Bill requires SC counties pay more to jail teens at DJJ. It could lead to fewer arrests.

COLUMBIA — In an effort to reduce overcrowding in South Carolina’s juvenile jail, senators advanced a bill Thursday that would require counties to pay more for each teenager detained.

Since 2007, state law has capped the amount counties must pay the state at $50 per day per juvenile awaiting a court ruling. The actual cost is closer to $400, said Eden Hendrick, director of the Department of Juvenile Justice.

“We’re hoping that maybe this higher-level price will discourage some counties from bringing those youth to Columbia,” she told a Senate Corrections subcommittee.

The state’s juvenile jail, which has a capacity of 72, regularly houses about 120 youth, Hendrick said.

That means the agency receives an average of $2.2 million each year from counties when the true cost of housing the arrested teens exceeds $17.5 million.

State law sets no minimum age for juveniles sent to DJJ, but the vast majority held at Columbia’s pre-trial facility are ages 13 to 18 years old, according to the agency.

The legislation sponsored by Senate Corrections Chairman Shane Martin wouldn’t put a dollar amount on how much counties must pay.

Instead, it requires counties to pay two-thirds of the cost to house the juveniles it sends to the Columbia jail, which each county will decide in a contract with the state agency.

The legislation, which the panel unanimously advanced, would also allow DJJ to turn away youth from counties that failed to pay.

Local law enforcement officers decide whether to jail an arrested juvenile, and family court judges decide whether to keep them there.

Making it more expensive to send youth to DJJ’s facility could encourage counties to do more intervention work and lead to officers arresting fewer youth, Hendrick said.

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“We perfectly understand that there are a lot of youth that need to be detained,” Hendrick said, pointing to teens arrested for murder and gun crimes. “We also have a handful of status offenses — very minor crimes — that we cannot separate from these other violent offenders.”

DJJ’s non-detention facilities, such as less secure group homes and after-school centers, cost between $180 and $300 per child per day. Using similar models could save counties money in the long run, Hendrick said.

“Detention is always the most expensive option,” she said.

Sen. Ross Turner, R-Greenville, suggested that counties could create more programs like Greenville County’s Generations Group, a residential program for boys have been abused themselves and have committed some sort of nonviolent sexual crime.

Increasing the amount counties must pay became more important after Richland County closed the juvenile wing of its jail last fall, with the goal of focusing more resources on problems in the adult part of the jail.

That sent about 45 more youth into the state-run detention center, which was already overcrowded, DJJ said at the time.

Charleston County is the only county in the state that still operates its own juvenile detention center. DJJ is planning to rent the closed juvenile wing of the Greenville County Detention Center to reduce overcrowding and keep Upstate children closer to home before sentencing.

Another way legislators could help reduce the burden on DJJ would be to remove jail time as a punishment for so-called status offenses, or crimes that only apply to people under the age of 18, Hendrick said.

South Carolina is the only state that detains children for these offenses, which include truancy, running away, entering a theater using a false ID and playing pinball, Hendrick has said previously.

Legislation to do that died with the end of last year’s session. Bills re-filed for this session haven’t gained traction so far.