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maria dayton
Family Services Administrator
TBRI® Practitioner
Midlands Region
Maria Dayton holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from Southern Wesleyan University. She is the former President of the Lexington County Foster Parent Association, serving for more than a decade, a former juvenile arbitrator, and currently plays the keyboard in her church worship band.
Maria and her husband, Mike, have fostered more than 100 teenagers, raised five adult children, have 10 grandchildren, and adopted their son, who joined their family as a teenager.
She also served for two years on the South Carolina Foster Parent Advisory Council, which provides the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS) with guidance assistance, and recommendations for addressing the needs of foster parents, children in foster care, and their families.
After seeing how children responded to Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®), Maria transformed her own parenting approach. Today, she is passionate about equipping caregivers with practical, trauma-informed strategies that build connection, trust, and lasting relationships.