) The burea…

For purposes of determining eligibility for assistance, the income received by individuals employed on a contractual basis may be prorated over the period of the contract or intermittent income received quarterly, semiannually, or yearly may be prorated over the period covered by…

(a) As a condition of eligibility, a needy family applying for Family Independence benefits shall complete an application of eligibility containing a written declaration of information as may be required to establish eligibility and amount of aid. The application shall include bl…

The department shall require that all persons applying for assistance shall provide acceptable identification and proof of residence and the department shall by regulation specify what constitutes adequate identification and proof of residence. The department shall require that a…

The director or his authorized agent may, after signed authorization from the applicant or recipient, request and receive from any bank or other financial institution doing business in South Carolina information with respect to the transaction with any such institution of any app…

This article may be cited as the "WIC Vendor Act" and unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Department" means the Department of Health and Environmental Control. (2) "WIC" means the Special Supplemental Food Program for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women, Infants, and Childre…

The department is granted the authority and responsibility for the effective and efficient administration of the WIC Program within South Carolina, as may be delegated by the federal government pursuant to federal act and regulation.

The department may promulgate and enforce regulations to govern the participation of vendors in the WIC Program including a point system to determine periods of disqualification; to impose other sanctions and civil penalties for violation of this article and regulations issued un…

The department has the authority to: (1) enter into agreements with vendors in order to provide supplemental foods for program participants; (2) hold hearings, compel attendance of witnesses, and make findings and determinations; (3) issue, revoke, and modify orders relating to t…

Aid may be granted under the provisions of this section to or in behalf of an eligible child over the age of eighteen but not yet nineteen, if he is a full-time student in a secondary school, or in the equivalent level of vocational or technical training.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of this article, or any regulation, agreement, final determination, or order of the department is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction must be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than ten thousand …

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article or any regulation, agreement, final determination, or order of the department is subject to disqualification, or a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars each day of the violation, or both.