Delinquency Services Summary
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. Three of these offices provide services in adjacent, less populated counties, covering all 46 counties. DJJ's Rehabilitative Services Division operates South Carolina's juvenile corrections continuum.

Court(s) with Delinquency Jurisdiction
Family Courts exercise jurisdiction over delinquency proceedings. Family Courts are limited jurisdiction trial courts. For more information, visit the Supreme Court of South Carolina's Family Courts web page.

Highlights

Juvenile Justice Performance Measures
The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) was selected to participate in "The Performance Measures for the Juvenile Justice System: A National Demonstration Project," as one of only four national demonstration sites in the country. South Carolina has the distinction of being the only statewide jurisdiction selected for the project. The project involved DJJ developing and testing a "juvenile justice system report card" with the intent of building core sets of juvenile performance measures for potential use nationwide. This led to the release of the first "Juvenile Justice Report Card" in 2004. The agency recently released its "2007 Juvenile Justice Report Card".

Performance-based Standards (PbS)
DJJ has been recognized as a national leader in implementing Performance-based Standards (PbS). PbS sets national standards for the safety, security, order, health and mental health, education, and preparation for community reintegration of custodial juveniles. It also provides the tools to collect data, analyze results, determine a course of action for improvement and measure its effectiveness with subsequent data collections.

The Department has developed a system of performance standards for seven of its facilities.

Girls Transition Home
For the first time in agency history, DJJ opened a transition home for girls within the Broad River Road Complex in Columbia, SC. It is designed to be a secure, short-term living environment for girls who are within six months of their release from a long-term DJJ facility. It has a focused living environment aimed at teaching various life skills that will assist the girls reintegrate back to their communities.

“Partnering with a Purpose”
A partnership between the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and Clemson University has resulted in several initiatives, including a youth development center, day treatment centers, and teen afterschool centers. The W.W. Long Youth Development Center (YDC) opened in March 2004 in Aiken County. The module-based YDC serves 15 female and 30 male juvenile offenders per 12-week cycle. DJJ refers low-risk, non-violent juveniles, aged 12-18, to the program. Educational and recreational modules include basic literacy and mathematics skills; environmental science; technology; aerospace; zoology; and marine science.

Several counties around the state are being considered as sites for day treatment centers. The Aiken County Day Treatment Program, which represents a partnership between Clemson, DJJ, and the Aiken School District, is scheduled to open in June 2006, and will serve up to 40 juvenile offenders.

DJJ's Division of Community Services in 2007 released a report, entitled "A Plan for Improving Services: Goals and Recommendations from four public Regional Charettes and Forums with youth across the state," as a result of recommendations made by more than 1000 citizens who participated in four state-wide regional charrettes (forums.) The charrettes were facilitated by Clemson University's Institute for Economic & Community Development.

Juvenile Employment and Enrichment Program
The mission of the Juvenils Experience Excellence Program (JEEP is to help youth in the juvenile justice system, or at-risk youth, with spectial emotional and/or behavioral needs improve their overall functioning at home, at school, and in the community. The program serves youth between the ages of 14 and 18 years old in 18 sites across the State. many of the program participants are on probation, parole, or under contract with DJJ. Life and social skills necessary to make good decisions, conflict resolution, effective communication, and teamwork are core components of the program.

Detention
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. Alternatives to detention include electronic monitoring, house arrest, and shelter placement. The county or municipality sending the youth to DJJ's detention facility pays a flat fee of $50 per day. The state pays for the remaining costs. Additional operational costs come from fines levied by municipal/magistrate courts on traffic offenders.

Juveniles can be held in detention awaiting adjudication and disposition. Youth cannot be held while waiting placement in a facility. Youth cannot be sentenced to secure detention, and sanctions for probation violations cannot be served in detention.

Statute 20-7-7210 establishes criteria for who can be held in a secure juvenile detention facility, including juveniles charged with violent crimes or who possess a deadly weapon. State law requires an initial detention hearing within 48 hours then periodic reviews 10 days later and 30 days after the 10-day hearing. 20-7-7215 states that "a juvenile must not be detained in secure confinement in excess of ninety days except in exceptional circumstances as determined by the court."

A facility social worker or psychologist must screen youth within 24 hours to determine whether the juvenile is emotionally disturbed, has a mental illness, or needs services.

Delinquency Intake Screening
South Carolina statute permits a broad range of people to file complaints regarding juvenile offenses, including a parent, law enforcement officer, and a representative from the school. The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) intake worker receives referrals and screens them for legal sufficiency. The intake worker makes recommendations on handling the case to the solicitor, the attorney who prosecutes delinquency cases in family court. Risk and needs assessments guide DJJ's recommendation at this and other key decision points in the juvenile justice system. The intake worker also meets with the juvenile and his or her family and obtains information about the juvenile from other agencies, including the school. In some cases, an interagency staffing may be held. The intake worker follows the juvenile from intake into the courtroom for adjudication and disposition.

The solicitor ensures that the juvenile was properly charged and makes the final decision about whether to handle cases formally or informally.

Diversion
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. Run through solicitors' offices and using trained volunteers as arbitrators, this program enables a non-court settlement of cases. Its target population is first-time, non-violent criminal offenders. Behavioral contracts and law-related education are other diversion options. The Department of Juvenile Justice's (DJJ) role in diverting cases is outlined in 20-7-6840.

The Teen After-School Center (TASC) program has expanded from its 3 original sites to a total of 24 sites around the state. DJJ has implemented these programs through partnerships with the Legislative Black Caucus, the AME church, the Children’s Law Office, Clemson University, the State Department of Education and local youth organizations. TASC provides tutoring, mentoring and skill development for teenagers during afterschool hours.

The CHOICES program teaches young people to make positive decisions in their lives to help them avoid repeating criminal behaviors. It relies upon the tenets of the restorative justice model. CHOICES is now available in eight counties, and it is DJJ’s goal to implement the curriculum statewide.

Predisposition Investigation
The Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) intake worker performs the predisposition investigation. Both DJJ and the solicitor make disposition recommendations. The family court judge may move directly from adjudication into disposition and place the juvenile on probation or order a predispositional evaluation. The evaluation can be performed in the community or in residential evaluation centers. The court must order such an evaluation before commitment if an indeterminate commitment is being considered, unless an evaluation was previously completed:

• Community evaluation: Juveniles undergoing an evaluation in the community remain at home for the 30 - 90 day evaluation period. The juvenile meets with the DJJ psychologist at the county office and takes a series of tests. Then, the psychologist gathers background information about the juvenile from the guardian and asks the juvenile a series of questions. The judge refers to a report compiled from this process for the disposition hearing.

• Residential evaluation centers: The Department of Juvenile Justice's Community Services Division operates South Carolina's three regional predisposition evaluation facilities. Juveniles can be sent to a DJJ evaluation center for up to 45 (usually 35) days for a complete educational, psychological, and medical assessment. They receive physicals, meet with the psychologist, take a series of tests, and attend school. Teachers, the social worker, the psychologist, and residential staff each write a report on the juvenile. The judge refers to a summary and compilation of these reports for the disposition hearing.

Victim Rights and Services
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. Acts 141 and 343 outline the rights that law enforcement, the prosecuting agency, the Family Court, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Juvenile Parole Board, and other agencies must provide to victims of juvenile crime. The South Carolina State Office of Victim Assistance (SOVA) provides a summary of victims' rights. SOVA also administers the crime victim compensation fund. The South Carolina Victim Assistance Network is a statewide victim advocacy organization.

Probation Supervision
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.

An Intensive Supervision Officer (ISO), similar to a traditional juvenile parole officer, is assigned to each of these juveniles but with the additional time and resources to dedicate to those needing special attention. The ISO's are located in all DJJ county offices across the state. Each has a maximum caseload of 20 juveniles.

DJJ policy (220.02) requires the development of an individualized plan for services within 30 calendar days of the juvenile's probation disposition, with review at 6 months, and reformulation at 12 months. The policy includes a protocol form for this plan.

Juveniles on probation can receive a wide range of services, including alternative placement, intensive in-home therapy, youth advocacy/mentoring, after school programs, and referral to local mental health and substance abuse programs. The availability and diversity of these programs varies from county to county. DJJ operates five group homes, which offer services in lieu of commitment or revocation for juveniles on probation or parole. These programs provide therapeutic group home services in community based settings.

Juvenile Probation Officer Qualifications, Certification, and Training
Community specialists (juvenile probation officers) must have college degrees related to social science or its equivalent. Although community specialists are not professionally certified by an independent agency in South Carolina, they must receive 62 hours of basic training within the first three months of their hire date and an additional 68 hours of in-service training within the first year. In addition, they must complete 40 hours of training each following year. The Department of Juvenile Justice's Staff Development and Training Office trains community specialists.

Juvenile Corrections Continuum
The Department of Juvenile Justice's (DJJ) Rehabilitative Services Division operates South Carolina's three secure custodial care facilities within the Broad River Road Complex (BRRC) located in Columbia, South Carolina. BRRC provides juveniles committed by the family courts with around-the-clock custodial care and individualized treatment and rehabilitation.

DJJ closed the girls’ facility in Greenwood, South Carolina. This female population moved to a completely separate facility within the Broad River Road Complex (where the other three long-term commitment facilities are located) in Columbia.

Community Corrections
DJJ operates 5 Deinstitutionalization Residential Programs, group homes that serve as alternatives to placement in an institution after a juvenile is committed. Juveniles in these programs are generally on probation or parole. These programs provide therapeutic group home services in community-based settings.

In addition, placement options for committed youth include eight privately-operated, community-based programs and the W.W. Long Youth Development Center in Aiken County, established as a result of a partnership between DJJ and Clemson University. For more information about W.W. Long, see the Highlight above.

Commitment to State
South Carolina's basic disposition model is both indeterminate and determinate. When a juvenile is committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), commitment must be for an indeterminate disposition not extending beyond the juvenile's 21st birthday or for a determinate disposition of 90 days or less. Juveniles committed for violent offenses, if not sooner released, are transferred to serve the remainder of their indeterminate disposition in an adult corrections facility. Juveniles committed for all other offenses, if not sooner released, are transferred to an adult facility at age 19.

The court commits delinquent youth to DJJ's 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. However, social workers and classification case managers perform most case management services for juveniles in residential placement.

Blended Sentencing
South Carolina does not have any blended sentencing provisions.

Direct Placement
The court has placement options other than commitment to a Department of Juvenile Justice facility. Generally, the juvenile would be given a disposition of probation and either ordered or referred to placement in a local/private facility. Once placed, the juvenile's immediate supervision needs would be met by the receiving entity. However, the juvenile would remain on a Department of Juvenile Justice probation caseload, and oversight of the case would continue for the duration of placement. After release, the court may place the juvenile back on probation for supervision. The procedure for making release decisions varies. In some cases, a court order may require successful completion, after which the juvenile may be released.

Release
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). This range is based on the severity of the juvenile's offense and his history of previous offenses. These guidelines can run anywhere from 1-3 months up to 36-54 months. The Board and DJJ use these guidelines -- along with an evauluation of the juvenile's behavior and progress -- to determine the length of incarceration.

Juveniles may be incarcerated beyond their guideline (up to their 21st birthday). They may also be paroled prior to their minimum guideline for exceptional behavior and progress.

Juveniles may be granted conditional or unconditional releases. A conditional release might involve requiring the juvenile to complete a local aftercare program or program at a wilderness camp or group home. A conditional release also involves a period of parole supervision. DJJ county officers supervise juveniles on parole, much as they supervise juveniles on probation.

Aftercare/Re-entry
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.

The Intensive Supervision Initiative (ISI) is based on the nationally recognized Intensize Aftercare Program (IAP) Model which promotes basic tenets of improved family functioning, community safety and the reduction of recidivism. ISI utilizes intensive supervision officers (similar to a traditional juvenile parole officer) in the community who work with juveniles coming out of DJJ's long-term commitment facilities back into their home communities.

The Department of Juvenile Justice received funding to implement the BRIDGE program to provide intensive services that juveniles need to help them remain drug free and crime free upon their return to the community. These services include weekly drug screenings, life skills and social skills training, individual counseling, family counseling, substance abuse counseling, and mentors for each juvenile.

State Laws

Legal Resources
South Carolina Children's Code, Code of Laws, Title 20 Domestic Relations Juvenile Justice Code (20-7-6600).

South Carolina Bar

Purpose Clause for Delinquency Proceedings
To read South Carolina's purpose clause for delinquency proceedings, click here.

Delinquency Jurisdiction (as of the end of the 2005 legislative session)
Lower Age: None specified
Upper Age: 16
Extended Age of Delinquency Jurisdiction: 20

Juvenile Transfer Laws
For information on South Carolina's juvenile transfer laws, click here.

Juvenile Justice Leadership

Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council
The Advisory Council consists of state and local officials as well as private citizens. The Council's responsibilities include recommending ways to improve juvenile justice services in South Carolina and providing technical assistance.

S.C. Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs
The S.C. Department of Public Safety, Office of Justice Programs administers JJDP Act funds and other juvenile justice grants.

Resources/Contacts
Department of Juvenile Justice
Department of Public Safety's Juvenile Justice Grant Programs
South Carolina Correctional Association
South Carolina Judicial Department
South Carolina Probation Association
South Carolina State Office of Victim Assistance
South Carolina Victim Assistance Network
Youth Workers Association

Laura Whitlock
Juvenile Justice Specialist
SC Department of Public Safety
Post Office Box 1993
Blythewood, SC 29016
Phone: (803) 896-8713
Fax: (803) 896-8714
laurawhitlock@scdps.net

Loretta S. Neal
Public Affairs Coordinator
Officer of Public Affairs
Department of Juvenile Justice
Phone: (803) 896-9518
Fax: (803) 896-9767
LSNeal@main.djj.state.sc.us

The National Center for Juvenile Justice strives to make each State Profile as accurate as possible. Please bring any errors, updates, or additions to the attention of the State Profiles project manager. Persons listed as state contacts are not responsible for information contained in these profiles.

© 2000 (original copyright); © 2006 (most recent copyright) National Center for Juvenile Justice

Citation: National Center for Juvenile Justice. 2006. "South Carolina." State Juvenile Justice Profiles. Pittsburgh, PA: NCJJ. Online. Available: http://www.ncjj.org/stateprofiles/.