Agency

Overview
South Carolina Department of Social
Services

By: Shakeanma McDougald

About DSS
South

Carolina Department of Social Services is one of

South Carolina's largest agencies, with 3,785 employees
and an annual budget of more than 692 million dollars.

South

Carolina created DSS to provide our state's

residents with assistance and protection programs.

DSS

is proud of its diversity, efficiency, and the services

that the agency and its community partners provide to
more than 800,000 South Carolina citizens.

Purpose, Mission, Vision and

The
mission of the South Carolina
Values:
Department of Social Services is to
efficiently and effectively serve the citizens
of South Carolina by ensuring the safety of
children and adults who cannot protect
themselves and assisting families to achieve
stability through child support, child care,
financial and other temporary benefits while
transitioning into employment.

Core Programs and Services:

(16
Total)Program- The ABC Quality Program is SCs Quality Rating
ABC Quality
and Improvement System (QRIS) for child care providers. It is a voluntary
program that helps providers achieve high standards of quality in caring for
the children they serve.

Adoption Services- DSS considers adoptions for children who are

unable to return home or be placed with relatives. Adoption services
include assessment of children, recruitment of adoptive families and
placement of children in adoptive homes.

Adult Protective Services- Adult Protective Services protects

the health and welfare of elderly and disabled adults. These services
are provided to individuals who are 18 or older and are victims of
actual or potential abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Child & Adult Care Food Program- In South Carolina, the

Child and Adult Care Food Program is a key source of support for
improving the nutritional quality of meals and snacks served to

Core Programs and Services

Child Care Center for Career Development- The Center for
Cont..
Child Care Career Development is the professional development
system for South Carolinas child care workforce

Child Protective and Preventive Services- Child Protective

and Preventive Services receive and assess or investigate reports of
child abuse and neglect. These services, provided or coordinated by
DSS, are designed to maintain children safely in their own homes
when possible, reunite the family as soon as possible or place the
children with relatives or in foster care, when necessary. Reports of
suspected abuse or neglect should be made to the county DSS office.

Division of Early Care and Education- The Division of Early

Care and Education manages all state and federal child care
programs, and serves as the single point of contact for federal child
care dollars in South Carolina. The mission of the division is to make
child care more available and affordable to parents, and to increase
the quality of care for all children in the state.

Domestic Violence- DSS seeks to prevent or reduce family

violence and to ensure emergency shelter and related assistance to
victims of domestic abuse. The agency contracts with shelters and

Core Programs and Services

Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)- EBT is the method South
Cont..
Carolina uses to issue SNAP benefits.

Family Independence- The South Carolina Department of Social

Services is committed to helping people build better lives. Because of
the changes in the welfare laws, DSS has become an agency that
focuses on employment and training for its clients while maintaining
its commitment to ensuring the well-being of the children and
families it serves.

Foster Care- Foster care provides temporary services for children

removed from their families because of abuse, neglect or exploitation
by a parent or guardian. DSS seeks to license foster care providers
who can best meet the individual needs of children. Whenever
possible, DSS places the child close to home and in the most family
like setting available. In South Carolina, about two-thirds of foster
children live in foster family homes, and the rest live in group care
and institutional settings. If the child cannot be reunified with family
or placed with relatives, permanency may be brought about be
termination of parental rights, adoption and independent living.

Core Programs and Services

Cont..
Independent Living- Independent Living is defined as an array of
services provided to adolescents ages 13 to 21.

Child Support Services- By establishing paternity and

establishing and enforcing court ordered child support, the Child
Support Services Division (CSSD) seeks to ensure that non-custodial
parents live up to their financial responsibilities in the raising of their
children.

Out-of-Home Abuse and Neglect Investigations- DSS is

mandated by law to investigate reports of the abuse and neglect of
children who reside in or receive care or supervision in residential
institutions, foster homes and child care facilities.

SC Voucher Program- SC Voucher (previously named ABC

Voucher) makes payments to child care providers to care for children
from low-income families so their parents can work

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)- For

over 30 years, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, has served as

Core Values & Ethics

Quality Service
It is the policy of the Department of Social
Services to promote a work environment that
encourages
each
staff
person
in
the
Department of Social Services to perform
each duty exactly as required or cause the
requirement to be officially changed to what
the agency and its clients really need.

Guiding Principles of the

Agency
The guiding principles mandate the
following:
Principle:

1. To respect the humanity and

dignity of each person for whom the agency
delivers quality services.

Principle:

2. To respect the humanity and

dignity of each staff person.

Need & Future Direction for

Agency:

As

one of the largest public

agencies in the state, SCDSS
provides a vast array of services
ranging from the investigation of
child and adult abuse reports, the
distribution of food to hungry
families, and the collection of child
support for custodial parents to
the staffing of emergency shelters

Need & Future Direction for

Agency:

South

Carolina Department of
Social Services serves over
800,000 South Carolina citizens in
conjunction with partnering
agencies, so needless to say the
need and future direction for the
agency is very significant.

References
South Carolina Department of Social
Services. (2012, September). Search
Results. Retrieved from
http://sc.gov/Pages/search.aspx?q=core
%20values%20of%20DSS