Our History

In December 2003, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics obtained a 3-year grant from the Duke Endowment to fund the initial stages of a statewide program to address the shortage and training of medical providers specializing in the medical assessment of child abuse and neglect (CAN) and the disparity in quality and delivery of these services. This program is known as the South Carolina Children's Advocacy Medical Response System (SCCAMRS).

In July 2007, the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, recognizing the complexity of the medical services required for the assessment of child maltreatment and the need for the continued enhancement of the quality and availability of such services to their Medicaid eligible child population, added their collaboration and support to the SCCAMRS framework.

At the start of the state fiscal year 2009 – 2010, the South Carolina General Assembly allocated recurring state funds within the University of South Carolina annual budget to support the delivery of statewide CAN medical services by medical providers qualified by the SCCAMRS program office to provide such services.

In April 2014, the South Carolina General Assembly enacted law –SC §63-11-400– establishing SCCAMRS as the premier program for coordination of statewide medical service resources in response to child abuse investigations.

The South Carolina Children’s Advocacy Medical Response System has created a statewide network of qualified medical providers with extensive training in child abuse medicine, proper collection of evidence, child abuse law and the provision of responsible medical expert testimony for family and criminal court proceedings. They work closely with the state’s children’s hospitals, Children’s Advocacy Centers, The South Carolina Department of Social Services (SC DSS), law enforcement agencies, solicitors and defense attorneys in the assessment, investigation and prosecution of child abuse.