When Child Protection Comes
S.C. Code 63-7-620 and S.C. Code 63-7-640 — emergency protective custody on probable cause, and an investigation within twenty-four hours
A law enforcement officer may take a child into emergency protective custody without the parents' consent where there is probable cause to believe abuse or neglect puts the child's life, health or safety in substantial and imminent danger and there is no time to get a court order, or where the parent has been arrested or the child is lost and no adult is there to care for the child.
When a parent is arrested, the parent may consent in writing to another person taking the child, which avoids protective custody on that ground. One child's minor bruises from excessive corporal punishment are not alone a reason to take the other children in the home.
Two hours, then twenty-four. The Department of Social Services takes physical control of the child within two hours and places the child in a licensed foster home or shelter, never a jail or detention facility. Within twenty-four hours it investigates whether there are grounds for legal custody, whether removal can be avoided, and whether a relative can take the child.
If possible, the department meets with the parents, extended family and others during that time. The period may be extended by up to twenty-four additional hours to finish record checks on a relative who would take the child.
A school-age child in the department's custody keeps attending school. Court hearings on custody follow under later sections. A particular case is a question for a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- S.C. Code 63-7-620 — Emergency protective custody
- S.C. Code 63-7-640 — Preliminary investigation
- S.C. Code 63-7-680 — Emergency protective custody extension
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.