South Carolina Child Welfare Requests 2% Budget Increase To Lower Caseloads

In its budget request for the coming year, the South Carolina Department of Social Services (DSS) requested a 2% budget increase to reduce child welfare case loads. DSS requested an additional $18 million for the child welfare division, to augment the division’s $743.8 million budget.

If approved as presented, DSS would use the additional funding to hire more than 250 new workers for the child welfare division. Of those 163 would be helping to lower caseloads across the department. The goal is a caseload of no more than 24 per caseworker handling family preservation and child-abuse assessment . . .