South Carolina
What South Carolina reported to the federal government about the children in its custody and the children it investigated. Where a year says not reported, that is the record.
The funnel, FFY 2024
South Carolina vs. national
What happened to reports of child maltreatment in South Carolina in federal fiscal year 2024, at each decision point. Rates are what make states comparable; raw counts mostly measure population.
| Stage | South Carolina | Rate | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referrals to CPSCounts: referrals | 67,723 | 58.8per 1,000 children | 59.3 |
| Screened in (became reports)Counts: referrals | 36,22653.5% of referrals | — | 47.1% |
| Screened outCounts: referrals | 31,49746.5% of referrals | — | 52.9% |
| Children investigated or given an alternative responseCounts: children | 66,184 | 57.4per 1,000 children | 40.6 |
| Child victims (substantiated or indicated)Counts: children | 12,442 | 10.8per 1,000 children | 7.2 |
| Child fatalitiesCounts: children | 32 | 2.78per 100,000 children | 2.41 |
Referrals, reports, children, and victims are four different denominators and are not interchangeable. A referral may concern more than one child; a child may appear in more than one referral; a victim is a child with a substantiated or indicated disposition. National figures are the Children's Bureau's own estimates, not sums of the state rows.
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS), Tables 2-3, 3-1, 3-3, 4-1
What South Carolina does not report
For the measures on this page, South Carolina reported a figure in every year covered. That is not the same as the figures being complete or comparable — see the methodology for what the federal record does not measure at all.
Maltreatment and fatalities over time (NCANDS)
Child fatalities reported to NCANDS, South Carolina, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child fatalities
Child maltreatment victims, South Carolina, FFY2020 to FFY2024
Source: Child Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)
KARA VerifiedChild Maltreatment 2024 (NCANDS)FFY 2024Counts: child victims (substantiated or indicated)
Foster care (AFCARS)
| Measure | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adopted with public agency involvement | 506 | 449 | 403 | 433 | 487 | 435 | 529 | 551 | 459 | 501 |
| Entered foster care | 2,939 | 3,407 | 3,644 | 3,758 | 3,686 | 4,098 | 3,958 | 2,961 | 2,709 | 2,868 |
| Exited foster care | 2,801 | 3,059 | 3,312 | 3,445 | 3,538 | 3,591 | 3,779 | 3,349 | 2,758 | 2,942 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 3,188 | 3,461 | 3,726 | 3,968 | 4,041 | 4,456 | 4,521 | 4,070 | 3,944 | 3,793 |
| Children served in foster care | 5,989 | 6,520 | 7,038 | 7,413 | 7,579 | 8,047 | 8,300 | 7,419 | 6,702 | 6,735 |
| Termination of parental rights | 599 | 564 | 540 | 558 | 527 | 594 | 765 | 662 | 739 | 755 |
| Waiting for adoption | 1,226 | 1,211 | 1,213 | 1,344 | 1,470 | 1,591 | 1,568 | 1,623 | 1,438 | 1,513 |
Source: AFCARS state tables, FY2013 to FY2022
AFCARS 2020 rule, FFY2023 to FFY2025 (preliminary)
Collected under the AFCARS 2020 final rule, first effective FFY 2023. Counts include ages 0 to 23. Figures are preliminary estimates from submissions received by February 27, 2026, and states may still revise them. This series is not comparable with the FY 2013 to FY 2022 series, which was collected under the 1993 rule and counted a narrower population; this site does not join the two. Wyoming first submitted under the new rule for FFY 2024 and Washington for FFY 2025; earlier years for those states are shown as not reported.
| Measure | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entered foster care | 2,838 | 2,610 | 2,685 |
| In foster care on September 30 | 3,561 | 3,331 | 3,322 |
| Exited foster care | 2,959 | 2,801 | 2,628 |
Counts: children (ages 0 to 23)
Source: AFCARS Dashboard, preliminary FFY2025 estimates (No. 33)
South Carolina in the archive
What the numbers above cost, in KARA's own reporting.
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Teachers feel undervalued and overwhelmed. Turnover his high and a number of states are using unqualified people to fill positions.
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- Criminalizing Elementary School Children
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When 14-year-old Ryan Turk cut ahead of the lunch line to grab a milk, he didn't expect to get in trouble. He certainly didn't plan to end up in handcuffs. But Turk, a black student at Graham Park Middle School, was arrested for disorderly ...