How to Navigate South Carolina's Two-Track Foster Care Licensing System

South Carolina runs two completely separate foster care licensing tracks, and which track you belong on determines your agency, your training schedule, your caseworker, your home study process, and how long the whole thing takes. Since July 2020, DSS county offices no longer license traditional foster parents — they hand that responsibility entirely to private Child Placing Agencies. If you don't know which track you're on in the first week, you'll spend that week talking to the wrong organization.

Here's how to navigate the system.

The Fork: Kinship Track vs. CPA Track

The DSS Kinship Track is for people related to a specific child already in the system — by blood, marriage, adoption, or a pre-existing significant relationship (called "fictive kin"). If a grandchild, niece, nephew, sibling's child, or a child from your neighborhood has been removed by DSS and placed with you, you are on the kinship track. Your county DSS office manages your application, including a streamlined process called provisional licensure that lets you receive a placement immediately for up to 90 days while your full licensing is completed.

The CPA Track is for everyone else — families who want to foster but don't have a specific child already placed with them. Since July 2020, these families must be licensed through a private Licensed Child Placing Agency. You choose the CPA; the CPA trains you, conducts your home study, and manages your license. DSS does not directly license you.

This distinction matters because the agencies involved, the timelines, the waivers available, and the financial support structures are entirely different across the two tracks.

How to Determine Your Track

Answer one question: Is there already a specific child from the South Carolina foster care system placed with you or expected to be placed with you imminently because of your family connection to that child?

• Yes → You are on the kinship track. Contact your DSS county office immediately. Ask specifically for the kinship care unit or kinship licensing coordinator.
• No → You are on the CPA track. Do not call DSS first. Begin by identifying which CPAs serve your county through dss.sc.gov/foster-care/licensing-partners/ or the Heartfelt Calling portal.

Many families spend their first two weeks calling their county DSS office asking how to become a foster parent. The worker who answers is likely to refer them to Heartfelt Calling — the right answer — but may not explain why, creating confusion about whether DSS or a CPA should be their primary contact going forward. Get clear on this from day one.

The CPA Track: Choosing Your Agency

Once you know you're on the CPA track, the most consequential early decision is which agency to license through. South Carolina has approximately six major CPAs operating statewide, plus smaller regional agencies. They are not interchangeable.

The agency you choose determines:

• When you can start MAPP training — each CPA runs its own cohort schedule. If Thornwell's next cohort starts in six weeks and Epworth's starts in two, that's a four-week difference in your timeline.
• How intensively you're supported — therapeutic agencies like SAFY provide 24/7 crisis support and smaller caseloads; standard agencies vary.
• Whether your family structure is welcomed — Miracle Hill's Protestant statement of faith requirement means it cannot license families who don't meet that standard. NYAP explicitly welcomes LGBTQ+ families.
• What placements you'll receive — Thornwell focuses on sibling groups; SAFY on medically complex and behavioral cases; NYAP on older youth.

Before committing to any CPA, call at least two and ask:

1. What is your next available MAPP cohort date?
2. What counties do you serve for home study visits?
3. What are your placement specializations?
4. What 24/7 support do you offer licensed families?
5. Are you welcoming to [my specific household type]?

The Kinship Track: What Provisional Licensure Means

Kinship caregivers face a different set of pressures. A child has already been placed, often with almost no notice, and the urgency is immediate. Here's how the kinship track works:

Provisional licensure allows a kinship caregiver to be approved for placement for up to 90 days while the full licensing process is completed. During provisional licensure, DSS conducts a Mutual Home Assessment — a faster version of the full home study — to verify basic safety standards and background clearance status. Provisional licensure exists specifically to prevent children from being removed from family and placed with strangers while paperwork catches up.

The financial difference is significant. An unlicensed kinship placement receives no monthly board payments. A fully licensed kinship caregiver receives the same board rates as any licensed foster home: $670/month for children ages 0-5, $783/month for ages 6-12, $827/month for ages 13-21 (FY2024-2025 rates, with increases effective July 2025). Getting fully licensed within the 90-day provisional window is worth hundreds of dollars per month.

Waivers are available for kinship caregivers that don't exist on the CPA track. DSS can waive certain non-safety regulatory requirements — specific room dimensions, minor physical site standards — when the waiver is in the child's best interest and a kin placement preserves family stability. Ask your county kinship licensing coordinator about what waivers apply to your specific situation.

The Background Check Process: Both Tracks

Regardless of which track you're on, every adult in your household (18 and older) needs five background clearances:

1. SLED Criminal Check — South Carolina Law Enforcement Division database. Apply online at catch.sled.sc.gov. Cost: $25/person. Typical turnaround: 1-2 weeks.
2. FBI Fingerprinting — National criminal history search. Schedule through IdentoGO (state-authorized vendor). Cost: $24.95/person. Typical turnaround: 2-4 weeks.
3. DSS Central Registry Check — Substantiated findings of child abuse or neglect in South Carolina. Cost: $8-25. Your agency or DSS will coordinate.
4. Out-of-State Registry Checks — Required for every state where any adult household member has lived in the past five years. Turnaround: 4-12 weeks. This is the most common cause of licensing delays.
5. Sex Offender Registry — SC and national registries. Often required for household members as young as 12.

The critical sequencing insight: Start all five on day one, in parallel. Most families wait for their caseworker to prompt them, which delays the process by 3-4 weeks. Out-of-state registry checks, in particular, must be requested from each state individually and can take three months or more if you've lived in several states.

The MAPP Training Commitment

Both tracks require pre-service training, though the kinship track may offer some flexibility if you're operating on provisional licensure.

The standard MAPP curriculum runs 27-30 hours across approximately nine weekly sessions. On the CPA track, you attend cohorts run by your chosen agency. Key things to know before you sign up:

• Both partners in a couple must attend every session. Not most sessions — every session.
• Missing a single session requires you to restart with the next available cohort, which may be months away.
• The curriculum includes sessions on trauma and brain science, the reunification mandate, shared parenting with birth families, and autobiographical exercises where you'll discuss your own childhood and discipline philosophy.
• The "mutual selection" final session is where both you and the agency assess readiness — it's a genuine evaluation, not a rubber stamp.

The South Carolina Foster Care Licensing Guide maps all nine MAPP sessions, including what's expected of you personally in each one, so you can clear your schedule accurately and walk in prepared.

The Home Study and Inspection

Both tracks require a home study. The kinship track uses the Mutual Home Assessment, which is faster and has a lower bar for physical requirements in some cases. The CPA track uses a full home study conducted by your licensing agency worker.

The physical inspection component — either track — tests compliance with S.C. Regs. § 114-550 and fire marshal standards. The most common failure points:

• Fire extinguisher rating: Must be 2A:10BC. Most store-bought kitchen extinguishers are not rated to this standard.
• Water heater temperature: Must be set at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Firearms: Must be inoperable (trigger lock or safe) and stored with ammunition locked separately.
• Medications: ALL medications — including over-the-counter products like Tylenol and vitamins — must be locked.
• Pool fencing: Must be at least 4 feet high with a self-closing, self-latching, outward-swinging gate.

Failed inspections mean a re-inspection fee and a delay measured in weeks. A room-by-room walkthrough before the inspector arrives is not optional — it's what separates families who pass on the first visit from those who have to reschedule.

Who This Guide Is For

• Prospective traditional foster parents who want to understand the CPA track before contacting agencies
• Kinship caregivers who need to understand their 90-day provisional window and what full licensure requires
• Families who have visited Heartfelt Calling and are confused about which agency to call
• Anyone who has called their county DSS office and been redirected without a clear explanation of why

Who This Guide Is NOT For

• Licensed foster parents in other states who are moving to SC and need ICPC transfer information
• Prospective adoptive parents pursuing private domestic infant adoption (different track entirely)
• Families looking for general foster care information without a specific intent to apply in South Carolina

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did DSS stop licensing traditional foster parents in 2020?

South Carolina shifted to a public-private partnership model in July 2020, where private CPAs take on the training and licensing of traditional (non-kinship) foster families while DSS focuses on the kinship track and child welfare case management. The change was designed to reduce state caseloads and provide foster families with more specialized, agency-level support. For applicants, the practical effect is that you must choose a CPA rather than working directly with DSS.

Can I switch CPAs after I've started the process?

Yes, but with real costs. If you've completed MAPP sessions with one CPA and switch to another, you may need to restart MAPP training from the beginning. The new CPA is not obligated to accept partial credit from another agency's training. Get clear on your agency choice before you begin training.

What if no CPA serves my rural county?

Some rural counties in South Carolina are served by only one or two CPAs, and some by none directly. In those cases, CPAs that operate statewide (like Epworth or Lutheran Services Carolinas) can typically assign a worker who travels to your county for the home study. Ask about geographic coverage explicitly when you call.

Does the CPA I choose affect what children I can foster?

Yes, significantly. Different agencies have different placement specializations. An agency focused on therapeutic care will receive referrals for children with complex behavioral or medical needs. An agency focused on infant care receives different referrals. If you know you want to foster teenagers, sibling groups, or children with specific needs, ask the agency directly whether they receive and refer those placements.

How long does the full process take on each track?

The kinship track can result in provisional placement within days and full licensure within 60-90 days if background checks are expedited. The CPA track typically takes 3-6 months from initial contact to licensure, with the most common delays being background check timing and MAPP cohort availability. Families who start background checks immediately and choose their CPA quickly can hit the lower end of that range.

See more United States guides →