The Department of Social Services allegedly failed to protect a young girl from her abuser and instead gave her to a group of people that allegedly sexually abused her. The foster family that she lived to tell the social worker that they did not know she had a sexual abuse problem or that she would attempt suicide if they handed her over to them. This allegedly caused the abuse to continue. This all came about when the foster child attempted to file a civil lawsuit against DSS. According to the complaint, DSS failed to protect the girl from her abuser because they only wanted to remove her from the home.
Lawsuit Against DSS
The foster care system in south Carolina is under scrutiny as well. The News Sun reports that the state is paying out over $40 million to settle claims from abuse and neglect by its foster care homes.
Of course this does not include the cost of the lawsuit, the South Carolina State Attorney General has chosen to file against the department and the individual home. The Department of Social Services is being sued by the Care Federation of the Southeast.
The lawsuit claims that DSS did not protect the girl as required under federal law.
The lawsuit further claims that DSS is aware of over two thousand children that have been removed from loving homes because of allegations of abuse or neglect.
The suit further claims that DSS failed to prevent Carlin Island from being shut down in 2021 because it was filled with dangerous drugs. Carlin Island was closed down by the federal government due to the dangerously high levels of prescription medication that were present there. As a result of the actions cited in the lawsuit, nine children died.
The complaint further claims that DSS did not provide any training to employees concerning the risks associated with placing children in a foster care system.
Another problem cited by the lawsuit is the lack of monitoring of the progress and treatment of the children in foster homes. The lawsuit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of the complainants and all of those that suffered personal injuries as a result of the negligent acts of DSS staff and its contractors.
The safety and welfare of children in the south Carolina state foster care system is of paramount importance and the failure to provide adequate care is willful and negligent. As a result of the lawsuit all of the children currently residing in the south Carolina state foster care system will be terminated.
There has been significant political pressure on the DSS in light of this issue.
The current governor has threatened to take away the children’s public funds that are allocated to the south Carolina child foster care system if the DSS staff are found liable in this case.
The current governor has also made it clear that he wants to see zero negligence claims in the next five years. This is obviously a very dangerous situation for the people of south Carolina and their families, because any negligence claims stemming from this situation can lead to absolute financial disaster for many families.
A national campaign has been launched to help those families who suffered injuries or losses as a result of the negligent actions of DSS staff. A national lawyer has joined forces with a south Carolina advocacy group to represent all of the people and families adversely affected by the actions of DSS staff. This national legal team hopes to have enough evidence to force the dismissal of the federal lawsuit filed by the attorneys representing the families. The families have been extremely courageous in standing up for their rights and now they need someone on their side fighting for their legal rights.
