All 50 state notices remain on publication hold.
This is independent public-interest research, not legal advice, an official agency form, attorney-reviewed material or certified legal guidance. A notice does not initiate an appeal, pause a deadline, prevent an investigation or override court authority. Follow the actual notice, verify the current rule and case posture, and preserve proof of receipt and filing.
South Carolina — statutory appeal of an indicated case
Findings and review route
- South Carolina classifies reports as suspected, unfounded or indicated. An indicated finding is based on a preponderance of evidence that the child is abused or neglected. The agency's classification of the case and a determination that a particular named person was responsible are related but not identical questions.
- Under S.C. Code §§63-7-1410 and 63-7-1430, the administrative appeal process applies to indicated reports not being brought before Family Court for disposition. It is available only to the person determined to have abused or neglected the child.
- The Department must send notice by certified mail. The person must notify DSS in writing of the intent to appeal within 30 days after receipt of the notice. Failure to give timely written notice waives the appeal and makes the case decision final.
- Within 14 days after receiving the notice of intent, a designated DSS official conducts an interim review of the case documentation and determination. This interim review does not delay scheduling the contested-case hearing.
- A hearing officer conducts the contested-case hearing and prepares recommended findings and conclusions. The state director or designee makes the final agency decision. If the final decision reverses the responsible-person determination, the records must be updated; if the person's name was entered in the Central Registry under §63-7-1230, the name must be removed.
- If the Department affirms the determination, judicial review may be sought in Family Court. Under §63-7-1440, the petition must be filed within 30 days after the Department's final decision. This is record-based judicial review, not a new trial.
Important exclusions and registry distinction
The administrative appeal is unavailable if Family Court has already determined the person was responsible. If a potentially dispositive Family Court proceeding is pending, the agency appeal is stayed; if the court later makes the responsibility finding, the agency appeal terminates. South Carolina's Central Registry is not simply a list of every indicated report: §63-7-1920 generally ties perpetrator entries to court order or the specific statutory route in §63-7-1230. Do not conflate an indicated agency case with registry placement.
South Carolina Code, Title 63, Chapter 7 — §§63-7-930, 1230, 1410–1440, 1920–1940
Georgia — three-level CPS administrative review
Current DFCS Child Welfare Policy 5.5
- Georgia defines a substantiated maltreatment disposition using a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. DFCS Policy 5.5 (effective April 2024) gives a substantiated maltreater 45 calendar days from receipt of the Notice of CPS Investigation Substantiation to request a first-level administrative review.
- DFCS presumes receipt within five business days of the date on the notice. The actual notice, date and method of delivery should be preserved; do not silently replace the policy's stated receipt trigger with the presumption.
- The process has three levels: first-level review by the Regional Director/designee; second-level review by the Administrative Review Team; and third-level desk review by the DFCS Division Director/designee. A first-level desk review is to be concluded within 45 business days, or an in-person review within 60 business days, after receipt of the request.
- At the first level, the requestor may choose desk or in-person review. At an in-person review, the requestor may bring an adult support person as observer; either side may have an attorney, but attorneys may not present evidence or cross-examine, and witnesses are not allowed. The requestor has 10 calendar days from receipt of the acknowledgement letter to submit supporting evidence.
- If the first-level decision is upheld, the requestor may seek second-level review using the form provided with the decision. The Administrative Review Team conducts a desk or in-person review and sends its findings/recommendation to the Division Director/designee for third-level review. The Division Director/designee must complete that desk review within 45 business days after receiving the third-level request from the ART.
- Policy 5.5 identifies DFCS-ACRRequest@dhs.ga.gov as the email for review requests and gives the Administrative Review Team mailing address: 47 Trinity Avenue SW, 1st Floor, Atlanta, GA 30334. Use the current form and instructions accompanying the notice.
Scope cautions
The process does not stop DFCS from addressing current child safety concerns or seeking juvenile-court intervention while review is pending. The separate DFCS public page describing a three-level review for determinations made from March 20, 1998 through June 30, 2016 concerns an older cohort; do not use that page's historic eligibility dates to describe current substantiations. This audit relies on current Policy 5.5 for the contemporary administrative review route.
Georgia DFCS Child Welfare Policy 5.5 — CPS Administrative Reviews (effective April 2024) · DFCS Policy 5.4 — Notifications in Investigations · DFCS legacy administrative review page (historical cohort only)
Alabama — indicated disposition: hearing or administrative record review
Rule 660-5-34-.08 — Due Process
- Alabama uses an "indicated" disposition when the preponderance of credible evidence and the worker's professional judgment indicate abuse or neglect occurred. The disposition concerning the child and the disposition concerning the person allegedly responsible need not be identical.
- Rule 660-5-34-.08 provides persons identified as responsible for a substantiated/indicated disposition an opportunity to challenge the finding through a child-abuse/neglect (CA/N) hearing or administrative record review. A person age 14 or older receives notice in care of a parent or custodian, who may request the process on the minor's behalf.
- People approved, licensed or certified to care for children, and people employed by, volunteering for or connected with covered child-care facilities/agencies/homes, are entitled to a CA/N hearing when identified as responsible and the preliminary disposition is indicated. Other persons are offered an administrative record review.
- The written request must reach the county DHR office within 10 departmental working days after receipt of the notice. The rule says failure to submit within that time is treated as waiver; the indicated disposition is then entered into the State Central Registry and may be disclosed to employers or licensing/certifying entities in the specified settings.
- If an administrative record reviewer upholds the finding for someone not initially entitled to a hearing, that person becomes entitled to an administrative hearing and has a separate 10 working days from the date of notification to request it. Missing that second deadline waives the hearing opportunity.
- The hearing is an internal fact-finding proceeding. The Department bears the burden of persuasion, and the standard is preponderance of credible evidence. The rule describes access rights to specified materials, including the person's own statements and evidence the Department intends to introduce, subject to stated limits and procedures.
Registry and version cautions
Rule 660-5-34-.09 describes the Central Registry and its contents, but registry entry timing and the due-process stages must be read with Rule .08 and the actual notice. The official Alabama Administrative Code page for Rule .08 is the controlling source used here; the Department's January 2, 2025 Due Process Policy provides additional operational detail but should not be substituted for the regulation. Confirm the current notice, delivery date and applicable Department policy before calculating the deadline.
Alabama Administrative Code, Rule 660-5-34-.08 — Due Process · Rule 660-5-34-.09 — Child Abuse/Neglect Central Registry · Alabama DHR Due Process Policy, Revision 57 (effective Jan. 2, 2025)
Cross-state findings
- South Carolina: 30 days after receipt to notify DSS in writing of intent to appeal; interim review within 14 days after the notice of intent; separate 30-day Family Court judicial-review window after final agency decision.
- Georgia: 45 calendar days from receipt to request first-level review; three administrative levels; review completion clocks are measured in business days and depend on review type/level.
- Alabama: 10 departmental working days after receipt for the initial hearing or record-review request; a second 10-working-day request period may apply after an adverse record review for those not initially entitled to a hearing.
- All three: An agency finding, a person's responsible-perpetrator designation, Central Registry placement and a juvenile/family-court adjudication are distinct events. Eligibility and forum matter as much as the number of days.
Scope and release decision
This pass focused on indicated/substantiated findings and review rights. It did not complete a full audit of interviews, home entry, emergency removal, all record-access rights, or every retention and expungement provision. South Carolina's 2026 code page includes some amended institutional-abuse terminology; the appeal sections reviewed here remain cited as §§63-7-1410–1440. The state notice PDFs were not edited.
Release decision: HOLD. No state is cleared by this pass. All 50 state notices remain research drafts. No attorney review, legal certification or case-specific legal suitability is claimed.
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