---
type: "Bill"
title: "Kinship Guardianship"
description: "AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-20, RELATING TO CHILDREN'S CODE DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE \"LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP\" AND \"LEGAL GUARDIAN\"; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-1700, RELATING TO PERMANENCY PLANNING, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR PROCEDURES TO ESTABLISH LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP WITH SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS WHEN ADOPTION IS NOT AN OPTION AND BY MAKING CONFORMING CHANGES; BY ADDING SECTION 63-7-1705 SO AS TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR INITIATING THE JUDICIAL ESTABLISHMENT OF LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP WITH SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS; BY ADDING ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 7, TITLE 63 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER A PROGRAM OF SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS FOR LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP, TO DEFINE TERMS, TO PROVIDE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM BENEFITS, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-1-20, RELATING TO THE STATE'S CHILDREN'S POLICY, SO AS TO INCLUDE LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP WHEN ADOPTION IS NOT APPROPRIATE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-2350, RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS ON FOSTER CARE OR ADOPTION PLACEMENTS, SO AS TO APPLY ALSO TO PLACEMENT OF A CHILD IN A LEGAL GUARDIAN'S HOME. - RATIFIED TITLE"
jurisdiction: "us/states/sc"
legislature: "South Carolina General Assembly"
session: "2023-2024"
identifier: "S 380"
citation: "South Carolina S 380 (2023-2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Gustafson", "Hutto", "Jackson", "McElveen", "Shealy", "Young"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 28
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-01-12"
last_action: "2023-05-26"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4a4efc01-c453-41a0-a7db-ef68309e50ff"
source_url: "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=380&session=125&summary=B"
source_hash: "4dccec831e9cd57616649c199ca2727145398a7f526c480c3643ebee66a7ce29"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-sc"]
---

# South Carolina S 380 (2023-2024) — Kinship Guardianship

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-20, RELATING TO CHILDREN'S CODE DEFINITIONS, SO AS TO DEFINE "LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP" AND "LEGAL GUARDIAN"; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-1700, RELATING TO PERMANENCY PLANNING, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR PROCEDURES TO ESTABLISH LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP WITH SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS WHEN ADOPTION IS NOT AN OPTION AND BY MAKING CONFORMING CHANGES; BY ADDING SECTION 63-7-1705 SO AS TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES FOR INITIATING THE JUDICIAL ESTABLISHMENT OF LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP WITH SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS; BY ADDING ARTICLE 9 TO CHAPTER 7, TITLE 63 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES TO ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER A PROGRAM OF SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS FOR LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP, TO DEFINE TERMS, TO PROVIDE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM BENEFITS, TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; BY AMENDING SECTION 63-1-20, RELATING TO THE STATE'S CHILDREN'S POLICY, SO AS TO INCLUDE LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP WHEN ADOPTION IS NOT APPROPRIATE; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-7-2350, RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS ON FOSTER CARE OR ADOPTION PLACEMENTS, SO AS TO APPLY ALSO TO PLACEMENT OF A CHILD IN A LEGAL GUARDIAN'S HOME. - RATIFIED TITLE

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Filed** (filed) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/bills/380.htm)
2. **1/12/2023** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/380_20230112.htm)
3. **2/15/2023** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/380_20230215.htm)
4. **2/16/2023** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/380_20230216.htm)
5. **2/8/2023** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/380_20230208.htm)
6. **2/9/2023** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/380_20230209.htm)
7. **3/29/2023** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess125_2023-2024/prever/380_20230329.htm)

## Votes

- Passage of Bill — **103–0** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading — **41–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Gustafson — primary (person)
- Hutto — primary (person)
- Jackson — primary (person)
- McElveen — primary (person)
- Shealy — primary (person)
- Young — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-01-12** Introduced and read first time `introduction, reading-1`
- **2023-01-12** Referred to Committee on Family and Veterans' Services `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-08** Committee report: Favorable with amendment Family and Veterans' Services `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-09** Scrivener's error corrected
- **2023-02-14** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-02-15** Committee Amendment Adopted `amendment-passage`
- **2023-02-15** Read third time and sent to House `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-15** Roll call Ayes-41 Nays-0
- **2023-02-16** Scrivener's error corrected
- **2023-02-16** Introduced and read first time `introduction, reading-1`
- **2023-02-16** Referred to Committee on Judiciary `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-29** Committee report: Favorable Judiciary `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-04** Debate adjourned
- **2023-04-05** Debate adjourned until Tues., 4-18-23
- **2023-04-18** Debate adjourned
- **2023-04-19** Debate adjourned
- **2023-04-20** Debate adjourned
- **2023-04-25** Debate adjourned
- **2023-04-26** Debate adjourned
- **2023-04-27** Debate adjourned
- **2023-05-02** Debate adjourned
- **2023-05-03** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2023-05-03** Roll call Yeas-103 Nays-0
- **2023-05-04** Read third time and enrolled `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-05-11** Ratified R 32
- **2023-05-16** Signed By Governor `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-26** Effective date 05/16/23
- **2023-05-26** Act No. 25

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/4a4efc01-c453-41a0-a7db-ef68309e50ff`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official South Carolina legislature records).