By: Skylar Laird – December 6, 2024
COLUMBIA — The state’s juvenile justice agency still lacks staff to keep officers and youth safe, three years after receiving a list of recommendations to help address problems, state auditors found.
About half the recommendations resulting from the last audit still haven’t been made, according to the follow-up report released Thursday. Department of Juvenile Justice Director Eden Hendrick told the SC Daily Gazette on Friday the agency is contesting that assessment in a written response. She argues that closer to 65% of the recommendations have been implemented, and an additional quarter or so are underway, she said.
Many of the recommendations from the 2021 report that this year’s audit revisited involved bureaucratic improvements, such as revising policies, turning in reports on time, updating job descriptions and developing plans. The findings are not as severe as those three years ago, which found high rates of violence and a lack of accountability for juveniles who attacked other youth and officers; employees with multiple disciplinary infractions or a lack of training; and little medical care for youth.
The follow-up report recognized improvements the agency has made over the past few years, such as installing more cameras, increasing salaries, appropriately disciplining employees who broke the rules, and efforts to change security policies in order to reduce violence.
Staffing shortages remain problem for DJJ, SC report finds • SC Daily Gazette