The South Carolina Heart Gallery (SCHG) is a program of the Foster Care Review Division, which is itself a part of the South Carolina Department of Children's Advocacy. 

Since 2005, the Heart Gallery has helped children in foster care who are legally free and awaiting adoption find their "forever homes."

To fulfill its mission, SCHG recruits photographers who volunteer to take photos of these children at scenic locations around the state.  Staff share the photos on the SCHG’s website and social media accounts, partner with media outlets, and work with public and nonprofit organizations to host art exhibits of the framed portraits. 

The South Carolina Heart Gallery was established in 2005 by Millie Qualls, then a Foster Care Review Board coordinator and a former SC Department of Social Services adoption specialist.  After consulting with FCRB leadership & DSS Adoption regional offices, Qualls coordinated photographers, photo shoots, and exhibits, all as a volunteer.  

In 2008, based on encouraging results for participating children and an increase in referrals, FCRB and DSS entered into a contract to fund the program, and it became Qualls' full-time position within the FCRB.  

Today, the program continues recruiting photographers, coordinating photo shoots, and arranging exhibits around the state.  Photos and videos are available on the program’s website (scheartgallery.sc.gov) and community exhibits can be found around the state.  

Resulting inquiries are managed by Heart Gallery staff in two ways:

• Families new to the process are assisted with information and the initial application
• Families already approved may have their adoptive home study screened to determine if they are a potential match for a specific child. Potential matches are forwarded to the DSS Adoption worker for follow-up.

The first Heart Gallery in the nation was formed in 2001 in New Mexico by an adoptive parent and a child welfare worker who were brainstorming economical ways to increase adoption recruitment in their state. They asked local professional photographers to donate their time & talent and found an art gallery that allowed them to exhibit the resulting portraits without cost.

The public was invited to the gallery opening, which was called the Heart Gallery.  Information about foster care adoption was also available, and within a matter of weeks, adoptive families were identified for a substantial portion of the featured children.

The New Mexico group was fortunate to garner local media publicity that broadcast their success, and as more and more children found their forever homes, surrounding states started asking how they could form similar programs.