Tony Catone, who Gov. Henry McMaster selected to lead the Department of Social Services, speaks during a news conference in the governor’s office on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — The longtime lead attorney for the state Department of Social Services is the Gov. Henry McMaster’s pick to lead the agency, McMaster announced Tuesday.
Former director Michael Leach announced his resignation in October, effective Jan. 2. Tony Catone, the governor’s choice to be the next director, has served as acting director since Leach’s resignation.
Before that, the 47-year-old spent nearly a decade giving legal advice to DSS directors, including Leach. He will need approval from the Senate before officially becoming the full-time director.
“He is qualified. He is determined. He is the right fit for this job,” McMaster said Tuesday. “He understands that we must assist, protect and strengthen our young people and their families.”
Catone was drawn to the Department of Social Services because of his own background in the social services system, he said. He experienced abuse as a child from a caregiver outside of his family. His family also took in a second cousin while the cousin’s parents received mental health treatment, Catone said.
“From a very early age, I have seen the positive impact that this agency can have,” Catone said.
His goal is to continue the progress made under Leach’s leadership, he said.
A major part of that is complying with a 2016 federal class action lawsuit settlement. The lawsuit claimed the state placed too many abused and neglected children in group homes instead of with families. The agency also separated siblings, failed to meet children’s medical and food needs, and generally put them in danger, the lawsuit claimed.
Head of SC child welfare agency stepping down. DSS remains under a court order.
Problems persisted through 2019, when Leach stepped in. That was “a chaotic time,” Leach wrote in his resignation letter. The demands of the job and his commitment to it drained him, former Sen. Katrina Shealy, a Republican from Lexington who led a 2014 investigation into the agency, said soon after his resignation.
Under Leach’s tenure, more relatives and close friends have taken in children, more children have been adopted and social workers have had fewer cases to manage, according to regular progress reports conducted as part of the settlement. A judge in October ruled the agency had fulfilled its promises and no longer needed monitoring for those aspects of the settlement, though others remain in place.
“The goal is to continue our current positive trajectory,” Catone said. “Director Leach did a great job for the people of South Carolina in taking the agency from where it was to where it is now.”
Catone wants to put more money into programs that support foster children with more extensive mental health and behavioral needs, he said. He also wants to see more incentives for foster homes willing to take in teenagers, he said.
“The work of the Department of Social Services is rooted in compassion, but compassion alone is not enough,” Catone said. “It must be paired with action.”
The agency has more work to do, said Sue Williams, CEO of the Children’s Trust of South Carolina.
Between April 2018 and March 2023, children spent 506 nights sleeping in DSS offices. In the six months after that, the number doubled to 1,012 nights, according to the latest progress report.
Catone seems like the right person to resolve those sorts of problems, Williams said.
“Mr. Catone has the passion and leadership skills to take DSS to the next level,” Williams said. “He understands the consequences when families struggle with hardships and the children’s safety is at risk.”
Catone began his career as a trial and litigation attorney. He spent another three years as associate director of Clemson’s Youth Learning Initiative and one as associate vice president for public service at Florida Atlantic University, according to his resume.
He concluded with a Bible verse Tuesday: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”