South Carolina

Facilities in South Carolina

Residential facilities providing religious, behavioral, and mental health treatment to children exist in all 50 states. Some of these facilities are known to be part of the Troubled Teen Industry, while others have not yet been verified. Any facility where children live and receive care requires additional oversight. This directory helps communities monitor local programs and advocate for accountability.

Reporting abuse in South Carolina

South Carolina has a division specifically for this: Out of Home Abuse and Neglect, inside the Department of Social Services, which handles abuse and neglect of people in facilities rather than in family homes. That is the right first call for something that happened inside a program, and it has its own daytime and after-hours numbers.

Time limits in South Carolina: a general guide

This was correct as far as we could tell when we checked it on 28 September 2026. Laws on time limits change often, sometimes every legislative session, so some of what follows may have been updated since. It is a starting point, not legal advice: please check with a lawyer before relying on any date here. A time limit on a lawsuit or a criminal charge is also not a time limit on telling someone, and most of the places listed below will still take a report.

Time limits for abuse of a child often run from the survivor's 18th birthday, or from when they came to understand what happened, rather than from the day the program closed. Many states have lengthened them, removed them for child sexual abuse, or reopened claims that had already expired. A criminal charge, a lawsuit and a licence complaint each have their own time limit, so one having passed does not necessarily mean the others have.

Lawsuits

Physical abuse or injury: Three years for assault, battery or injury from negligence, counted from when you knew or should have known you had a claim. False imprisonment has a shorter two-year deadline. S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(5), 15-3-535, 15-3-550(1)
If it happened before you turned 18: Less certain Time spent under 18 does not count, but the extra time can never go past one year after your 18th birthday. So a person hurt as a child has at least until age 19, or longer if the normal three years from the injury (or from discovery) ends later. S.C. Code § 15-3-40
If the program was run by or for the government: Claims against the state or a county, city or other local government under the Tort Claims Act must be filed in court within two years of when the loss was or should have been discovered, or within three years if a verified claim was first filed with the agency (that claim is due within one year). Being a minor extends this under the rule above. S.C. Code §§ 15-78-110, 15-78-80(d)
Child sexual abuse: The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM claims against all defendants is age 27 with a discovery rule. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Less certain No time limit. South Carolina has no general statute of limitations for crimes, so child abuse can be charged at any time. No statute; South Carolina has no general criminal statute of limitations
Assault: Less certain No time limit for felony or misdemeanor assault. South Carolina has no general statute of limitations for crimes. No statute; South Carolina has no general criminal statute of limitations
Child sexual abuse: There is no criminal SOL for any felonies or misdemeanors, including for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM. CHILD USA's summary

The injury, assault and physical abuse lines are our reading of the statutes linked, as they stood on 28 September 2026. The child sexual abuse lines are CHILD USA's summary as it stood on 28 September 2026; their page may be more current than ours. In them SOL means statute of limitations, CSA child sexual abuse, and CSAM child sexual abuse material. "Less certain" marks a line where the law is unclear or where our reading has not been confirmed, so please treat it with extra care. Exceptions, court rulings and the details of what happened can all change which time limit applies, and some of these may be longer or shorter for you than they look here. CHILD USA's statute of limitations tracker, updated as each state changes its law. A lawyer can tell you which time limit applies to you, and many offer a free first consultation.

The therapist's licensing board

Holds the individual clinician's licence and can suspend or revoke it.

South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, Office of Investigations and Enforcement

Multiple professions

Investigates complaints against licensed professionals - including professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and social workers - and against unlicensed people practising a profession that requires a licence, to decide whether the facts alleged could breach the law regulating that profession.

Use this whenAny licensed mental health professional in South Carolina, or somebody practising without the licence.

HowUse the online complaint system, or call. State the facts briefly and clearly, give the name, address and phone number of every witness and what each of them knows, and attach any documents, records, statements or contracts that help.

The Department puts the burden on you: it says the complaining party is responsible for making sure everything needed is on the form.

803-896-4470 Complaints. The Counselors board direct line is 803-896-4658.
File a complaint
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Contact.Counselor@llr.sc.gov
By postSC Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, 110 Centerview Dr, Columbia, SC 29210

The agency that licenses the program

Inspects the facility itself and can cite, fine, suspend or close it.

South Carolina DSS child care and residential licensing

Sets the licensing standards for child care and group care facilities in South Carolina, inspects against them, investigates complaints and takes enforcement action. On receiving a regulatory complaint it must carry out an unannounced inspection of the facility.

Use this whenA licensed facility, where the problem is a regulatory breach rather than a specific allegation of abuse.

HowFile through the Department's complaint route. A complaint alleging immediate danger to children is investigated within 24 to 48 hours.

The unannounced inspection is the point: a regulatory complaint forces the state through the door without warning.

Law enforcement and legal channels

Child protection, the Attorney General, and the criminal side.

South Carolina DSS, Out of Home Abuse and Neglect (OHAN)

The Department of Social Services division that investigates abuse and neglect of people living in facilities, as distinct from abuse in a family home.

Use this whenA young person abused or neglected inside a South Carolina facility. This is the right first call for something that happened in a program.

HowCall the daytime line during office hours, or the after-hours number outside them.

803-898-7669 8:30am to 5:00pm. After hours, 1-800-645-9789.
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South Carolina child abuse and neglect hotline

The Department of Social Services 24-hour line for reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.

Use this whenA child at a South Carolina program. For abuse inside a facility, Out of Home Abuse and Neglect is the more specific route.

HowCall.

1-888-227-3487 1-888-CARE4US. 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
File a complaint

Oversight and advocacy

Bodies with a right to investigate, and advocates who can act for you.

Disability Rights South Carolina

South Carolina's Protection and Advocacy agency, with federal authority to investigate abuse and neglect of people with disabilities in facilities, a right of access to them, and free legal advocacy. It publishes its own guide to reporting abuse in a facility, naming each agency.

Use this whenA South Carolina program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis.

HowContact the intake line, or start from its reporting guide.

1-866-275-7273 Main line 803-782-0639; TTY 1-866-232-4525.
File a complaint
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National reporting channels, and the same list for other states