October 16, 2024
The October 16, 2024, Court of Appeals opinion in SCDSS v.Caldwell, held that a juvenile cannot be ordered into confinement for an evaluation without first
January 17, 2023
The January 4, 2023, Court of Appeals opinion in SCDSS v. Scott, 438 S.C. 400, 883 S.E.2d 229 (Ct. App. 2023), granted a new trial
Pitfalls in cooperating with DSS child abuse investigations
November 5, 2021
Parents routinely contact me when they are in the midst of a DSS investigation into their potential abuse or neglect of their child. Typically, they
The interactions of abuse and neglect placement plans with return of the child
July 29, 2020
Any time a family court finds a parent has abused or neglected his or her child, it will offer that parent a placement plan (sometimes
The Folly of Fighting Child Protective Services after a Merits Finding
July 2, 2020
Early in my career, when family court attorneys were still being court appointed to represent indigent parents in abuse and neglect proceedings, I developed a
Court of Appeals reverses family court’s finding of child abandonment
February 13, 2019
On February 13, 2019, the Court of Appeals reversed a family court’s finding that adoptive parents abandoned their teenage child in the case of SCDSS
South Carolina Supreme Court holds child abuse examiners are not to be used as expert witnesses
August 5, 2015
In a criminal appeal that has implications for family law attorneys who defend abuse and neglect proceedings, on August 5, 2015, in the case of
Court of Appeals requires DSS to offer mother more treatment
August 3, 2015
The August 3, 2015 Court of Appeals opinion in SCDSS v. Briggs 413 S.C. 377, 776 S.E.2d 115 (Ct. App. 2015), reverses a family court determination
