Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse or Neglect Reports - South Carolina

Establishment

Citation: Ann. Code § 63-7-1920

The Department of Social Services must maintain a Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect within the department's child protective services unit.

Purpose

Citation: Ann. Code § 63-7-1910

The purpose of the central registry is to do the following:

• Establish a system for the identification of abused and neglected children and those who are responsible for their welfare
• Provide a system for the coordination of reports concerning abused and neglected children
• Provide data for determining the incidence and prevalence of child abuse and neglect in this State

To further these purposes, the department must maintain one or more statewide data systems concerning cases reported to it pursuant to this article.

Contents

Citation: Ann. Code § 63-7-1920

Perpetrators of child abuse and neglect must be entered in the registry only by order of a court as provided for in this article and § 17-25-135 or as provided for in § 63-7-1230.

Each entry in the registry must be accompanied by information further identifying the person, including, but not limited to, the person's date of birth, address, and any other identifying characteristics, and describing the abuse or neglect committed by the person.

Maintenance

Citation: Ann. Code § 63-7-1920

The Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect must not contain information from reports classified as unfounded. Other department records and databases must treat unfounded cases as provided for in § 63-7-930.