What are the steps for a South Carolina DSS Adoption
Greenville SC DSS adoption attorney Tripp Atkins
If you are a foster parent or are applying to adopt a child through DSS, the process is sometimes glossed over when you are meeting with your adoptions worker at DSS. This happens for a few reasons: they're really busy and when you do something all day every day, you kind of forget the adoptive parents you are working with aren't used to the court process and have a lot of questions.
You can enter the DSS adoptions area at different times. In this post we will talk about what to expect once the child you are adopting is legally free to adopt - meaning the birth parents have relinquished their parental rights or their parental rights have been terminated and their appeals have been exhausted.Leading up to your approval as an adoptive family your home and backgrounds have been studied and you have been approved as an adoptive resource.
Once the child is legally free for adoption he or she is placed in your custody as an adoption placement and you will sign your adoption agreement with DSS.Around the same time you will choose the attorney you would like to work with to complete the adoption. The choice of attorney is up to you, regardless of what your adoptions worker tells you. They generally have a list of attorneys they have worked with in the past or that they like to work with if you do not know an attorney.
Once your attorney is chosen, they will send a notice of representation to DSS and the adoptions worker will send your adoption attorney confidential information about the children and birth parents that are needed for filing the petition for adoption in your case. This petition must be filed within 60 days of the date of placement of the child in your home for adoption (essentially the date of your adoption agreement).
Once the adoption petition is filed, it will be served on DSS General Counsel in Columbia and the adoptions office. DSS General Counsel has 30 days to file an Answer responding to the petition. The birth parents will not have to be served or involved in this process because the birth parents' parental rights have either been terminated or relinquished. During this 30 day period a Guardian ad Litem will also be requested and appointed by the Court and they will begin their investigation immediately.When the DSS Answer has been filed and the Guardian ad Litem has completed their investigation it will be time to request a final hearing to approve the adoption.
The time for hearings to be set can take from 4-8 weeks depending on the county of your adoption and the time of year.In many DSS adoption cases, the children qualify as "special needs" which is a statutory definition relating to the child's family, siblings, age, or emotional disability. Being classified as special needs does not necessarily mean the child has some mental or emotional disability. This qualification further entitles you to additional benefits and contributions towards your adoption legal fees.If you have questions about a DSS adoption, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss your adoption.