South Carolina is a Centralized State: A single state executive department, the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), administers most services to delinquents in South Carolina. DJJ's Community Services Division administers prevention, some detention, intake, evaluation, probation, aftercare, and community-based support services through local field offices in 43 counties. 

How is detention organized? 

Responsibility for detention varies in South Carolina. The Department of Juvenile Justice operates the South Carolina Juvenile Detention Center, a secure detention center in Columbia. Executive agencies in Richland and Charleston counties currently operate their own juvenile detention facilities, and there are several holdover facilities.

The solicitor, the attorney who prosecutes delinquency cases in family court, decides whether to divert juvenile offenders. Diversion efforts target youth with low risk assessment scores, particularly those who are first-time offenders. Most judicial circuits provide juvenile arbitration, the largest diversion program.

Article 1, Section 24 of the State Constitution establishes a Bill of Rights for crime victims in South Carolina. It defines some rights for victims of juvenile offenders, including the right to be treated with fairness and respect and to be protected from intimidation or harm. The South Carolina State Office of Victim Assistance (SOVA) provides a summary of victims' rights.

The Department of Juvenile Justice's (DJJ) Community Services Division administers probation supervision services through 43 local field offices, representing 46 counties. DJJ community specialists (juvenile probation officers) supervise juveniles.

Community specialists (juvenile probation officers) must have college degrees related to social science or its equivalent.

The court commits delinquent youth to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) custody. DJJ places the youth in a "suitable corrective environment" determined by DJJ's classification staff, who uses a DJJ-developed risk/needs assessment. The same community specialist that supervised the juvenile while in the community continues to be assigned to the juvenile.

If a juvenile receives an indeterminate commitment, he or she will be held for an indefinite period of time, up to age 21. Upon commitment, a juvenile will be given a time range or "guideline," determined by the state Board of Juvenile Parole (for all felonies and select misdemeanors) or DJJ's own release authority (for most misdemeanors and all status offenses).

Department of Juvenile Justice community specialists provide aftercare services in addition to probation supervision. Usually, the same individual who managed a juvenile’s case prior to commitment will supervise the juvenile on aftercare. Many community specialists have mixed caseloads that include juveniles on both probation and aftercare status.

South Carolina’s purpose clause is rooted in the Standard Juvenile Court Act. Enacted in 1925 and revised numerous times, The Act proposed the idea the each child coming into court jurisdiction shall receive the care, guidance, and control that will be conducive to his welfare and to the best interest of the state. If the child is removed from the home, the court will provide care as equivalent as possible to that of his parents.

Lower Age: None specified

Upper Age: 16

Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: 20

A Department of Juvenile Justice -developed risk/needs assessment  is used for placement decisions. No data was available on the use of assessments during detention, probation., or aftercare decisions.