SC S0121

Reduces the timeline for permanency planning hearings from one year to nine months after a child is first placed in foster care, and shortens the maximum extension for reunification efforts from eighteen months to fifteen months

Requires the Department of Social Services to file a background investigation and report within 120 days of filing a petition to terminate parental rights, and mandates quarterly court hearings to review adoption plan implementation progress

Modifies grounds for termination of parental rights by requiring courts to find that the home is currently unsafe at the time of the hearing, rather than determining whether it could be made safe within twelve months

Creates a state tax credit for domestic adoptions equal to 100% of the federal adoption tax credit, capped at $2,500 cumulative per child adopted, with a five-year carry-forward provision

Establishes that postadoption contact agreements may be entered into before or after adoption without affecting the validity of the final adoption decree, and requires the Putative Father Registry registrants to include any aliases when registering