Stephen Scoff, Detention Project Coordinator
(803) 576-5576, Email
Coordinates project which addresses juvenile detention; works with DJJ, law enforcement and communities to implement Risk Assessment Instruments.

Michelle M. Hurley, J.D.

Ms. Hurley coordinates and conducts trainings on issues related to child abuse and neglect to DSS staff, attorneys, guardians ad litem and other child advocacy professionals. she also conducts legal training for the DSS Out-of-Home Abuse and Neglect unit (OHAN) and DSS staff responsible for licensing foster, group and adoptive homes.

Ms. Hurley was formerly an attorney for the Richland County Department of Social Services and law clerk to the Honorable Alison Renee Lee, Circuit Court Judge.

Ms. Hurley received her Bachelor of Arts from Howard University, an Associate of Science degree from Guptom-Jones College of Funeral Service, and a Juris Doctor from the USC School of Law.

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Mary F. Everhart

Ms. Everhart conducts training for professionals who are mandated to report cases of suspected child abuse and neglect. This training is offered to groups of mandatory reporters throughout the State.

Ms. Everhart retired as a Special Agent II for the Pee Dee Region of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division after over 28 years of service in law enforcement. Previous to her coming to the CLC, she was a Senior Instructor and Regional Training Manager for the S.C. Criminal Justice Academy, and traveled the United States as a consultant and trainer for the Public Agency Training Council teaching techniques to use in interviewing children.

Ms. Everhart received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Saint Leo College. She has been qualified as an expert witness in the area of child abuse and neglect in both the Circuit and Family Courts of South Carolina.

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Angela Foulks

Ms. Foulks serves as a Training Coordinator for the CLC. She is the primary contact for the S.C. Department of Social Services trainings. Ms. Foulks coordinates various conferences, workshops, continuing education trainings and meetings which includes scheduling, hotel accommodations, registrations, notices and managing the necessary databases as they relate to these trainings. She is also responsible for the formatting of printed publications produced by the CLC and handles in-house computer technology, to include computer applications as well as other machine operations.

Ms. Foulks has a background in children and family services and is a graduate of Midlands Technical College. She also attended the University of South Carolina, where she pursued a degree in Business Administration. She is currently pursing a degree in Business Management from Strayer University.

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Mary Jo Burgess

Ms. Burgess provides coordination and support to the Governor's Task Force for children in Foster Care and Adoption Services.

Ms. Burgess has over 25 years of experience in child welfare in SC. Prior to joining the CLC, she worked as an Adoption Specialist and Regional Adoptions Administrator for the Department of Social Services for 22 years. She is a certified Adoption Investigator.

Ms. Burgess received her Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Charleston Southern University.

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Carol M. Young

Ms. Young provides administrative support to the Governor's Task Force on Children in Foster Care and Adoption Services and the MEPA program. She assists with the preparation of promotional and training materials, coordination of training events, and management of participant registration and certification.

She previously worked in the fields of marketing, event planning and retail property management.

Ms. Young received an Associate of Arts in Hospitality Management from Columbus State College.

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Thomas J. Leclair, J.D.

Mr. Leclair is the CLC's Senior Resource Attorney for child abuse prosecutions. He provides information and assistance to solicitors, law enforcement officers and child protection workers. Mr. Leclair also coordinates the ChildFirst South Carolina forensic interviewer training. He is an adjunct professor at the USC School of Law.

Mr. Leclair was in private practice with Burnette & Leclair, PA, in Columbia. He is a former member of the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. His active duty legal assignments included working as a staff attorney in the Criminal Law Division, Office of The Judge Advocate General in the Pentagon, and serving as Chief, Criminal Law Division, at the Judge Advocate General's School in Charlottesville, Virginia. Mr. Leclair's military legal experience included prosecuting felonies at the trial level, representing the United States in appeals of court-martial convictions, and training military lawyers in criminal law worldwide. His civilian law practice included substantial family court trial experience, including abuse and neglect proceedings and representing children as their guardian ad litem.

Mr. Leclair graduated from Wofford College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and from Duke University School of Law in 1979 with a Juris Doctor.

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Jennifer Barr

Ms. Barr provides administrative support to the Juvenile Justice Program, Prosecution of Child Abuse Resource Attorney, Finding Words South Carolina training events, and the Guardian ad Litem Training Attorney (private custody cases). She assists in the coordination of training events, registrations, brochures and manages the necessary training and research databases.

Ms. Barr has 5 years experience working in family and employment law as a legal assistant, and has 6 years experience in Early Childhood Development, including serving as the Assistant Director of a child development facility. She attended Midlands Technical College where she pursued a degree in paralegal studies.

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Treneice R. Flowers, J.D.

Ms. Flowers is the CLC's Court Improvement Project Attorney. She conducts trainings, provides resource information and training assistance for attorneys subject to court appointments in child abuse and neglect proceedings, volunteer guardians ad litem, and family court judges.

Ms. Flowers was formerly a staff attorney from 1998-2002 and 2003-2007 with S.C. Legal Services (formerly S.C. Centers for Equal Justice), where she represented low income clients in family law cases. She was the state attorney for the S.C. Guardian ad Litem Program from 2002-2003, where she represented volunteer guardians ad litem for the different county programs.

Ms. Flowers received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Alabama A&M University in Huntsville and her Juris Doctor from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University in Houston. She served as Treasurer and Secretary for the Columbia Lawyers Association from 2001-2003. She has been a member of the Children's Law Committee of the S.C. Bar since 2003.

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M. Christine (Tena) Hardee, J.D.

Ms. Hardee is the CLC's Guardian ad Litem Attorney (child protection cases). She provides technical assistance, training and resource information to volunteer and attorney guardian ad litem who serve in child protection cases.

Ms. Hardee previously served as an Assistant Public Defender for Richland County and also as a Staff Attorney for the Department of Social Services, Office of Child Support Enforcement.

Ms. Hardee received a Bachelor of Arts in Policital Science from USC and a Juris Doctor from the USC School of Law.

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Stephen Scoff, M.S.W.

Mr. Scoff is the CLC's Detention Project Coordinator. His responsibilities include overseeing the multi-jurisdictional piloting of pre-trial detention Risk Assessment Instruments (RAIs), and he provides training, consultation and data analysis for those communities pursing detention reform and assists in the collaboration of this process.

Mr. Scoff has over 10 years of clinical and administrative experience associated with the treatment of youth involved with the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice. These duties have included the facilitation and supervision of group, individual and family therapy for incarcerated juveniles with severe mental illnesses. Moreover, he managed the DJJ inter-agency service provision system for these and other juveniles with special needs.

Mr. Scoff received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Master of Social Work from USC. He is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Work Supervisor.

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Harry W. Davis, Jr., J.D.

Mr. Davis serves as the Director of the Children's Law Center. He has over 30 years experience in the administration, policy development, and practice of children's law. Mr. Davis previously served as the Director of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice (then, the Department of Youth Services and the Department of Juvenile Placement and Aftercare) from 1976 until 1989. During this time he oversaw the consolidation of the 46 county juvenile community programs and the correctional institutional programs into a unified juvenile justice agency. Mr. Davis emphasized community-based alternative programs and was instrumental in establishing S.C.'s Network of Marine Institutes and Wilderness programs. In 1987 Mr. Davis was awarded the Order of the Palmetto by former Governor Richard Riley for his leadership in service to youth.

Mr. Davis was an Assistant Attorney General from 1975 to 1976, and previously he served as an Infantry Lieutenant in the United States Army. He was in the private practice of law in Columbia from 1989 until 2001. His practice was primarily in the family court and included domestic relations, juvenile criminal defense and guardian ad litem appointments in child protection cases and in contested child custody and visitation cases. Mr. Davis served as general counsel for the S.C. Continuum of Care from 2001 to 2003.

Mr. Davis currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council and is a past Chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice. He is a Member of the S.C. Joint Council on Children & Adolescents and of the S.C. Board of Associated Marine Institutes.

Mr. Davis received his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1968 and his Juris Doctor in 1974 from the University of South Carolina.

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Carolyn S. Morris, M.S.W.

Ms. Morris is Assistant Director of the Children's Law Center, where she has worked since its inception in 1995. She is responsible for the daily administration of the CLC, including the oversight of activities and management of grants and contracts.

Prior to employment at the Children's Law Center, Ms. Morris established the Kershaw County Office of the S.C. Guardian ad Litem Program in 1987, and served as its coordinator until 1995. She was the founding director of the Kershaw County Sexual Assault Center (now the Family Resource Center), a non-profit organization providing a variety of court-related services to adult and child victims of sexual assault. She has also worked as a medical social worker in hospital and home health settings. She is co-author of My Court Notebooks, a set of workbooks for child witnesses, and numerous publications for the Children's Law Center.

Ms. Morris received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of South Carolina and is a Licensed Master Social Worker.

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Debra Y. Brown, M.B.A.

Ms. Brown is the CLC's Procurement Coordinator. She is responsible for the creation and maintenance of accounting records, including the verification and documentation of financial transactions, travel, and procurement of goods and services. She provides logistics for training events and assists administration with human resources tasks and preparation of reports.

Ms. Brown previously worked as a paralegal at several law firms and also worked with the S.C. Judicial Department for (retired) Judge Joseph Wilson.

Ms. Brown received a Bachelor of Science from Southern Wesleyen University and a Master of Business Administration from Strayer University.

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Gwynne B. Goodlett, J.D.

Ms. Goodlett serves as the Senior Policy and Research Analyst for the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children, for which the CLC provides research and staff support.

She began her legal career as a law clerk to the Honorable Costa Pleicones. Ms. Goodlett served as an attorney with South Carolina's Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc., where she advocated for the civil rights of children and adults with disabilities. She also served as a Legal Writing Instructor for USC's School of Law and worked in private practice representing clients in civil court. While in private practice, Ms. Goodlett focused on representing women from domestic violence shelters seeking restraining orders and custody.

Ms. Goodlett received her Bachelor of Arts from Converse College and a joint Juris Doctor and Masters in Public Administration degree from the University of South Carolina.

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Jennifer (Jenny) May

Ms. May supports the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children by conducting research to inform policy. She also supports other CLC projects with technical assistance as needed.

Ms. May earned her B.S. in both Special Education and Human and Organizational Development from Vanderbilt University, and her M.Ed. in Education Research from the University of South Carolina. She is completing her dissertation for a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology. Ms. May has worked as a special education teacher, as a mitigation specialist with the Public Defender's office, and as a graduate research and teaching assistant.

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M. Shawn Harmon, J.D.

Mr. Harmon provides assistance to the Family Courts and DSS by tracking child protection and TPR cases and expediting the legal processing of these cases. 

Mr. Harmon joined the Children’s Law Center in November 2011. He previously served as Chief Legal Counsel for Richland County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) from March, 2006, until October, 2011; was a staff attorney for South Carolina Child Support Enforcement, Columbia Region, from 2004 until 2006; and served as attorney for the Richland County Department of Social Services from 2001 until May, 2004.  Prior to working for county and state government, Mr. Harmon was in private practice and, inter alia, volunteered for appointment to serve as guardian ad litem or legal counsel in Department of Social Services' abuse and neglect cases throughout the state.

Mr. Harmon holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Tulsa, College of Law, and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina, College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  He is a member of the South Carolina Bar and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court.

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Ms. Killian is responsible for the oversight of contracts with the S.C. Department of Social Services for provision of training and services for agency staff and agents. She also oversees the development and delivery of training programs.

Ms. Killian formerly served as a Managing Attorney for SCDSS in the Sixth Judicial Circuit from May, 2005, until October, 2011, at which time she joined the Children's Law Center. Prior to that, she served as a Staff Attorney for the South Carolina Centers for Equal Justice in Spartanburg, SC.

She received a Juris Doctorate Degree from the University of the District of Columbia-David A. Clarke School of Law in Washington, DC, in 2001. She also holds a Master of Laws Degree in Law and Government from the American University-Washington College of Law, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from Winthrop University and an Associate of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina- Lancaster.

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