Resource: Michelle H. v. McMaster

On October 4, 2016, U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel granted final approval of a landmark settlement that requires dramatic changes for South Carolina’s foster care system — which for years has been troubled by a shortage of foster homes, excessive caseworker caseloads, and a failure to provide basic health care to kids. The settlement appoints two national, child welfare experts as independent co-monitors, Paul Vincent of the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group and Judith Meltzer of the Center for the Study of Social Policy. They will issue periodic, public reports on the state’s progress in meeting benchmarks outlined in the settlement. The agreement will stay in place until the state meets and then sustains each obligation for a year. The settlement also makes final a set of interim relief agreed upon last September during negotiations, including ending practices such as: allowing children in state custody to stay overnight in hotels and Department of Social Services (DSS) offices; placing kids age 6 and under in group facilities; and leaving foster kids in juvenile detention facilities even though they have completed their sentence or plea because there are no places to house them in foster care.