This chapter may be cited as the "Juvenile Justice Code".
SECTION 63-19-20. Definitions.
When used in this chapter and unless otherwise defined or the specific context indicates otherwise:
(1) "Child" or "juvenile" means a person less than seventeen years of age. "Child" or "juvenile" does not mean a person sixteen years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more. However, a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An additional or accompanying charge associated with the charges contained in this item must be heard by the court with jurisdiction over the offenses contained in this item.
(2) "Court" means the family court.
(3) "Criminal justice purpose" means:
(a) the performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, capture from escape or elopement, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, supervision, or rehabilitation of accused or adjudicated persons or criminal offenders; or
(b) the collection, storage, and dissemination of child offense history records.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(5) "Guardian" means a person who legally has the care and management of a child.
(6) "Judge" means the judge of the family court.
(7) "Parent" means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody.
(8) "Parole board" means the Board of Juvenile Parole under the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(9) "Status offense" means an offense which would not be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult including, but not limited to, incorrigibility or beyond the control of parents, truancy, running away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine, or gaining admission to a theater by false identification.
SECTION 63-19-30. Other state agencies; preexisting obligations.
(A) It is the duty of other state agencies providing financial assistance and other children's services related to the purposes of this chapter to cooperate with the department in carrying out its responsibilities to children and their families.
(B) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to relieve a state or local unit of government of any preexisting legal obligation to provide payments, services, or facilities.
ARTICLE 3.
DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
SECTION 63-19-310. Department created.
There is created the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice.
SECTION 63-19-320. Director; removal of director; bond.
(A) The Governor shall appoint a director of the department with the advice and consent of the Senate who shall possess qualifications necessary to manage the affairs of the department. If a vacancy occurs in the office when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a director to fill the vacancy until the Senate acts upon the appointment.
(B) The director is subject to removal by the Governor as provided for in Section 1-3-240.
(C) The director must execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the director's office and the accurate accounting for all monies and property coming into the director's hands. The bond must be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this State, and the premium on the bond must be paid by the State out of the department's appropriations.
SECTION 63-19-330. Policy-setting responsibilities of director; executive responsibilities of director.
(A) The director is the chief executive officer of the department. The director may appoint and employ officers and employees necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of the department and shall ensure that the department's organizational structure differentiates between separate divisions, the community-based services and institutional services of the department.
(B) The director is vested with the exclusive responsibility for policy of the department to carry out the responsibilities, duties, and privileges provided for in this chapter.
SECTION 63-19-340. Annual report.
An annual report of the department must be prepared by the director which shall include an account of all funds received and expended, persons served by the department including a report of the state and condition of the correctional institutions, and community programs operated by the department.
SECTION 63-19-350. Community services.
The department shall provide community services as the director shall assign to it which shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) family court intake screening and referral counseling;
(2) serving, advising, and counseling children placed on probation by the family court;
(3) serving, advising, and counseling children in institutions as may be necessary for the placement of the children in a proper environment after release and for the placement of children in suitable jobs where necessary and proper;
(4) supervising and guiding children released or conditionally released from institutions;
(5) counseling children released or conditionally released from its commitment facilities;
(6) coordinating the activities of supporting community agencies which aid in the social adjustment of children released from its commitment facilities;
(7) providing or arranging for necessary services leading to the rehabilitation of delinquents either within the department or through cooperative arrangements with other appropriate agencies;
(8) providing counseling and supervision for a child under twelve years of age who has been adjudicated delinquent or convicted of a crime or who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, when other suitable personnel is not available and upon request of the court;
(9) providing detention screening services when a child is taken into custody for violation of a law or ordinance as provided for in this chapter;
(10) providing prevention services including short- and long-range planning, establishing statewide priorities and standards, developing public awareness programs, and providing technical assistance to local government in the development of prevention programs;
(11) developing secure and nonsecure alternatives to jail;
(12) providing a variety of community-based programs to augment regular probation services including, but not limited to, volunteer services, restitution, community-work programs, family counseling, and contract probation with specific sanctions for various types of behavior;
(13) providing a variety of community-based programs to serve as alternatives to institutions including, but not limited to, halfway houses, work release, intensive supervision services, restitution, forestry and wilderness camps, marine science programs, and other residential and nonresidential programs;
(14) providing programs to divert juveniles, where proper and appropriate, from the juvenile justice system;
(15) juveniles must be assigned to intensive probation or aftercare services by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Juveniles assigned to these intensive supervision services must be those juveniles who require enhanced supervision, monitoring and contacts, or a higher level of treatment services. Intensive supervision must be provided by the department in all regions of the State. In conjunction with establishing these intensive supervision services, the department shall develop an array of graduated sanctions and impose these sanctions on offenders being provided intensive supervision services for technical rule violations and minor infractions, whenever feasible to do so, in lieu of re-incarceration of the juvenile in a secure correctional facility. The array of graduated sanctions developed by the department may include, as a condition of probation or parole, placement of a juvenile in a staff or environmentally secure residential program. Case workers selected to monitor, supervise, and serve juveniles assigned to intensive supervision services shall have caseloads of no more than twenty juveniles.
SECTION 63-19-360. Institutional services.
The department shall provide institutional services which include, but are not limited to:
(1) providing correctional institutional services for juveniles committed under this chapter;
(2) managing, operating, and supervising Birchwood, Willow Lane, John G. Richards, and other facilities as the director may establish;
(3) establishing and maintaining residential and nonresidential reception and evaluation centers at which all children committed to its custody by a circuit or family court must be received, examined, and evaluated before assignment to one of its institutions or before other disposition or recommendation is made concerning the child. The commitment of a child to a reception and evaluation center or youth correctional institution of the department may be made only after the child has been adjudicated delinquent. The evaluation conducted by the reception and evaluation centers includes, but is not limited to:
(a) a complete social, physical, psychological, and mental examination;
(b) an investigation and consideration of family and community environment and other facts in the background of the person concerned that might relate to the person's delinquency;
(c) a determination of the correctional or custodial care that would be most appropriate. The department shall create facilities and employ personnel as will enable the centers to conduct the necessary physical, mental, and psychological examinations required by this section;
(4) providing juvenile detention services for juveniles charged with having committed a criminal offense who are found, after a detention screening or detention hearing, to require detention or placement outside the home pending an adjudication of delinquency or dispositional hearing. Detention services provided by the department for the benefit of the counties and municipalities of this State must include secure juvenile detention centers. The size and capacity of the juvenile detention facilities needed must be determined by the department after its consideration and review of minimum standards for local detention facilities in South Carolina for the design, construction, and operation of juvenile detention centers. These recognized state standards must be met or exceeded by the department in determining the size and capacity of the juvenile detention centers and in planning for the construction and operation of the facilities. The department shall determine and announce the anticipated maximum operational capacity of each facility and shall contact each county and municipal governmental body in this State for the purpose of determining which counties or municipalities anticipate utilizing these facilities upon each facility becoming operational. The department shall inform each county and municipal governmental body of the existing state and federal laws regarding the confinement of juveniles charged with committing criminal offenses, of each county's and municipality's ability to develop its own facility or to contract with other counties or municipalities for the development of a regional facility, and of the availability of the department's facilities. This notice must be provided to each county and municipality for the purpose of determining which county governmental bodies desire to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the department for the detention of juveniles from their particular community who are charged with committing a criminal offense for which pretrial detention is both authorized and appropriate. No later than September 1, 1993, the department shall report to the Budget and Control Board on the strategy of each county to comply with requirements of counties under this chapter. The department must include with its report a plan for the construction and the operation of those facilities which are projected to be necessary for the preadjudicatory detention of juveniles in this State. No later than September first of each subsequent year, the department shall report to the board on the status of all preadjudicatory juvenile detention facilities known to be operational or planned, regardless of ownership or management. Beginning with the report to the board which is due no later than September 1, 1996, the department must include an annual status report on the numbers of juveniles in pretrial detention who are awaiting disposition in general sessions court, whether they have been waived by the family court or whether they qualify due to the offense with which they are charged. The board then will coordinate with all responsible and affected agencies and entities to ensure that adequate funding is identified to prevent the detention or incarceration of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by, or who are under the jurisdiction of, the family court in adult jails anywhere within the State of South Carolina and to prevent the detention of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by general sessions court in facilities which do not provide actual sight and sound separation from adults who are in detention or custody. Upon completion of each facility and upon the determination by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections that each facility is staffed in accordance with relevant standards and can be operated in accordance with these standards, the division shall determine and announce the rated capacity of each facility. A facility operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice for the preadjudicatory detention of juveniles must be maintained and continued in operation for that purpose until approved for conversion or closure by the Budget and Control Board. However, a county or municipality which decides to maintain its own approved facilities or which has entered into a regional intergovernmental agreement, which has provided secure facilities for preadjudicatory juveniles, and which meets the standards set forth above, may continue to operate these facilities. County and regionally operated facilities are subject to inspection by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections for compliance with the standards set forth above and those created pursuant to Section 24-9-20. The division has the same enforcement authority over county, municipal, and regionally operated secure juvenile detention facilities as that which is provided in Section 24-9-30. In Department of Juvenile Justice operated facilities, the department shall determine an amount of per diem for each child detained in a center, which must be paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred. The per diem paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must be based on the average operating cost among all preadjudicatory state facilities. The Department of Juvenile Justice must assume one-third of the per diem cost and the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must assume two-thirds of the cost. Per diem funds received by the department must be placed in a separate account by the department for operation of all preadjudicatory state facilities. Transportation of the juvenile to and from a facility is the responsibility of the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the offense was committed. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department;
(5) each secure facility which detains preadjudicatory youth longer than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, regardless of ownership or management, must have sufficient personnel to provide uninterrupted supervision and to provide administrative, program, and support requirements. Each of these facilities must have a minimum of two juvenile custodial officers on duty each shift, fully dressed, awake, and alert to operate the facility. At least one person shall directly supervise the juveniles at all times. At least one female juvenile custodial officer must be present and available to the female detention population at all times. Staff on duty must be sufficient to provide for a juvenile-staff ratio adequate for custody, control, and supervision, and to provide full coverage of all designated security posts, excluding administrative, program, and other support staff. Staff shall prepare further a facility schedule of preplanned, structured, and productive activities. Schedules must be developed which include designated times for sleeping, dining, education, counseling, recreation, visitation, and personal time. Daily schedules should minimize idleness and promote constructive use of the juvenile's day. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide educational programs and services to all preadjudicatory juveniles in its custody. County, municipal, and regionally operated facilities shall provide these services to all preadjudicatory juveniles under the jurisdiction of the family court and all pretrial juveniles awaiting general sessions court who are detained locally for more than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, by contracting with the Department of Juvenile Justice or by arranging the services through the local school district in which the facility is located. It shall be the responsibility of the school district where a local detention center which has been approved to detain juveniles is located to provide adequate teaching staff and to ensure compliance with the educational requirements of this State. Students housed in approved local detention centers are to be included in the average daily membership count of students for that district and reimbursement by the Department of Education shall be made accordingly. Services which are arranged locally must be approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice as meeting all criteria developed under the authority of Section 63-19-380. Special needs students who are detained locally shall have all services required by federal and state laws and regulations;
(6) a county, municipality, or regional subdivision may provide temporary holdover facilities for juveniles only if the facilities comply with this section and with all standards created under the provisions of Section 24-9-20, which must be monitored and enforced by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the South Carolina Department of Corrections pursuant to its authority under Sections 24-9-20 and 24-9-30. The standards shall provide for the regulation of temporary holdover facilities with regard to adequate square footage, juvenile accommodations, access to bathroom facilities, lighting, ventilation, distinctions between secure and nonsecure temporary holdover facilities, staffing qualifications, and additional requirements as may be specified. These facilities may hold juveniles during the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays. Preadjudicatory juveniles who are subsequently transferred to a juvenile detention center may be housed in a temporary holdover facility when returned to the community for a court appearance. However, the temporary housing shall not exceed forty-eight hours.
SECTION 63-19-370. Interdepartmental agreements; retention of grant revenues.
The department may enter into agreements with the governing bodies of other state departments or institutions for the purpose of effecting a more efficient and economical management of any institution or program under its supervision. The department is authorized to make contracts and expend public funds as required to carry out the functions prescribed for it in this chapter within the limits of appropriated funds.
All revenues generated from United States Department of Agriculture grants, the Education Finance Act, the Detention Center, and Medicaid federal funding may be retained, carried forward, and expended by the Department of Juvenile Justice, in accordance with applicable regulations, for the costs associated with related programs.
SECTION 63-19-380. Special school district designation.
(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice is designated as a special school district which shall operate a continuous progress education program on a twelve-month basis. There is created within the department the Education Division which shall provide academic and vocational training at the Reception and Evaluation Center, Birchwood High School, Willow Lane Junior High School, and all other institutions operating under the department. Academic and vocational training provided pursuant to this section shall meet all educational standards prescribed by law and by the Department of Education for public schools of the State including, but not limited to, compliance with and operation under the provisions of the Education Finance Act, the Defined Minimum Program, teacher and superintendent certification laws and regulations, and other laws or regulations governing the education of children. The department may prescribe additional requirements as it may from time to time deem necessary.
(B) The State Superintendent of Education shall administer the standards related to the school programs. Reports from the Department of Education evaluating the educational program at all juvenile corrections institutions and indicating whether or not the program meets the standards as prescribed, must be made directly to the director. Department of Education supervisory personnel as considered appropriate must be utilized for evaluating the programs and for reporting to the director.
(C) Schools operated by the department shall receive funds from the Department of Education under the same provisions as other public schools in the State. Funds previously received by the Department of Juvenile Justice from the South Carolina Department of Education for programs now being consolidated under the Education Finance Act shall be disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice by the Department of Education from the appropriation provided in the annual general appropriations act and entitled "Education Finance Act". The amount to be disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice must be sufficient to produce funds equal to the product of the number of students served by the Department of Juvenile Justice weighted according to the criteria established by the South Carolina Department of Education under the provisions of the Education Finance Act and the state portion of the appropriated value statewide of the base student cost, adjusted for operation of the department's twelve-month continuous progress education program using a base of two hundred thirty-five instructional days instead of one hundred ninety instructional days. The amount includes, but is not limited to, all funding for teacher salary supplements, instructional purposes, or any other funds disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice school district's twelve-month continuous progress educational program. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall comply with the provisions of subsection (4) of Section 59-20-50 and subsections (1), (2), (3)(a), (4)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 59-20-60. The South Carolina Department of Education annually shall determine that these provisions are being met and include its findings in the report mandated in subsection (5)(e) of Section 59-20-60. If the accreditation standards set forth in the Defined Minimum Program for the Department of Juvenile Justice as approved by the State Board of Education are not met, funds by this section shall be reduced the following fiscal year according to the provisions set forth in the Education Finance Act.
(D) The director shall operate as the trustee for schools under the department's jurisdiction for all administrative purposes, including the receipt and expenditure of funds appropriated or granted to the schools for any purpose. The director shall employ a full-time superintendent of schools for the special school district. The superintendent shall hold a valid superintendent's certificate from the Department of Education and shall serve as the head of the Education Division.
(E) In lieu of classification by the Division of State Personnel, the employment status of the superintendent of schools for the department and all instructional personnel operating under the Education Division of the department must be governed by the laws of the State regarding employment of instructional personnel and regulations of the Department of Education.
SECTION 63-19-390. Peace officers and constables.
Juvenile correctional employees of the department, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of a juvenile offender within the jurisdiction of the department, and other employees of the department authorized by the director to perform similar functions as part of their official duties, have the status of peace officers anywhere in this State in a matter relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of the juvenile. Employees of the department's Division of Public Safety, on proper training and certification from the Criminal Justice Academy and after having taken the oath of office prescribed by law and the Constitution of this State, must continue to be commissioned as state constables pursuant to Section 23-1-60.
SECTION 63-19-400. Gifts.
The department may accept gifts, donations, or contributions and may receive devises and bequests. These acquisitions must be used for the purposes specified by the donors.
SECTION 63-19-410. Fees.
(A) The department may charge and collect fees for evaluation and treatment services provided for a person referred or temporarily committed to its facilities either at the evaluation center in Columbia or any center or other facility of the department. Fees may be charged to a parent or guardian or to the public or private agency responsible for the temporary commitment or referral. In cases where insurance coverage is available, fees of treatment or evaluation may be charged to the insurer. No fees may be charged to a person who is finally committed to a custodial facility of the department, and no person may be denied treatment or evaluation services because of inability to pay for the services.
(B) The director shall approve and periodically review, a schedule of maximum charges for the services of the department, including residential care. The department shall adopt procedures to determine ability to pay and may authorize its designees to reduce or waive charges based upon their findings. No charge for services rendered by the department may exceed the actual cost of the services at the facility rendering the services.
(C) The department shall establish a hearing and review procedure so that parents or legal guardians of a person under the department's jurisdiction may appeal charges made for services or may present to the departmental officials information or evidence which, in their opinion, needs to be considered in establishing charges.
(D) The department may utilize all legal procedures to collect lawful claims. All funds collected pursuant to this section must be deposited with the State Treasurer for use of the department in defraying the cost of services for which the fees may be collected.
SECTION 63-19-420. Natural resource sales.
The director is authorized to sell mature trees, other timber, and farm products and commodities from lands owned by the department. Before the sale of timber, the director shall consult with the State Forester to determine the economic feasibility of and obtain approval for the sales. Funds derived from the sales must be credited to the account of the department to be used for capital improvements subject to the approval of the State Budget and Control Board.
SECTION 63-19-430. Bumper sticker sales.
The department may print or purchase for resale bumper stickers and other informational material prepared to publicize and educate the public concerning activities of the department. All these materials must have "South Carolina" inscribed on the material. After the costs of the materials have been recovered, all proceeds from the sale of the materials must be deposited in the student welfare fund of the department and used for the purposes prescribed for that fund.
SECTION 63-19-440. Goldsmith Center.
The department's reception and evaluation center located in Columbia is designated "The William J. Goldsmith Reception and Evaluation Center".
SECTION 63-19-450. Youth Industries Program.
(A) The director of the Department of Juvenile Justice may establish a Youth Industries Program, consistent with all applicable state and federal child labor laws, employing juveniles committed to the department. This program may include:
(1) providing services to private industries including, but not limited to:
(a) packing, assembling, handling, reconditioning or restoring products, goods, wares, or merchandise;
(b) contracting with private industry for the manufacturing and processing of goods, wares, or merchandise;
(c) contracting with other profit or nonprofit businesses or commercial enterprises to provide the services enumerated in subitems (a) and (b) within the department's Sheltered Workshop Program;
(2) manufacturing or processing industry or service which utilizes juveniles in the manufacture or production of goods, wares, merchandise, articles, or products or in providing services which may be needed for the construction, operation, maintenance, or use of any office, department, institution, or agency supported in whole or in part by this State or a political subdivision of this State; or
(3) otherwise engaging juveniles in paid work opportunities within the department, consistent with the general welfare of the department's mission of rehabilitation and treatment.
(B) To implement the Youth Industries Program the director may enter into contracts in the manner provided by law to implement its Youth Industries Program. A contract may include rental or lease agreements for state land or buildings or portions of state buildings on the grounds of an institution or a facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice and if the contract contains such rental or lease agreements, it must provide the business entity with reasonable access to and egress from these grounds, buildings, and facilities.
(C) In conducting the Youth Industries Program, the department may purchase equipment, raw materials, and supplies in the manner provided by law and may engage necessary supervisory personnel.
(D) The prices of articles or products manufactured or produced or services rendered under the Youth Industries Program must be uniform and nondiscriminating and must be as near to the usual market price for these articles, products, or services as is practicable.
(E) All monies collected by the department from the sale or disposition of articles and products manufactured or produced or from services rendered by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program must be deposited into a special account designated "Youth Industries Account". The monies collected and deposited into this account must be used solely for the purchasing of manufacturing supplies, equipment, machinery, and buildings for the Youth Industries Program to pay the wages of the juveniles employed in the program and the salaries of the necessary personnel in the program, and to defray the necessary expenses of the program. The director must deduct from wages paid to a juvenile:
(1) state, federal, and local taxes;
(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law, court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and
(3) contributions to any fund established by law to compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less than five percent of gross wages.
These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross wages.
SECTION 63-19-460. Voluntary participation in program.
(A) A juvenile may participate in the Youth Industries Program established pursuant to Section 63-19-450 only on a voluntary basis and only after the juvenile has been informed of the conditions of the employment.
(B) A juvenile participating in the Youth Industries Program:
(1) providing services to private industry must be compensated commensurate with the prevailing wage for work of a similar nature in the private sector;
(2) is not considered an employee of the State and is not eligible for unemployment compensation upon termination from the program; however, a juvenile is entitled to all other work benefits, including worker's compensation or its equivalent.
(C) The wages of a juvenile authorized to work in the Youth Industries Program, if paid other than by the department, must be paid directly to the Department of Juvenile Justice and credited to the juvenile's account. If the wages are paid by an entity other than the department, these wages must be paid directly to the department, and the department shall credit the wages to the juvenile's account. The director must deduct from wages paid to a juvenile:
(1) state, federal, and local taxes;
(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law, court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and
(3) contributions to any fund established by law to compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less than five percent of gross wages.
These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross wages.
(D) Juvenile participation in the Youth Industries Program must not result in the displacement of employed workers in the State and must not impair existing contracts.
SECTION 63-19-470. Sale of goods prohibited.
It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale on the open market of this State goods, wares, or merchandise manufactured or produced wholly or in part by juvenile offenders in this or another state. However, this subsection does not apply to:
(1) articles produced by juveniles on parole or probation or in community supervision;
(2) products sold by the Department of Juvenile Justice made by juveniles in its arts and crafts programs;
(3) articles or products sold to nonprofit corporations incorporated under Article 1, Chapter 31, Title 33 or to organizations operating in this State which have been granted an exemption under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(4) articles or products made in the Youth Industries Program pursuant to Section 63-19-450, through contracts with private sector businesses which provide work and vocational training opportunities for juvenile offenders with physical or mental disabilities or who are mentally retarded if the compensation is paid by the private sector business to the juvenile offender on a piece rate basis;
(5) products sold intrastate or interstate produced by juveniles employed in the Youth Industries Program;
(6) services provided by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program including, but not limited to, restoration and reconditioning activities, the packaging and handling of goods, wares, or merchandise, or the dismantling and reassembling of products.
SECTION 63-19-480. Compensation of victims of crime fund.
There is created a fund within the Department of Juvenile Justice for the compensation of victims of crime. All contributions deducted from a juvenile's wages pursuant to Section 63-19-450(E)(3) or 63-19-460(C)(3) must be deposited into this fund. Of the amount contributed to the fund by each juvenile, ninety-five percent must be paid by the department on behalf of the juvenile as restitution to the victim or victims of the juvenile's adjudicated crime as ordered by the family court or the releasing entity, and five percent must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund. If the amount of restitution ordered has been paid in full or if there is no victim of the juvenile's adjudicated crime, the juvenile's contributions must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund.
SECTION 63-19-490. Authority to promulgate regulations.
The Department of Juvenile Justice in consultation with this state's regulatory agencies may promulgate regulations which are necessary to implement Sections 63-19-450 and 63-19-460.
ARTICLE 5.
BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE
SECTION 63-19-610. Board.
(A) There is created under the Department of Juvenile Justice the Board of Juvenile Parole. The parole board is composed of ten members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of these members, one must be appointed from each of the six congressional districts and four members must be appointed from the State at large. If a vacancy occurs on the parole board when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a member to fill the vacancy and the appointee is a de facto member until the Senate acts upon the appointment.
(B) Members of the parole board shall serve four-year terms and until their successors are appointed and qualify and these terms expire on June thirtieth of the appropriate year.
(C) No member may be reappointed to the parole board until two years after the expiration of a full four-year term.
SECTION 63-19-620. Removal of member.
A member of the parole board is subject to removal by the Governor as provided for in Section 1-3-240(C).
SECTION 63-19-630. Officers; rules and procedures.
The parole board shall elect from among its members a chairman who shall serve a one-year term and who may not succeed himself as chairman. The parole board may elect a vice-chairman and secretary and shall fix the time and place of meetings. Rules and procedures for parole board meetings, as considered advisable, must be adopted by the parole board. Six members of the parole board constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SECTION 63-19-640. Compensation.
The members of the parole board must be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in attending parole board meetings and shall receive as compensation the same per diem as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
ARTICLE 7.
CUSTODY AND DETENTION
SECTION 63-19-810. Taking a child into custody.
(A) When a child found violating a criminal law or ordinance is taken into custody, the taking into custody is not an arrest. The jurisdiction of the court attaches from the time of the taking into custody. When a child is taken into custody, the officer taking the child into custody shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking the child into custody may release the child to a parent, a responsible adult, a responsible agent of a court-approved foster home, group home, nonsecure facility, or program upon the written promise, signed by the person, to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. The written promise, accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as soon as possible, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is taken into custody. If the person fails to produce the child as agreed, or upon notice from the court, a summons or a warrant may be issued for the apprehension of the person or of the child.
(B) When a child is not released pursuant to subsection (A), the officer taking the child into custody shall immediately notify the authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice, who shall respond within one hour by telephone or to the location where the child is being detained. Upon responding, the authorized representative of the department shall review the facts in the officer's report or petition and any other relevant facts and advise the officer if, in his opinion, there is a need for detention of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the authorized representatives of the department and must state:
(1) the facts of the offense;
(2) the reason why the child was not released to the parent. Unless the child is to be detained, the child must be released by the officer to the custody of his parents or other responsible adult upon their written promise to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. However, if the offense for which the child was taken into custody is a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, the child may be released only by the officer who took the child into custody. If the officer does not consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to any judge of the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the family court judge. The family court judge may establish conditions for such release.
(C) When a child is charged by a law enforcement officer for an offense which would be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, not including a traffic or wildlife violation over which courts other than the family court have concurrent jurisdiction as provided in Section 63-3-520, the law enforcement officer also shall notify the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled, if any, of the nature of the offense. This information may be used by the principal for monitoring and supervisory purposes but otherwise must be kept confidential by the principal in the same manner required by Section 63-19-2220(E).
(D) Juveniles may be held in nonsecure custody within the law enforcement center for only the time necessary for purposes of identification, investigation, detention, intake screening, awaiting release to parents or other responsible adult, or awaiting transfer to a juvenile detention facility or to the court for a detention hearing.
SECTION 63-19-820. Out-of-home placement.
(A) When the officer who took the child into custody determines that placement of a juvenile outside the home is necessary, the authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice shall make a diligent effort to place the child in an approved home, program, or facility, other than a secure juvenile detention facility, when these alternatives are appropriate and available.
(B) A child is eligible for detention in a secure juvenile detention facility only if the child:
(1) is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) is charged with a crime which, if committed by an adult, would be a felony or a misdemeanor other than a violent crime, and the child:
(a) is already detained or on probation or conditional release or is awaiting adjudication in connection with another delinquency proceeding;
(b) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failures to appear at court proceedings;
(c) has a demonstrable recent record of violent conduct resulting in physical injury to others; or
(d) has a demonstrable recent record of adjudications for other felonies or misdemeanors; and
(i) there is reason to believe the child is a flight risk or poses a threat of serious harm to others; or
(ii) the instant offense involved the use of a firearm;
(3) is a fugitive from another jurisdiction;
(4) requests protection in writing under circumstances that present an immediate threat of serious physical injury;
(5) had in his possession a deadly weapon;
(6) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failure to comply with prior placement orders including, but not limited to, a house arrest order;
(7) has no suitable alternative placement and it is determined that detention is in the child's best interest or is necessary to protect the child or public, or both; or
(8) is charged with an assault and battery or an assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity.
A child who meets the criteria provided in this subsection is eligible for detention. Detention is not mandatory for a child meeting the criteria if that child can be supervised adequately at home or in a less secure setting or program. If the officer does not consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the family court judge who may establish conditions for the release.
(C) No child may be placed in secure confinement or ordered detained by the court in secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention for adults for more than six hours. However, the prohibition against the secure confinement of juveniles in adult jails does not apply to juveniles who have been waived to the court of general sessions for the purpose of standing trial as an adult. Juveniles placed in secure confinement in an adult jail during this six-hour period must be confined in an area of the jail which is separated by sight and sound from adults similarly confined.
(D) Temporary holdover facilities may hold juveniles during the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays.
(E) A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained in an adult detention facility. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of the law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained more than twenty-four hours in a juvenile detention facility, unless an order previously has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the secure detention of that child in a juvenile detention facility. If a juvenile is ordered detained for violating a valid court order, the juvenile may be held in secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility for not more than seventy-two hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this section precludes a law enforcement officer from taking a status offender into custody.
(F) Children ten years of age and younger must not be incarcerated in a jail or detention facility for any reason. Children eleven or twelve years of age who are taken into custody for a violation of law which would be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult or who violates conditions of probation for such an offense must be incarcerated in a jail or detention facility only by order of the family court.
(G) For purposes of this section, "adult jail" or other place of detention for adults includes a state, county, or municipal police station, law enforcement lockup, or holding cell. "Secure confinement" means an area having bars or other restraints designed to hold one person or a group of persons at a law enforcement location for any period of time and for any reason. Secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention does not include a room or a multipurpose area within the law enforcement center which is not secured by locks or other security devices. Rooms or areas of this type include lobbies, offices, and interrogation rooms. Juveniles held in these areas are considered to be in nonsecure custody as long as the room or area is not designed for or intended for use as a residential area, the juvenile is not handcuffed to a stationary object while in the room or area, and the juvenile is under continuous visual supervision by facility staff while in this room or area which is located within the law enforcement center. Secure confinement also does not include a room or area used by law enforcement for processing "booking" purposes, irrespective of whether it is determined to be secure or nonsecure, as long as the juvenile's confinement in the area is limited to the time necessary to fingerprint, photograph, or otherwise "book" the juvenile in accordance with state law.
(A) If the officer who took the child into custody has not released the child to the custody the child's parents or other responsible adult, the court shall hold a detention hearing within forty-eight hours from the time the child was taken into custody, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. At this hearing, the authorized representative of the department shall submit to the court a report stating the facts surrounding the case and a recommendation as to the child's continued detention pending the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings. The court shall appoint counsel for the child if none is retained. No child may proceed without counsel in this hearing, unless the child waives the right to counsel and then only after consulting at least once with an attorney. At the conclusion of this hearing, the court shall determine whether probable cause exists to justify the detention of the child and the appropriateness of, and need for, the child's continued detention. If continued detention of a juvenile is considered appropriate by the court and if a juvenile detention facility exists in that county which meets state and federal requirements for the secure detention of juveniles or if that facility exists in another county with which the committing county has a contract for the secure detention of its juveniles and if commitment of a juvenile by the court to that facility does not cause the facility to exceed its design and operational capacity, the family court shall order the detention of the juvenile in that facility. A juvenile must not be detained in secure confinement in excess of ninety days except in exceptional circumstances as determined by the court. A detained juvenile is entitled to further and periodic review:
(1) within ten days following the juvenile's initial detention hearing;
(2) within thirty days following the ten-day hearing; and
(3) at any other time for good cause shown upon motion of the child, the State, or the department.
If the child does not qualify for detention or otherwise require continued detention under the terms of Section 63-19-820(A) or (B), the child must be released to a parent, guardian, or other responsible person.
(B) A juvenile ordered detained in a facility must be screened within twenty-four hours by a social worker or if considered appropriate by a psychologist in order to determine whether the juvenile is emotionally disturbed, mentally ill, or otherwise in need of services. The services must be provided immediately.
SECTION 63-19-840. Detention homes; temporary care and custody.
Provisions must be made for a detention home or homes for the temporary detention of children to be conducted by the court or, subject to the approval and supervision of the court, by an appropriate public agency; or the court may arrange for the use of private homes for detention, subject to the supervision of the court or other agency, or may arrange with an institution or agency to receive for temporary care and custody children within the jurisdiction of the court.
SECTION 63-19-850. Transportation to detention facility.
No child may be transported to a juvenile detention facility in a police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. When a child is to be transported to or from a juvenile detention facility following a detention screening review conducted by the Department of Juvenile Justice or after a detention order has been issued by the court, the local law enforcement agency which originally took the child into custody shall transport this child to or from the juvenile detention facility. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department.
ARTICLE 9.
INTAKE AND INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS
SECTION 63-19-1010. Intake and probation.
(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide intake and probation services for juveniles brought before the family courts of this State and for persons committed or referred to the department in cooperation with all local officials or agencies concerned. The role and function of intake is to independently assess the circumstances and needs of children referred for possible prosecution in the family court. Recommendations by the department as to intake must be reviewed by the office of the solicitor in the circuit concerned, and the final determination as to whether or not the juvenile is to be prosecuted in the family court must be made by the solicitor or by the solicitor's authorized assistant. Statements of the juvenile contained in the department's files must not be furnished to the solicitor's office as part of the intake review procedure, and the solicitor's office must not be privy to these statements in connection with its intake review.
(B) Where circumstances do not warrant prosecution in the discretion of the solicitor, the intake counselor shall offer referral assistance for services as appropriate for the child and family. In the event that a juvenile is adjudicated to be delinquent or found by the family court to be in violation of the terms of probation, the intake counselor shall offer appropriate dispositional recommendations to the family court for its consideration and determination of the disposition of the case.
SECTION 63-19-1020. Instituting proceedings.
The parent or custodian of a child, an official of a child welfare board, a public official charged by law with the care of the poor, the recognized agents of an agency, association, society, or institution, a person having knowledge or information of a nature which convinces the person that a child is delinquent or that a child, by reason of his own acts in accordance with this chapter, is subject to the jurisdiction of the court, any person who has suffered injury through the delinquency of a child, or an officer having an arrested child in charge, may institute a proceeding respecting the child.
SECTION 63-19-1030. Prehearing inquiry.
(A) Whenever a person informs the court that a child is within the purview of this chapter, the court shall make preliminary inquiry to determine whether the interest of the public or of the child requires that further action be taken. Thereupon, the court may make an informal adjustment as is practicable without a petition or may authorize a petition to be filed by any person.
(B) The petition and all subsequent court documents must be entitled:
"In the Family Court of ____ County.
In the Interest of ___, a child under seventeen years of age."
The petition must be verified and may be upon information and belief. It shall set forth plainly:
(1) the facts which bring the child within the purview of this chapter;
(2) the name, age, and residence of the child;
(3) the names and residences of the child's parents;
(4) the name and residence of a legal guardian, if there is one, of the person or persons having custody of or control of the child, or of the nearest known relative if no parent or guardian can be found. If any of these facts are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall state that.
(C) Before the hearing of a case of a child, the judge shall cause an investigation of all the facts pertaining to the issue to be made. The investigation shall consist of an examination of the parentage and surroundings of the child, the child's age, habits and history, and also shall include inquiry into the home conditions, habits and character of the child's parents or guardian, if that is necessary in the discretion of the court. In these cases the court, if advisable, shall cause the child to be examined as to the child's mentality by a competent and experienced psychologist or psychiatrist who shall make a report of the findings. Before the hearing in the case of a child, if the child attends school, a report on the child must be obtained from the school which the child attends. The school officials shall furnish the report upon the request of the court or its probation counselor. The court, when it is considered necessary, shall cause a complete physical examination to be made of the child by a competent physician.
(D) In a case where the delinquency proceedings may result in commitment to an institution in which the child's freedom is curtailed, the child or the child's parents or guardian must be given written notice with particularity of the specific charge or factual allegations to be considered at the hearing. The notice must be given as soon as practicable and sufficiently in advance to permit preparation. The child or the child's parent or guardian also must be advised in the notice of their right to be represented by counsel and that, if they are unable to employ counsel, counsel will be appointed to represent them. In the hearing, the parent and child also must be expressly informed of their right to counsel and must be specifically required to consider whether they do or do not waive the right of counsel.
SECTION 63-19-1040. Indigent defense.
Notwithstanding Title 17, Chapter 3, Defense of Indigents, in determining indigence for the purpose of appointing legal counsel for a child in a delinquency proceeding, the court shall determine the financial ability of the child's parents to retain counsel for the child. If the court determines that the parents are able to retain counsel for the child but the parents refuse to retain counsel and the court appoints counsel, the court may order the parents to reimburse the Indigent Defense Fund or pay the court-appointed attorney in an amount to be determined by the court.
ARTICLE 11.
TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION
SECTION 63-19-1210. Transfer of jurisdiction.
In accordance with the jurisdiction granted to the family court pursuant to Sections 63-3-510, 63-3-520, and 63-3-530, jurisdiction over a case involving a child must be transferred or retained as follows:
(1) If, during the pendency of a criminal or quasi-criminal charge against a child in a circuit court of this State, it is ascertained that the child was under the age of seventeen years at the time of committing the alleged offense, it is the duty of the circuit court immediately to transfer the case, together with all the papers, documents, and testimony connected with it, to the family court of competent jurisdiction, except in those cases where the Constitution gives to the circuit court exclusive jurisdiction or in those cases where jurisdiction has properly been transferred to the circuit court by the family court under the provisions of this section. The court making the transfer shall order the child to be taken immediately to the place of detention designated by the court or to that court itself, or shall release the child to the custody of some suitable person to be brought before the court at a time designated. The court then shall proceed as provided in this chapter. The provisions of this section are applicable to all existing offenses and to offenses created in the future unless the General Assembly specifically directs otherwise.
(2) Whenever a child is brought before a magistrate or city recorder and, in the opinion of the magistrate or city recorder, the child should be brought to the family court of competent jurisdiction under the provisions of this section, the magistrate or city recorder shall transfer the case to the family court and direct that the child involved be taken there.
(3) When an action is brought in a circuit court which, in the opinion of the judge, falls within the jurisdiction of the family court, he may transfer the action upon his own motion or the motion of any party.
(4) If a child sixteen years of age or older is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor, a Class E or F felony as defined in Section 16-1-20, or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or less, and if the court, after full investigation, considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction, the court, in its discretion, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult.
(5) If a child fourteen or fifteen years of age is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more, the court, after full investigation and hearing, may determine it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction. The court, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by an adult.
(6) Within thirty days after the filing of a petition in the family court alleging the child has committed the offense of murder or criminal sexual conduct, the person executing the petition may request in writing that the case be transferred to the court of general sessions with a view to proceeding against the child as a criminal rather than as a child coming within the purview of this chapter. The judge of the family court is authorized to determine this request. If the request is denied, the petitioner may appeal within five days to the circuit court. Upon the hearing of the appeal, the judge of the circuit court is vested with the discretion of exercising and asserting the jurisdiction of the court of general sessions or of relinquishing jurisdiction to the family court. If the circuit judge elects to exercise the jurisdiction of the general sessions court for trial of the case, he shall issue an order to that effect, and then the family court has no further jurisdiction in the matter.
(7) Once the family court relinquishes its jurisdiction over the child and the child is bound over to be treated as an adult, Section 63-19-2020 dealing with the confidentiality of identity and fingerprints does not apply.
(8) When jurisdiction is relinquished by the family court in favor of another court, the court shall have full authority and power to grant bail, hold a preliminary hearing and any other powers as now provided by law for magistrates in such cases.
(9) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged with a violation of Section 16-23-430(1), Section 16-23-20, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, or Section 44-53-445, the court, after full investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper cri
This chapter may be cited as the "Juvenile Justice Code".
SECTION 63-19-20. Definitions.
When used in this chapter and unless otherwise defined or the specific context indicates otherwise:
(1) "Child" or "juvenile" means a person less than seventeen years of age. "Child" or "juvenile" does not mean a person sixteen years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more. However, a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An additional or accompanying charge associated with the charges contained in this item must be heard by the court with jurisdiction over the offenses contained in this item.
(2) "Court" means the family court.
(3) "Criminal justice purpose" means:
(a) the performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, capture from escape or elopement, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, supervision, or rehabilitation of accused or adjudicated persons or criminal offenders; or
(b) the collection, storage, and dissemination of child offense history records.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(5) "Guardian" means a person who legally has the care and management of a child.
(6) "Judge" means the judge of the family court.
(7) "Parent" means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody.
(8) "Parole board" means the Board of Juvenile Parole under the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(9) "Status offense" means an offense which would not be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult including, but not limited to, incorrigibility or beyond the control of parents, truancy, running away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine, or gaining admission to a theater by false identification.
SECTION 63-19-30. Other state agencies; preexisting obligations.
(A) It is the duty of other state agencies providing financial assistance and other children's services related to the purposes of this chapter to cooperate with the department in carrying out its responsibilities to children and their families.
(B) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to relieve a state or local unit of government of any preexisting legal obligation to provide payments, services, or facilities.
ARTICLE 3.
DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
SECTION 63-19-310. Department created.
There is created the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice.
SECTION 63-19-320. Director; removal of director; bond.
(A) The Governor shall appoint a director of the department with the advice and consent of the Senate who shall possess qualifications necessary to manage the affairs of the department. If a vacancy occurs in the office when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a director to fill the vacancy until the Senate acts upon the appointment.
(B) The director is subject to removal by the Governor as provided for in Section 1-3-240.
(C) The director must execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the director's office and the accurate accounting for all monies and property coming into the director's hands. The bond must be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this State, and the premium on the bond must be paid by the State out of the department's appropriations.
SECTION 63-19-330. Policy-setting responsibilities of director; executive responsibilities of director.
(A) The director is the chief executive officer of the department. The director may appoint and employ officers and employees necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of the department and shall ensure that the department's organizational structure differentiates between separate divisions, the community-based services and institutional services of the department.
(B) The director is vested with the exclusive responsibility for policy of the department to carry out the responsibilities, duties, and privileges provided for in this chapter.
SECTION 63-19-340. Annual report.
An annual report of the department must be prepared by the director which shall include an account of all funds received and expended, persons served by the department including a report of the state and condition of the correctional institutions, and community programs operated by the department.
SECTION 63-19-350. Community services.
The department shall provide community services as the director shall assign to it which shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) family court intake screening and referral counseling;
(2) serving, advising, and counseling children placed on probation by the family court;
(3) serving, advising, and counseling children in institutions as may be necessary for the placement of the children in a proper environment after release and for the placement of children in suitable jobs where necessary and proper;
(4) supervising and guiding children released or conditionally released from institutions;
(5) counseling children released or conditionally released from its commitment facilities;
(6) coordinating the activities of supporting community agencies which aid in the social adjustment of children released from its commitment facilities;
(7) providing or arranging for necessary services leading to the rehabilitation of delinquents either within the department or through cooperative arrangements with other appropriate agencies;
(8) providing counseling and supervision for a child under twelve years of age who has been adjudicated delinquent or convicted of a crime or who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, when other suitable personnel is not available and upon request of the court;
(9) providing detention screening services when a child is taken into custody for violation of a law or ordinance as provided for in this chapter;
(10) providing prevention services including short- and long-range planning, establishing statewide priorities and standards, developing public awareness programs, and providing technical assistance to local government in the development of prevention programs;
(11) developing secure and nonsecure alternatives to jail;
(12) providing a variety of community-based programs to augment regular probation services including, but not limited to, volunteer services, restitution, community-work programs, family counseling, and contract probation with specific sanctions for various types of behavior;
(13) providing a variety of community-based programs to serve as alternatives to institutions including, but not limited to, halfway houses, work release, intensive supervision services, restitution, forestry and wilderness camps, marine science programs, and other residential and nonresidential programs;
(14) providing programs to divert juveniles, where proper and appropriate, from the juvenile justice system;
(15) juveniles must be assigned to intensive probation or aftercare services by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Juveniles assigned to these intensive supervision services must be those juveniles who require enhanced supervision, monitoring and contacts, or a higher level of treatment services. Intensive supervision must be provided by the department in all regions of the State. In conjunction with establishing these intensive supervision services, the department shall develop an array of graduated sanctions and impose these sanctions on offenders being provided intensive supervision services for technical rule violations and minor infractions, whenever feasible to do so, in lieu of re-incarceration of the juvenile in a secure correctional facility. The array of graduated sanctions developed by the department may include, as a condition of probation or parole, placement of a juvenile in a staff or environmentally secure residential program. Case workers selected to monitor, supervise, and serve juveniles assigned to intensive supervision services shall have caseloads of no more than twenty juveniles.
SECTION 63-19-360. Institutional services.
The department shall provide institutional services which include, but are not limited to:
(1) providing correctional institutional services for juveniles committed under this chapter;
(2) managing, operating, and supervising Birchwood, Willow Lane, John G. Richards, and other facilities as the director may establish;
(3) establishing and maintaining residential and nonresidential reception and evaluation centers at which all children committed to its custody by a circuit or family court must be received, examined, and evaluated before assignment to one of its institutions or before other disposition or recommendation is made concerning the child. The commitment of a child to a reception and evaluation center or youth correctional institution of the department may be made only after the child has been adjudicated delinquent. The evaluation conducted by the reception and evaluation centers includes, but is not limited to:
(a) a complete social, physical, psychological, and mental examination;
(b) an investigation and consideration of family and community environment and other facts in the background of the person concerned that might relate to the person's delinquency;
(c) a determination of the correctional or custodial care that would be most appropriate. The department shall create facilities and employ personnel as will enable the centers to conduct the necessary physical, mental, and psychological examinations required by this section;
(4) providing juvenile detention services for juveniles charged with having committed a criminal offense who are found, after a detention screening or detention hearing, to require detention or placement outside the home pending an adjudication of delinquency or dispositional hearing. Detention services provided by the department for the benefit of the counties and municipalities of this State must include secure juvenile detention centers. The size and capacity of the juvenile detention facilities needed must be determined by the department after its consideration and review of minimum standards for local detention facilities in South Carolina for the design, construction, and operation of juvenile detention centers. These recognized state standards must be met or exceeded by the department in determining the size and capacity of the juvenile detention centers and in planning for the construction and operation of the facilities. The department shall determine and announce the anticipated maximum operational capacity of each facility and shall contact each county and municipal governmental body in this State for the purpose of determining which counties or municipalities anticipate utilizing these facilities upon each facility becoming operational. The department shall inform each county and municipal governmental body of the existing state and federal laws regarding the confinement of juveniles charged with committing criminal offenses, of each county's and municipality's ability to develop its own facility or to contract with other counties or municipalities for the development of a regional facility, and of the availability of the department's facilities. This notice must be provided to each county and municipality for the purpose of determining which county governmental bodies desire to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the department for the detention of juveniles from their particular community who are charged with committing a criminal offense for which pretrial detention is both authorized and appropriate. No later than September 1, 1993, the department shall report to the Budget and Control Board on the strategy of each county to comply with requirements of counties under this chapter. The department must include with its report a plan for the construction and the operation of those facilities which are projected to be necessary for the preadjudicatory detention of juveniles in this State. No later than September first of each subsequent year, the department shall report to the board on the status of all preadjudicatory juvenile detention facilities known to be operational or planned, regardless of ownership or management. Beginning with the report to the board which is due no later than September 1, 1996, the department must include an annual status report on the numbers of juveniles in pretrial detention who are awaiting disposition in general sessions court, whether they have been waived by the family court or whether they qualify due to the offense with which they are charged. The board then will coordinate with all responsible and affected agencies and entities to ensure that adequate funding is identified to prevent the detention or incarceration of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by, or who are under the jurisdiction of, the family court in adult jails anywhere within the State of South Carolina and to prevent the detention of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by general sessions court in facilities which do not provide actual sight and sound separation from adults who are in detention or custody. Upon completion of each facility and upon the determination by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections that each facility is staffed in accordance with relevant standards and can be operated in accordance with these standards, the division shall determine and announce the rated capacity of each facility. A facility operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice for the preadjudicatory detention of juveniles must be maintained and continued in operation for that purpose until approved for conversion or closure by the Budget and Control Board. However, a county or municipality which decides to maintain its own approved facilities or which has entered into a regional intergovernmental agreement, which has provided secure facilities for preadjudicatory juveniles, and which meets the standards set forth above, may continue to operate these facilities. County and regionally operated facilities are subject to inspection by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections for compliance with the standards set forth above and those created pursuant to Section 24-9-20. The division has the same enforcement authority over county, municipal, and regionally operated secure juvenile detention facilities as that which is provided in Section 24-9-30. In Department of Juvenile Justice operated facilities, the department shall determine an amount of per diem for each child detained in a center, which must be paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred. The per diem paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must be based on the average operating cost among all preadjudicatory state facilities. The Department of Juvenile Justice must assume one-third of the per diem cost and the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must assume two-thirds of the cost. Per diem funds received by the department must be placed in a separate account by the department for operation of all preadjudicatory state facilities. Transportation of the juvenile to and from a facility is the responsibility of the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the offense was committed. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department;
(5) each secure facility which detains preadjudicatory youth longer than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, regardless of ownership or management, must have sufficient personnel to provide uninterrupted supervision and to provide administrative, program, and support requirements. Each of these facilities must have a minimum of two juvenile custodial officers on duty each shift, fully dressed, awake, and alert to operate the facility. At least one person shall directly supervise the juveniles at all times. At least one female juvenile custodial officer must be present and available to the female detention population at all times. Staff on duty must be sufficient to provide for a juvenile-staff ratio adequate for custody, control, and supervision, and to provide full coverage of all designated security posts, excluding administrative, program, and other support staff. Staff shall prepare further a facility schedule of preplanned, structured, and productive activities. Schedules must be developed which include designated times for sleeping, dining, education, counseling, recreation, visitation, and personal time. Daily schedules should minimize idleness and promote constructive use of the juvenile's day. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide educational programs and services to all preadjudicatory juveniles in its custody. County, municipal, and regionally operated facilities shall provide these services to all preadjudicatory juveniles under the jurisdiction of the family court and all pretrial juveniles awaiting general sessions court who are detained locally for more than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, by contracting with the Department of Juvenile Justice or by arranging the services through the local school district in which the facility is located. It shall be the responsibility of the school district where a local detention center which has been approved to detain juveniles is located to provide adequate teaching staff and to ensure compliance with the educational requirements of this State. Students housed in approved local detention centers are to be included in the average daily membership count of students for that district and reimbursement by the Department of Education shall be made accordingly. Services which are arranged locally must be approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice as meeting all criteria developed under the authority of Section 63-19-380. Special needs students who are detained locally shall have all services required by federal and state laws and regulations;
(6) a county, municipality, or regional subdivision may provide temporary holdover facilities for juveniles only if the facilities comply with this section and with all standards created under the provisions of Section 24-9-20, which must be monitored and enforced by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the South Carolina Department of Corrections pursuant to its authority under Sections 24-9-20 and 24-9-30. The standards shall provide for the regulation of temporary holdover facilities with regard to adequate square footage, juvenile accommodations, access to bathroom facilities, lighting, ventilation, distinctions between secure and nonsecure temporary holdover facilities, staffing qualifications, and additional requirements as may be specified. These facilities may hold juveniles during the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays. Preadjudicatory juveniles who are subsequently transferred to a juvenile detention center may be housed in a temporary holdover facility when returned to the community for a court appearance. However, the temporary housing shall not exceed forty-eight hours.
SECTION 63-19-370. Interdepartmental agreements; retention of grant revenues.
The department may enter into agreements with the governing bodies of other state departments or institutions for the purpose of effecting a more efficient and economical management of any institution or program under its supervision. The department is authorized to make contracts and expend public funds as required to carry out the functions prescribed for it in this chapter within the limits of appropriated funds.
All revenues generated from United States Department of Agriculture grants, the Education Finance Act, the Detention Center, and Medicaid federal funding may be retained, carried forward, and expended by the Department of Juvenile Justice, in accordance with applicable regulations, for the costs associated with related programs.
SECTION 63-19-380. Special school district designation.
(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice is designated as a special school district which shall operate a continuous progress education program on a twelve-month basis. There is created within the department the Education Division which shall provide academic and vocational training at the Reception and Evaluation Center, Birchwood High School, Willow Lane Junior High School, and all other institutions operating under the department. Academic and vocational training provided pursuant to this section shall meet all educational standards prescribed by law and by the Department of Education for public schools of the State including, but not limited to, compliance with and operation under the provisions of the Education Finance Act, the Defined Minimum Program, teacher and superintendent certification laws and regulations, and other laws or regulations governing the education of children. The department may prescribe additional requirements as it may from time to time deem necessary.
(B) The State Superintendent of Education shall administer the standards related to the school programs. Reports from the Department of Education evaluating the educational program at all juvenile corrections institutions and indicating whether or not the program meets the standards as prescribed, must be made directly to the director. Department of Education supervisory personnel as considered appropriate must be utilized for evaluating the programs and for reporting to the director.
(C) Schools operated by the department shall receive funds from the Department of Education under the same provisions as other public schools in the State. Funds previously received by the Department of Juvenile Justice from the South Carolina Department of Education for programs now being consolidated under the Education Finance Act shall be disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice by the Department of Education from the appropriation provided in the annual general appropriations act and entitled "Education Finance Act". The amount to be disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice must be sufficient to produce funds equal to the product of the number of students served by the Department of Juvenile Justice weighted according to the criteria established by the South Carolina Department of Education under the provisions of the Education Finance Act and the state portion of the appropriated value statewide of the base student cost, adjusted for operation of the department's twelve-month continuous progress education program using a base of two hundred thirty-five instructional days instead of one hundred ninety instructional days. The amount includes, but is not limited to, all funding for teacher salary supplements, instructional purposes, or any other funds disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice school district's twelve-month continuous progress educational program. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall comply with the provisions of subsection (4) of Section 59-20-50 and subsections (1), (2), (3)(a), (4)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 59-20-60. The South Carolina Department of Education annually shall determine that these provisions are being met and include its findings in the report mandated in subsection (5)(e) of Section 59-20-60. If the accreditation standards set forth in the Defined Minimum Program for the Department of Juvenile Justice as approved by the State Board of Education are not met, funds by this section shall be reduced the following fiscal year according to the provisions set forth in the Education Finance Act.
(D) The director shall operate as the trustee for schools under the department's jurisdiction for all administrative purposes, including the receipt and expenditure of funds appropriated or granted to the schools for any purpose. The director shall employ a full-time superintendent of schools for the special school district. The superintendent shall hold a valid superintendent's certificate from the Department of Education and shall serve as the head of the Education Division.
(E) In lieu of classification by the Division of State Personnel, the employment status of the superintendent of schools for the department and all instructional personnel operating under the Education Division of the department must be governed by the laws of the State regarding employment of instructional personnel and regulations of the Department of Education.
SECTION 63-19-390. Peace officers and constables.
Juvenile correctional employees of the department, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of a juvenile offender within the jurisdiction of the department, and other employees of the department authorized by the director to perform similar functions as part of their official duties, have the status of peace officers anywhere in this State in a matter relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of the juvenile. Employees of the department's Division of Public Safety, on proper training and certification from the Criminal Justice Academy and after having taken the oath of office prescribed by law and the Constitution of this State, must continue to be commissioned as state constables pursuant to Section 23-1-60.
SECTION 63-19-400. Gifts.
The department may accept gifts, donations, or contributions and may receive devises and bequests. These acquisitions must be used for the purposes specified by the donors.
SECTION 63-19-410. Fees.
(A) The department may charge and collect fees for evaluation and treatment services provided for a person referred or temporarily committed to its facilities either at the evaluation center in Columbia or any center or other facility of the department. Fees may be charged to a parent or guardian or to the public or private agency responsible for the temporary commitment or referral. In cases where insurance coverage is available, fees of treatment or evaluation may be charged to the insurer. No fees may be charged to a person who is finally committed to a custodial facility of the department, and no person may be denied treatment or evaluation services because of inability to pay for the services.
(B) The director shall approve and periodically review, a schedule of maximum charges for the services of the department, including residential care. The department shall adopt procedures to determine ability to pay and may authorize its designees to reduce or waive charges based upon their findings. No charge for services rendered by the department may exceed the actual cost of the services at the facility rendering the services.
(C) The department shall establish a hearing and review procedure so that parents or legal guardians of a person under the department's jurisdiction may appeal charges made for services or may present to the departmental officials information or evidence which, in their opinion, needs to be considered in establishing charges.
(D) The department may utilize all legal procedures to collect lawful claims. All funds collected pursuant to this section must be deposited with the State Treasurer for use of the department in defraying the cost of services for which the fees may be collected.
SECTION 63-19-420. Natural resource sales.
The director is authorized to sell mature trees, other timber, and farm products and commodities from lands owned by the department. Before the sale of timber, the director shall consult with the State Forester to determine the economic feasibility of and obtain approval for the sales. Funds derived from the sales must be credited to the account of the department to be used for capital improvements subject to the approval of the State Budget and Control Board.
SECTION 63-19-430. Bumper sticker sales.
The department may print or purchase for resale bumper stickers and other informational material prepared to publicize and educate the public concerning activities of the department. All these materials must have "South Carolina" inscribed on the material. After the costs of the materials have been recovered, all proceeds from the sale of the materials must be deposited in the student welfare fund of the department and used for the purposes prescribed for that fund.
SECTION 63-19-440. Goldsmith Center.
The department's reception and evaluation center located in Columbia is designated "The William J. Goldsmith Reception and Evaluation Center".
SECTION 63-19-450. Youth Industries Program.
(A) The director of the Department of Juvenile Justice may establish a Youth Industries Program, consistent with all applicable state and federal child labor laws, employing juveniles committed to the department. This program may include:
(1) providing services to private industries including, but not limited to:
(a) packing, assembling, handling, reconditioning or restoring products, goods, wares, or merchandise;
(b) contracting with private industry for the manufacturing and processing of goods, wares, or merchandise;
(c) contracting with other profit or nonprofit businesses or commercial enterprises to provide the services enumerated in subitems (a) and (b) within the department's Sheltered Workshop Program;
(2) manufacturing or processing industry or service which utilizes juveniles in the manufacture or production of goods, wares, merchandise, articles, or products or in providing services which may be needed for the construction, operation, maintenance, or use of any office, department, institution, or agency supported in whole or in part by this State or a political subdivision of this State; or
(3) otherwise engaging juveniles in paid work opportunities within the department, consistent with the general welfare of the department's mission of rehabilitation and treatment.
(B) To implement the Youth Industries Program the director may enter into contracts in the manner provided by law to implement its Youth Industries Program. A contract may include rental or lease agreements for state land or buildings or portions of state buildings on the grounds of an institution or a facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice and if the contract contains such rental or lease agreements, it must provide the business entity with reasonable access to and egress from these grounds, buildings, and facilities.
(C) In conducting the Youth Industries Program, the department may purchase equipment, raw materials, and supplies in the manner provided by law and may engage necessary supervisory personnel.
(D) The prices of articles or products manufactured or produced or services rendered under the Youth Industries Program must be uniform and nondiscriminating and must be as near to the usual market price for these articles, products, or services as is practicable.
(E) All monies collected by the department from the sale or disposition of articles and products manufactured or produced or from services rendered by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program must be deposited into a special account designated "Youth Industries Account". The monies collected and deposited into this account must be used solely for the purchasing of manufacturing supplies, equipment, machinery, and buildings for the Youth Industries Program to pay the wages of the juveniles employed in the program and the salaries of the necessary personnel in the program, and to defray the necessary expenses of the program. The director must deduct from wages paid to a juvenile:
(1) state, federal, and local taxes;
(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law, court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and
(3) contributions to any fund established by law to compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less than five percent of gross wages.
These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross wages.
SECTION 63-19-460. Voluntary participation in program.
(A) A juvenile may participate in the Youth Industries Program established pursuant to Section 63-19-450 only on a voluntary basis and only after the juvenile has been informed of the conditions of the employment.
(B) A juvenile participating in the Youth Industries Program:
(1) providing services to private industry must be compensated commensurate with the prevailing wage for work of a similar nature in the private sector;
(2) is not considered an employee of the State and is not eligible for unemployment compensation upon termination from the program; however, a juvenile is entitled to all other work benefits, including worker's compensation or its equivalent.
(C) The wages of a juvenile authorized to work in the Youth Industries Program, if paid other than by the department, must be paid directly to the Department of Juvenile Justice and credited to the juvenile's account. If the wages are paid by an entity other than the department, these wages must be paid directly to the department, and the department shall credit the wages to the juvenile's account. The director must deduct from wages paid to a juvenile:
(1) state, federal, and local taxes;
(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law, court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and
(3) contributions to any fund established by law to compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less than five percent of gross wages.
These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross wages.
(D) Juvenile participation in the Youth Industries Program must not result in the displacement of employed workers in the State and must not impair existing contracts.
SECTION 63-19-470. Sale of goods prohibited.
It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale on the open market of this State goods, wares, or merchandise manufactured or produced wholly or in part by juvenile offenders in this or another state. However, this subsection does not apply to:
(1) articles produced by juveniles on parole or probation or in community supervision;
(2) products sold by the Department of Juvenile Justice made by juveniles in its arts and crafts programs;
(3) articles or products sold to nonprofit corporations incorporated under Article 1, Chapter 31, Title 33 or to organizations operating in this State which have been granted an exemption under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(4) articles or products made in the Youth Industries Program pursuant to Section 63-19-450, through contracts with private sector businesses which provide work and vocational training opportunities for juvenile offenders with physical or mental disabilities or who are mentally retarded if the compensation is paid by the private sector business to the juvenile offender on a piece rate basis;
(5) products sold intrastate or interstate produced by juveniles employed in the Youth Industries Program;
(6) services provided by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program including, but not limited to, restoration and reconditioning activities, the packaging and handling of goods, wares, or merchandise, or the dismantling and reassembling of products.
SECTION 63-19-480. Compensation of victims of crime fund.
There is created a fund within the Department of Juvenile Justice for the compensation of victims of crime. All contributions deducted from a juvenile's wages pursuant to Section 63-19-450(E)(3) or 63-19-460(C)(3) must be deposited into this fund. Of the amount contributed to the fund by each juvenile, ninety-five percent must be paid by the department on behalf of the juvenile as restitution to the victim or victims of the juvenile's adjudicated crime as ordered by the family court or the releasing entity, and five percent must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund. If the amount of restitution ordered has been paid in full or if there is no victim of the juvenile's adjudicated crime, the juvenile's contributions must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund.
SECTION 63-19-490. Authority to promulgate regulations.
The Department of Juvenile Justice in consultation with this state's regulatory agencies may promulgate regulations which are necessary to implement Sections 63-19-450 and 63-19-460.
ARTICLE 5.
BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE
SECTION 63-19-610. Board.
(A) There is created under the Department of Juvenile Justice the Board of Juvenile Parole. The parole board is composed of ten members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of these members, one must be appointed from each of the six congressional districts and four members must be appointed from the State at large. If a vacancy occurs on the parole board when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a member to fill the vacancy and the appointee is a de facto member until the Senate acts upon the appointment.
(B) Members of the parole board shall serve four-year terms and until their successors are appointed and qualify and these terms expire on June thirtieth of the appropriate year.
(C) No member may be reappointed to the parole board until two years after the expiration of a full four-year term.
SECTION 63-19-620. Removal of member.
A member of the parole board is subject to removal by the Governor as provided for in Section 1-3-240(C).
SECTION 63-19-630. Officers; rules and procedures.
The parole board shall elect from among its members a chairman who shall serve a one-year term and who may not succeed himself as chairman. The parole board may elect a vice-chairman and secretary and shall fix the time and place of meetings. Rules and procedures for parole board meetings, as considered advisable, must be adopted by the parole board. Six members of the parole board constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SECTION 63-19-640. Compensation.
The members of the parole board must be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in attending parole board meetings and shall receive as compensation the same per diem as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
ARTICLE 7.
CUSTODY AND DETENTION
SECTION 63-19-810. Taking a child into custody.
(A) When a child found violating a criminal law or ordinance is taken into custody, the taking into custody is not an arrest. The jurisdiction of the court attaches from the time of the taking into custody. When a child is taken into custody, the officer taking the child into custody shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking the child into custody may release the child to a parent, a responsible adult, a responsible agent of a court-approved foster home, group home, nonsecure facility, or program upon the written promise, signed by the person, to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. The written promise, accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as soon as possible, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is taken into custody. If the person fails to produce the child as agreed, or upon notice from the court, a summons or a warrant may be issued for the apprehension of the person or of the child.
(B) When a child is not released pursuant to subsection (A), the officer taking the child into custody shall immediately notify the authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice, who shall respond within one hour by telephone or to the location where the child is being detained. Upon responding, the authorized representative of the department shall review the facts in the officer's report or petition and any other relevant facts and advise the officer if, in his opinion, there is a need for detention of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the authorized representatives of the department and must state:
(1) the facts of the offense;
(2) the reason why the child was not released to the parent. Unless the child is to be detained, the child must be released by the officer to the custody of his parents or other responsible adult upon their written promise to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. However, if the offense for which the child was taken into custody is a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, the child may be released only by the officer who took the child into custody. If the officer does not consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to any judge of the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the family court judge. The family court judge may establish conditions for such release.
(C) When a child is charged by a law enforcement officer for an offense which would be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, not including a traffic or wildlife violation over which courts other than the family court have concurrent jurisdiction as provided in Section 63-3-520, the law enforcement officer also shall notify the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled, if any, of the nature of the offense. This information may be used by the principal for monitoring and supervisory purposes but otherwise must be kept confidential by the principal in the same manner required by Section 63-19-2220(E).
(D) Juveniles may be held in nonsecure custody within the law enforcement center for only the time necessary for purposes of identification, investigation, detention, intake screening, awaiting release to parents or other responsible adult, or awaiting transfer to a juvenile detention facility or to the court for a detention hearing.
SECTION 63-19-820. Out-of-home placement.
(A) When the officer who took the child into custody determines that placement of a juvenile outside the home is necessary, the authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice shall make a diligent effort to place the child in an approved home, program, or facility, other than a secure juvenile detention facility, when these alternatives are appropriate and available.
(B) A child is eligible for detention in a secure juvenile detention facility only if the child:
(1) is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) is charged with a crime which, if committed by an adult, would be a felony or a misdemeanor other than a violent crime, and the child:
(a) is already detained or on probation or conditional release or is awaiting adjudication in connection with another delinquency proceeding;
(b) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failures to appear at court proceedings;
(c) has a demonstrable recent record of violent conduct resulting in physical injury to others; or
(d) has a demonstrable recent record of adjudications for other felonies or misdemeanors; and
(i) there is reason to believe the child is a flight risk or poses a threat of serious harm to others; or
(ii) the instant offense involved the use of a firearm;
(3) is a fugitive from another jurisdiction;
(4) requests protection in writing under circumstances that present an immediate threat of serious physical injury;
(5) had in his possession a deadly weapon;
(6) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failure to comply with prior placement orders including, but not limited to, a house arrest order;
(7) has no suitable alternative placement and it is determined that detention is in the child's best interest or is necessary to protect the child or public, or both; or
(8) is charged with an assault and battery or an assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity.
A child who meets the criteria provided in this subsection is eligible for detention. Detention is not mandatory for a child meeting the criteria if that child can be supervised adequately at home or in a less secure setting or program. If the officer does not consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the family court judge who may establish conditions for the release.
(C) No child may be placed in secure confinement or ordered detained by the court in secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention for adults for more than six hours. However, the prohibition against the secure confinement of juveniles in adult jails does not apply to juveniles who have been waived to the court of general sessions for the purpose of standing trial as an adult. Juveniles placed in secure confinement in an adult jail during this six-hour period must be confined in an area of the jail which is separated by sight and sound from adults similarly confined.
(D) Temporary holdover facilities may hold juveniles during the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays.
(E) A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained in an adult detention facility. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of the law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained more than twenty-four hours in a juvenile detention facility, unless an order previously has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the secure detention of that child in a juvenile detention facility. If a juvenile is ordered detained for violating a valid court order, the juvenile may be held in secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility for not more than seventy-two hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this section precludes a law enforcement officer from taking a status offender into custody.
(F) Children ten years of age and younger must not be incarcerated in a jail or detention facility for any reason. Children eleven or twelve years of age who are taken into custody for a violation of law which would be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult or who violates conditions of probation for such an offense must be incarcerated in a jail or detention facility only by order of the family court.
(G) For purposes of this section, "adult jail" or other place of detention for adults includes a state, county, or municipal police station, law enforcement lockup, or holding cell. "Secure confinement" means an area having bars or other restraints designed to hold one person or a group of persons at a law enforcement location for any period of time and for any reason. Secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention does not include a room or a multipurpose area within the law enforcement center which is not secured by locks or other security devices. Rooms or areas of this type include lobbies, offices, and interrogation rooms. Juveniles held in these areas are considered to be in nonsecure custody as long as the room or area is not designed for or intended for use as a residential area, the juvenile is not handcuffed to a stationary object while in the room or area, and the juvenile is under continuous visual supervision by facility staff while in this room or area which is located within the law enforcement center. Secure confinement also does not include a room or area used by law enforcement for processing "booking" purposes, irrespective of whether it is determined to be secure or nonsecure, as long as the juvenile's confinement in the area is limited to the time necessary to fingerprint, photograph, or otherwise "book" the juvenile in accordance with state law.
(A) If the officer who took the child into custody has not released the child to the custody the child's parents or other responsible adult, the court shall hold a detention hearing within forty-eight hours from the time the child was taken into custody, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. At this hearing, the authorized representative of the department shall submit to the court a report stating the facts surrounding the case and a recommendation as to the child's continued detention pending the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings. The court shall appoint counsel for the child if none is retained. No child may proceed without counsel in this hearing, unless the child waives the right to counsel and then only after consulting at least once with an attorney. At the conclusion of this hearing, the court shall determine whether probable cause exists to justify the detention of the child and the appropriateness of, and need for, the child's continued detention. If continued detention of a juvenile is considered appropriate by the court and if a juvenile detention facility exists in that county which meets state and federal requirements for the secure detention of juveniles or if that facility exists in another county with which the committing county has a contract for the secure detention of its juveniles and if commitment of a juvenile by the court to that facility does not cause the facility to exceed its design and operational capacity, the family court shall order the detention of the juvenile in that facility. A juvenile must not be detained in secure confinement in excess of ninety days except in exceptional circumstances as determined by the court. A detained juvenile is entitled to further and periodic review:
(1) within ten days following the juvenile's initial detention hearing;
(2) within thirty days following the ten-day hearing; and
(3) at any other time for good cause shown upon motion of the child, the State, or the department.
If the child does not qualify for detention or otherwise require continued detention under the terms of Section 63-19-820(A) or (B), the child must be released to a parent, guardian, or other responsible person.
(B) A juvenile ordered detained in a facility must be screened within twenty-four hours by a social worker or if considered appropriate by a psychologist in order to determine whether the juvenile is emotionally disturbed, mentally ill, or otherwise in need of services. The services must be provided immediately.
SECTION 63-19-840. Detention homes; temporary care and custody.
Provisions must be made for a detention home or homes for the temporary detention of children to be conducted by the court or, subject to the approval and supervision of the court, by an appropriate public agency; or the court may arrange for the use of private homes for detention, subject to the supervision of the court or other agency, or may arrange with an institution or agency to receive for temporary care and custody children within the jurisdiction of the court.
SECTION 63-19-850. Transportation to detention facility.
No child may be transported to a juvenile detention facility in a police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. When a child is to be transported to or from a juvenile detention facility following a detention screening review conducted by the Department of Juvenile Justice or after a detention order has been issued by the court, the local law enforcement agency which originally took the child into custody shall transport this child to or from the juvenile detention facility. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department.
ARTICLE 9.
INTAKE AND INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS
SECTION 63-19-1010. Intake and probation.
(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide intake and probation services for juveniles brought before the family courts of this State and for persons committed or referred to the department in cooperation with all local officials or agencies concerned. The role and function of intake is to independently assess the circumstances and needs of children referred for possible prosecution in the family court. Recommendations by the department as to intake must be reviewed by the office of the solicitor in the circuit concerned, and the final determination as to whether or not the juvenile is to be prosecuted in the family court must be made by the solicitor or by the solicitor's authorized assistant. Statements of the juvenile contained in the department's files must not be furnished to the solicitor's office as part of the intake review procedure, and the solicitor's office must not be privy to these statements in connection with its intake review.
(B) Where circumstances do not warrant prosecution in the discretion of the solicitor, the intake counselor shall offer referral assistance for services as appropriate for the child and family. In the event that a juvenile is adjudicated to be delinquent or found by the family court to be in violation of the terms of probation, the intake counselor shall offer appropriate dispositional recommendations to the family court for its consideration and determination of the disposition of the case.
SECTION 63-19-1020. Instituting proceedings.
The parent or custodian of a child, an official of a child welfare board, a public official charged by law with the care of the poor, the recognized agents of an agency, association, society, or institution, a person having knowledge or information of a nature which convinces the person that a child is delinquent or that a child, by reason of his own acts in accordance with this chapter, is subject to the jurisdiction of the court, any person who has suffered injury through the delinquency of a child, or an officer having an arrested child in charge, may institute a proceeding respecting the child.
SECTION 63-19-1030. Prehearing inquiry.
(A) Whenever a person informs the court that a child is within the purview of this chapter, the court shall make preliminary inquiry to determine whether the interest of the public or of the child requires that further action be taken. Thereupon, the court may make an informal adjustment as is practicable without a petition or may authorize a petition to be filed by any person.
(B) The petition and all subsequent court documents must be entitled:
"In the Family Court of ____ County.
In the Interest of ___, a child under seventeen years of age."
The petition must be verified and may be upon information and belief. It shall set forth plainly:
(1) the facts which bring the child within the purview of this chapter;
(2) the name, age, and residence of the child;
(3) the names and residences of the child's parents;
(4) the name and residence of a legal guardian, if there is one, of the person or persons having custody of or control of the child, or of the nearest known relative if no parent or guardian can be found. If any of these facts are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall state that.
(C) Before the hearing of a case of a child, the judge shall cause an investigation of all the facts pertaining to the issue to be made. The investigation shall consist of an examination of the parentage and surroundings of the child, the child's age, habits and history, and also shall include inquiry into the home conditions, habits and character of the child's parents or guardian, if that is necessary in the discretion of the court. In these cases the court, if advisable, shall cause the child to be examined as to the child's mentality by a competent and experienced psychologist or psychiatrist who shall make a report of the findings. Before the hearing in the case of a child, if the child attends school, a report on the child must be obtained from the school which the child attends. The school officials shall furnish the report upon the request of the court or its probation counselor. The court, when it is considered necessary, shall cause a complete physical examination to be made of the child by a competent physician.
(D) In a case where the delinquency proceedings may result in commitment to an institution in which the child's freedom is curtailed, the child or the child's parents or guardian must be given written notice with particularity of the specific charge or factual allegations to be considered at the hearing. The notice must be given as soon as practicable and sufficiently in advance to permit preparation. The child or the child's parent or guardian also must be advised in the notice of their right to be represented by counsel and that, if they are unable to employ counsel, counsel will be appointed to represent them. In the hearing, the parent and child also must be expressly informed of their right to counsel and must be specifically required to consider whether they do or do not waive the right of counsel.
SECTION 63-19-1040. Indigent defense.
Notwithstanding Title 17, Chapter 3, Defense of Indigents, in determining indigence for the purpose of appointing legal counsel for a child in a delinquency proceeding, the court shall determine the financial ability of the child's parents to retain counsel for the child. If the court determines that the parents are able to retain counsel for the child but the parents refuse to retain counsel and the court appoints counsel, the court may order the parents to reimburse the Indigent Defense Fund or pay the court-appointed attorney in an amount to be determined by the court.
ARTICLE 11.
TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION
SECTION 63-19-1210. Transfer of jurisdiction.
In accordance with the jurisdiction granted to the family court pursuant to Sections 63-3-510, 63-3-520, and 63-3-530, jurisdiction over a case involving a child must be transferred or retained as follows:
(1) If, during the pendency of a criminal or quasi-criminal charge against a child in a circuit court of this State, it is ascertained that the child was under the age of seventeen years at the time of committing the alleged offense, it is the duty of the circuit court immediately to transfer the case, together with all the papers, documents, and testimony connected with it, to the family court of competent jurisdiction, except in those cases where the Constitution gives to the circuit court exclusive jurisdiction or in those cases where jurisdiction has properly been transferred to the circuit court by the family court under the provisions of this section. The court making the transfer shall order the child to be taken immediately to the place of detention designated by the court or to that court itself, or shall release the child to the custody of some suitable person to be brought before the court at a time designated. The court then shall proceed as provided in this chapter. The provisions of this section are applicable to all existing offenses and to offenses created in the future unless the General Assembly specifically directs otherwise.
(2) Whenever a child is brought before a magistrate or city recorder and, in the opinion of the magistrate or city recorder, the child should be brought to the family court of competent jurisdiction under the provisions of this section, the magistrate or city recorder shall transfer the case to the family court and direct that the child involved be taken there.
(3) When an action is brought in a circuit court which, in the opinion of the judge, falls within the jurisdiction of the family court, he may transfer the action upon his own motion or the motion of any party.
(4) If a child sixteen years of age or older is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor, a Class E or F felony as defined in Section 16-1-20, or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or less, and if the court, after full investigation, considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction, the court, in its discretion, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult.
(5) If a child fourteen or fifteen years of age is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more, the court, after full investigation and hearing, may determine it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction. The court, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by an adult.
(6) Within thirty days after the filing of a petition in the family court alleging the child has committed the offense of murder or criminal sexual conduct, the person executing the petition may request in writing that the case be transferred to the court of general sessions with a view to proceeding against the child as a criminal rather than as a child coming within the purview of this chapter. The judge of the family court is authorized to determine this request. If the request is denied, the petitioner may appeal within five days to the circuit court. Upon the hearing of the appeal, the judge of the circuit court is vested with the discretion of exercising and asserting the jurisdiction of the court of general sessions or of relinquishing jurisdiction to the family court. If the circuit judge elects to exercise the jurisdiction of the general sessions court for trial of the case, he shall issue an order to that effect, and then the family court has no further jurisdiction in the matter.
(7) Once the family court relinquishes its jurisdiction over the child and the child is bound over to be treated as an adult, Section 63-19-2020 dealing with the confidentiality of identity and fingerprints does not apply.
(8) When jurisdiction is relinquished by the family court in favor of another court, the court shall have full authority and power to grant bail, hold a preliminary hearing and any other powers as now provided by law for magistrates in such cases.
(9) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged with a violation of Section 16-23-430(1), Section 16-23-20, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, or Section 44-53-445, the court, after full investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper cri
This chapter may be cited as the "Juvenile Justice Code".
SECTION 63-19-20. Definitions.
When used in this chapter and unless otherwise defined or the specific context indicates otherwise:
(1) "Child" or "juvenile" means a person less than seventeen years of age. "Child" or "juvenile" does not mean a person sixteen years of age or older who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more. However, a person sixteen years of age who is charged with a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more may be remanded to the family court for disposition of the charge at the discretion of the solicitor. An additional or accompanying charge associated with the charges contained in this item must be heard by the court with jurisdiction over the offenses contained in this item.
(2) "Court" means the family court.
(3) "Criminal justice purpose" means:
(a) the performance of any activity directly involving the detection, apprehension, capture from escape or elopement, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, supervision, or rehabilitation of accused or adjudicated persons or criminal offenders; or
(b) the collection, storage, and dissemination of child offense history records.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(5) "Guardian" means a person who legally has the care and management of a child.
(6) "Judge" means the judge of the family court.
(7) "Parent" means biological parent, adoptive parents, step-parent, or person with legal custody.
(8) "Parole board" means the Board of Juvenile Parole under the Department of Juvenile Justice.
(9) "Status offense" means an offense which would not be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult including, but not limited to, incorrigibility or beyond the control of parents, truancy, running away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine, or gaining admission to a theater by false identification.
SECTION 63-19-30. Other state agencies; preexisting obligations.
(A) It is the duty of other state agencies providing financial assistance and other children's services related to the purposes of this chapter to cooperate with the department in carrying out its responsibilities to children and their families.
(B) Nothing in this chapter may be construed to relieve a state or local unit of government of any preexisting legal obligation to provide payments, services, or facilities.
ARTICLE 3.
DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE
SECTION 63-19-310. Department created.
There is created the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice.
SECTION 63-19-320. Director; removal of director; bond.
(A) The Governor shall appoint a director of the department with the advice and consent of the Senate who shall possess qualifications necessary to manage the affairs of the department. If a vacancy occurs in the office when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a director to fill the vacancy until the Senate acts upon the appointment.
(B) The director is subject to removal by the Governor as provided for in Section 1-3-240.
(C) The director must execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State in the sum of fifty thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of the director's office and the accurate accounting for all monies and property coming into the director's hands. The bond must be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this State, and the premium on the bond must be paid by the State out of the department's appropriations.
SECTION 63-19-330. Policy-setting responsibilities of director; executive responsibilities of director.
(A) The director is the chief executive officer of the department. The director may appoint and employ officers and employees necessary to perform the duties and responsibilities of the department and shall ensure that the department's organizational structure differentiates between separate divisions, the community-based services and institutional services of the department.
(B) The director is vested with the exclusive responsibility for policy of the department to carry out the responsibilities, duties, and privileges provided for in this chapter.
SECTION 63-19-340. Annual report.
An annual report of the department must be prepared by the director which shall include an account of all funds received and expended, persons served by the department including a report of the state and condition of the correctional institutions, and community programs operated by the department.
SECTION 63-19-350. Community services.
The department shall provide community services as the director shall assign to it which shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) family court intake screening and referral counseling;
(2) serving, advising, and counseling children placed on probation by the family court;
(3) serving, advising, and counseling children in institutions as may be necessary for the placement of the children in a proper environment after release and for the placement of children in suitable jobs where necessary and proper;
(4) supervising and guiding children released or conditionally released from institutions;
(5) counseling children released or conditionally released from its commitment facilities;
(6) coordinating the activities of supporting community agencies which aid in the social adjustment of children released from its commitment facilities;
(7) providing or arranging for necessary services leading to the rehabilitation of delinquents either within the department or through cooperative arrangements with other appropriate agencies;
(8) providing counseling and supervision for a child under twelve years of age who has been adjudicated delinquent or convicted of a crime or who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, when other suitable personnel is not available and upon request of the court;
(9) providing detention screening services when a child is taken into custody for violation of a law or ordinance as provided for in this chapter;
(10) providing prevention services including short- and long-range planning, establishing statewide priorities and standards, developing public awareness programs, and providing technical assistance to local government in the development of prevention programs;
(11) developing secure and nonsecure alternatives to jail;
(12) providing a variety of community-based programs to augment regular probation services including, but not limited to, volunteer services, restitution, community-work programs, family counseling, and contract probation with specific sanctions for various types of behavior;
(13) providing a variety of community-based programs to serve as alternatives to institutions including, but not limited to, halfway houses, work release, intensive supervision services, restitution, forestry and wilderness camps, marine science programs, and other residential and nonresidential programs;
(14) providing programs to divert juveniles, where proper and appropriate, from the juvenile justice system;
(15) juveniles must be assigned to intensive probation or aftercare services by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Juveniles assigned to these intensive supervision services must be those juveniles who require enhanced supervision, monitoring and contacts, or a higher level of treatment services. Intensive supervision must be provided by the department in all regions of the State. In conjunction with establishing these intensive supervision services, the department shall develop an array of graduated sanctions and impose these sanctions on offenders being provided intensive supervision services for technical rule violations and minor infractions, whenever feasible to do so, in lieu of re-incarceration of the juvenile in a secure correctional facility. The array of graduated sanctions developed by the department may include, as a condition of probation or parole, placement of a juvenile in a staff or environmentally secure residential program. Case workers selected to monitor, supervise, and serve juveniles assigned to intensive supervision services shall have caseloads of no more than twenty juveniles.
SECTION 63-19-360. Institutional services.
The department shall provide institutional services which include, but are not limited to:
(1) providing correctional institutional services for juveniles committed under this chapter;
(2) managing, operating, and supervising Birchwood, Willow Lane, John G. Richards, and other facilities as the director may establish;
(3) establishing and maintaining residential and nonresidential reception and evaluation centers at which all children committed to its custody by a circuit or family court must be received, examined, and evaluated before assignment to one of its institutions or before other disposition or recommendation is made concerning the child. The commitment of a child to a reception and evaluation center or youth correctional institution of the department may be made only after the child has been adjudicated delinquent. The evaluation conducted by the reception and evaluation centers includes, but is not limited to:
(a) a complete social, physical, psychological, and mental examination;
(b) an investigation and consideration of family and community environment and other facts in the background of the person concerned that might relate to the person's delinquency;
(c) a determination of the correctional or custodial care that would be most appropriate. The department shall create facilities and employ personnel as will enable the centers to conduct the necessary physical, mental, and psychological examinations required by this section;
(4) providing juvenile detention services for juveniles charged with having committed a criminal offense who are found, after a detention screening or detention hearing, to require detention or placement outside the home pending an adjudication of delinquency or dispositional hearing. Detention services provided by the department for the benefit of the counties and municipalities of this State must include secure juvenile detention centers. The size and capacity of the juvenile detention facilities needed must be determined by the department after its consideration and review of minimum standards for local detention facilities in South Carolina for the design, construction, and operation of juvenile detention centers. These recognized state standards must be met or exceeded by the department in determining the size and capacity of the juvenile detention centers and in planning for the construction and operation of the facilities. The department shall determine and announce the anticipated maximum operational capacity of each facility and shall contact each county and municipal governmental body in this State for the purpose of determining which counties or municipalities anticipate utilizing these facilities upon each facility becoming operational. The department shall inform each county and municipal governmental body of the existing state and federal laws regarding the confinement of juveniles charged with committing criminal offenses, of each county's and municipality's ability to develop its own facility or to contract with other counties or municipalities for the development of a regional facility, and of the availability of the department's facilities. This notice must be provided to each county and municipality for the purpose of determining which county governmental bodies desire to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the department for the detention of juveniles from their particular community who are charged with committing a criminal offense for which pretrial detention is both authorized and appropriate. No later than September 1, 1993, the department shall report to the Budget and Control Board on the strategy of each county to comply with requirements of counties under this chapter. The department must include with its report a plan for the construction and the operation of those facilities which are projected to be necessary for the preadjudicatory detention of juveniles in this State. No later than September first of each subsequent year, the department shall report to the board on the status of all preadjudicatory juvenile detention facilities known to be operational or planned, regardless of ownership or management. Beginning with the report to the board which is due no later than September 1, 1996, the department must include an annual status report on the numbers of juveniles in pretrial detention who are awaiting disposition in general sessions court, whether they have been waived by the family court or whether they qualify due to the offense with which they are charged. The board then will coordinate with all responsible and affected agencies and entities to ensure that adequate funding is identified to prevent the detention or incarceration of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by, or who are under the jurisdiction of, the family court in adult jails anywhere within the State of South Carolina and to prevent the detention of juveniles who are awaiting disposition by general sessions court in facilities which do not provide actual sight and sound separation from adults who are in detention or custody. Upon completion of each facility and upon the determination by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections that each facility is staffed in accordance with relevant standards and can be operated in accordance with these standards, the division shall determine and announce the rated capacity of each facility. A facility operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice for the preadjudicatory detention of juveniles must be maintained and continued in operation for that purpose until approved for conversion or closure by the Budget and Control Board. However, a county or municipality which decides to maintain its own approved facilities or which has entered into a regional intergovernmental agreement, which has provided secure facilities for preadjudicatory juveniles, and which meets the standards set forth above, may continue to operate these facilities. County and regionally operated facilities are subject to inspection by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the Department of Corrections for compliance with the standards set forth above and those created pursuant to Section 24-9-20. The division has the same enforcement authority over county, municipal, and regionally operated secure juvenile detention facilities as that which is provided in Section 24-9-30. In Department of Juvenile Justice operated facilities, the department shall determine an amount of per diem for each child detained in a center, which must be paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred. The per diem paid by the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must be based on the average operating cost among all preadjudicatory state facilities. The Department of Juvenile Justice must assume one-third of the per diem cost and the governing body of the law enforcement agency having original jurisdiction where the offense occurred must assume two-thirds of the cost. Per diem funds received by the department must be placed in a separate account by the department for operation of all preadjudicatory state facilities. Transportation of the juvenile to and from a facility is the responsibility of the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the offense was committed. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department;
(5) each secure facility which detains preadjudicatory youth longer than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, regardless of ownership or management, must have sufficient personnel to provide uninterrupted supervision and to provide administrative, program, and support requirements. Each of these facilities must have a minimum of two juvenile custodial officers on duty each shift, fully dressed, awake, and alert to operate the facility. At least one person shall directly supervise the juveniles at all times. At least one female juvenile custodial officer must be present and available to the female detention population at all times. Staff on duty must be sufficient to provide for a juvenile-staff ratio adequate for custody, control, and supervision, and to provide full coverage of all designated security posts, excluding administrative, program, and other support staff. Staff shall prepare further a facility schedule of preplanned, structured, and productive activities. Schedules must be developed which include designated times for sleeping, dining, education, counseling, recreation, visitation, and personal time. Daily schedules should minimize idleness and promote constructive use of the juvenile's day. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide educational programs and services to all preadjudicatory juveniles in its custody. County, municipal, and regionally operated facilities shall provide these services to all preadjudicatory juveniles under the jurisdiction of the family court and all pretrial juveniles awaiting general sessions court who are detained locally for more than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays, by contracting with the Department of Juvenile Justice or by arranging the services through the local school district in which the facility is located. It shall be the responsibility of the school district where a local detention center which has been approved to detain juveniles is located to provide adequate teaching staff and to ensure compliance with the educational requirements of this State. Students housed in approved local detention centers are to be included in the average daily membership count of students for that district and reimbursement by the Department of Education shall be made accordingly. Services which are arranged locally must be approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice as meeting all criteria developed under the authority of Section 63-19-380. Special needs students who are detained locally shall have all services required by federal and state laws and regulations;
(6) a county, municipality, or regional subdivision may provide temporary holdover facilities for juveniles only if the facilities comply with this section and with all standards created under the provisions of Section 24-9-20, which must be monitored and enforced by the Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the South Carolina Department of Corrections pursuant to its authority under Sections 24-9-20 and 24-9-30. The standards shall provide for the regulation of temporary holdover facilities with regard to adequate square footage, juvenile accommodations, access to bathroom facilities, lighting, ventilation, distinctions between secure and nonsecure temporary holdover facilities, staffing qualifications, and additional requirements as may be specified. These facilities may hold juveniles during the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays. Preadjudicatory juveniles who are subsequently transferred to a juvenile detention center may be housed in a temporary holdover facility when returned to the community for a court appearance. However, the temporary housing shall not exceed forty-eight hours.
SECTION 63-19-370. Interdepartmental agreements; retention of grant revenues.
The department may enter into agreements with the governing bodies of other state departments or institutions for the purpose of effecting a more efficient and economical management of any institution or program under its supervision. The department is authorized to make contracts and expend public funds as required to carry out the functions prescribed for it in this chapter within the limits of appropriated funds.
All revenues generated from United States Department of Agriculture grants, the Education Finance Act, the Detention Center, and Medicaid federal funding may be retained, carried forward, and expended by the Department of Juvenile Justice, in accordance with applicable regulations, for the costs associated with related programs.
SECTION 63-19-380. Special school district designation.
(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice is designated as a special school district which shall operate a continuous progress education program on a twelve-month basis. There is created within the department the Education Division which shall provide academic and vocational training at the Reception and Evaluation Center, Birchwood High School, Willow Lane Junior High School, and all other institutions operating under the department. Academic and vocational training provided pursuant to this section shall meet all educational standards prescribed by law and by the Department of Education for public schools of the State including, but not limited to, compliance with and operation under the provisions of the Education Finance Act, the Defined Minimum Program, teacher and superintendent certification laws and regulations, and other laws or regulations governing the education of children. The department may prescribe additional requirements as it may from time to time deem necessary.
(B) The State Superintendent of Education shall administer the standards related to the school programs. Reports from the Department of Education evaluating the educational program at all juvenile corrections institutions and indicating whether or not the program meets the standards as prescribed, must be made directly to the director. Department of Education supervisory personnel as considered appropriate must be utilized for evaluating the programs and for reporting to the director.
(C) Schools operated by the department shall receive funds from the Department of Education under the same provisions as other public schools in the State. Funds previously received by the Department of Juvenile Justice from the South Carolina Department of Education for programs now being consolidated under the Education Finance Act shall be disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice by the Department of Education from the appropriation provided in the annual general appropriations act and entitled "Education Finance Act". The amount to be disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice must be sufficient to produce funds equal to the product of the number of students served by the Department of Juvenile Justice weighted according to the criteria established by the South Carolina Department of Education under the provisions of the Education Finance Act and the state portion of the appropriated value statewide of the base student cost, adjusted for operation of the department's twelve-month continuous progress education program using a base of two hundred thirty-five instructional days instead of one hundred ninety instructional days. The amount includes, but is not limited to, all funding for teacher salary supplements, instructional purposes, or any other funds disbursed to the Department of Juvenile Justice school district's twelve-month continuous progress educational program. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall comply with the provisions of subsection (4) of Section 59-20-50 and subsections (1), (2), (3)(a), (4)(b), (c), (d), (e), and (f) of Section 59-20-60. The South Carolina Department of Education annually shall determine that these provisions are being met and include its findings in the report mandated in subsection (5)(e) of Section 59-20-60. If the accreditation standards set forth in the Defined Minimum Program for the Department of Juvenile Justice as approved by the State Board of Education are not met, funds by this section shall be reduced the following fiscal year according to the provisions set forth in the Education Finance Act.
(D) The director shall operate as the trustee for schools under the department's jurisdiction for all administrative purposes, including the receipt and expenditure of funds appropriated or granted to the schools for any purpose. The director shall employ a full-time superintendent of schools for the special school district. The superintendent shall hold a valid superintendent's certificate from the Department of Education and shall serve as the head of the Education Division.
(E) In lieu of classification by the Division of State Personnel, the employment status of the superintendent of schools for the department and all instructional personnel operating under the Education Division of the department must be governed by the laws of the State regarding employment of instructional personnel and regulations of the Department of Education.
SECTION 63-19-390. Peace officers and constables.
Juvenile correctional employees of the department, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of a juvenile offender within the jurisdiction of the department, and other employees of the department authorized by the director to perform similar functions as part of their official duties, have the status of peace officers anywhere in this State in a matter relating to the custody, control, transportation, or recapture of the juvenile. Employees of the department's Division of Public Safety, on proper training and certification from the Criminal Justice Academy and after having taken the oath of office prescribed by law and the Constitution of this State, must continue to be commissioned as state constables pursuant to Section 23-1-60.
SECTION 63-19-400. Gifts.
The department may accept gifts, donations, or contributions and may receive devises and bequests. These acquisitions must be used for the purposes specified by the donors.
SECTION 63-19-410. Fees.
(A) The department may charge and collect fees for evaluation and treatment services provided for a person referred or temporarily committed to its facilities either at the evaluation center in Columbia or any center or other facility of the department. Fees may be charged to a parent or guardian or to the public or private agency responsible for the temporary commitment or referral. In cases where insurance coverage is available, fees of treatment or evaluation may be charged to the insurer. No fees may be charged to a person who is finally committed to a custodial facility of the department, and no person may be denied treatment or evaluation services because of inability to pay for the services.
(B) The director shall approve and periodically review, a schedule of maximum charges for the services of the department, including residential care. The department shall adopt procedures to determine ability to pay and may authorize its designees to reduce or waive charges based upon their findings. No charge for services rendered by the department may exceed the actual cost of the services at the facility rendering the services.
(C) The department shall establish a hearing and review procedure so that parents or legal guardians of a person under the department's jurisdiction may appeal charges made for services or may present to the departmental officials information or evidence which, in their opinion, needs to be considered in establishing charges.
(D) The department may utilize all legal procedures to collect lawful claims. All funds collected pursuant to this section must be deposited with the State Treasurer for use of the department in defraying the cost of services for which the fees may be collected.
SECTION 63-19-420. Natural resource sales.
The director is authorized to sell mature trees, other timber, and farm products and commodities from lands owned by the department. Before the sale of timber, the director shall consult with the State Forester to determine the economic feasibility of and obtain approval for the sales. Funds derived from the sales must be credited to the account of the department to be used for capital improvements subject to the approval of the State Budget and Control Board.
SECTION 63-19-430. Bumper sticker sales.
The department may print or purchase for resale bumper stickers and other informational material prepared to publicize and educate the public concerning activities of the department. All these materials must have "South Carolina" inscribed on the material. After the costs of the materials have been recovered, all proceeds from the sale of the materials must be deposited in the student welfare fund of the department and used for the purposes prescribed for that fund.
SECTION 63-19-440. Goldsmith Center.
The department's reception and evaluation center located in Columbia is designated "The William J. Goldsmith Reception and Evaluation Center".
SECTION 63-19-450. Youth Industries Program.
(A) The director of the Department of Juvenile Justice may establish a Youth Industries Program, consistent with all applicable state and federal child labor laws, employing juveniles committed to the department. This program may include:
(1) providing services to private industries including, but not limited to:
(a) packing, assembling, handling, reconditioning or restoring products, goods, wares, or merchandise;
(b) contracting with private industry for the manufacturing and processing of goods, wares, or merchandise;
(c) contracting with other profit or nonprofit businesses or commercial enterprises to provide the services enumerated in subitems (a) and (b) within the department's Sheltered Workshop Program;
(2) manufacturing or processing industry or service which utilizes juveniles in the manufacture or production of goods, wares, merchandise, articles, or products or in providing services which may be needed for the construction, operation, maintenance, or use of any office, department, institution, or agency supported in whole or in part by this State or a political subdivision of this State; or
(3) otherwise engaging juveniles in paid work opportunities within the department, consistent with the general welfare of the department's mission of rehabilitation and treatment.
(B) To implement the Youth Industries Program the director may enter into contracts in the manner provided by law to implement its Youth Industries Program. A contract may include rental or lease agreements for state land or buildings or portions of state buildings on the grounds of an institution or a facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice and if the contract contains such rental or lease agreements, it must provide the business entity with reasonable access to and egress from these grounds, buildings, and facilities.
(C) In conducting the Youth Industries Program, the department may purchase equipment, raw materials, and supplies in the manner provided by law and may engage necessary supervisory personnel.
(D) The prices of articles or products manufactured or produced or services rendered under the Youth Industries Program must be uniform and nondiscriminating and must be as near to the usual market price for these articles, products, or services as is practicable.
(E) All monies collected by the department from the sale or disposition of articles and products manufactured or produced or from services rendered by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program must be deposited into a special account designated "Youth Industries Account". The monies collected and deposited into this account must be used solely for the purchasing of manufacturing supplies, equipment, machinery, and buildings for the Youth Industries Program to pay the wages of the juveniles employed in the program and the salaries of the necessary personnel in the program, and to defray the necessary expenses of the program. The director must deduct from wages paid to a juvenile:
(1) state, federal, and local taxes;
(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law, court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and
(3) contributions to any fund established by law to compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less than five percent of gross wages.
These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross wages.
SECTION 63-19-460. Voluntary participation in program.
(A) A juvenile may participate in the Youth Industries Program established pursuant to Section 63-19-450 only on a voluntary basis and only after the juvenile has been informed of the conditions of the employment.
(B) A juvenile participating in the Youth Industries Program:
(1) providing services to private industry must be compensated commensurate with the prevailing wage for work of a similar nature in the private sector;
(2) is not considered an employee of the State and is not eligible for unemployment compensation upon termination from the program; however, a juvenile is entitled to all other work benefits, including worker's compensation or its equivalent.
(C) The wages of a juvenile authorized to work in the Youth Industries Program, if paid other than by the department, must be paid directly to the Department of Juvenile Justice and credited to the juvenile's account. If the wages are paid by an entity other than the department, these wages must be paid directly to the department, and the department shall credit the wages to the juvenile's account. The director must deduct from wages paid to a juvenile:
(1) state, federal, and local taxes;
(2) allocations for support of children pursuant to law, court order, or agreement by the committed juvenile; and
(3) contributions to any fund established by law to compensate the victims of crime of not more than twenty percent and not less than five percent of gross wages.
These deductions may not exceed eighty percent of gross wages.
(D) Juvenile participation in the Youth Industries Program must not result in the displacement of employed workers in the State and must not impair existing contracts.
SECTION 63-19-470. Sale of goods prohibited.
It is unlawful to sell or offer for sale on the open market of this State goods, wares, or merchandise manufactured or produced wholly or in part by juvenile offenders in this or another state. However, this subsection does not apply to:
(1) articles produced by juveniles on parole or probation or in community supervision;
(2) products sold by the Department of Juvenile Justice made by juveniles in its arts and crafts programs;
(3) articles or products sold to nonprofit corporations incorporated under Article 1, Chapter 31, Title 33 or to organizations operating in this State which have been granted an exemption under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(4) articles or products made in the Youth Industries Program pursuant to Section 63-19-450, through contracts with private sector businesses which provide work and vocational training opportunities for juvenile offenders with physical or mental disabilities or who are mentally retarded if the compensation is paid by the private sector business to the juvenile offender on a piece rate basis;
(5) products sold intrastate or interstate produced by juveniles employed in the Youth Industries Program;
(6) services provided by juveniles in the Youth Industries Program including, but not limited to, restoration and reconditioning activities, the packaging and handling of goods, wares, or merchandise, or the dismantling and reassembling of products.
SECTION 63-19-480. Compensation of victims of crime fund.
There is created a fund within the Department of Juvenile Justice for the compensation of victims of crime. All contributions deducted from a juvenile's wages pursuant to Section 63-19-450(E)(3) or 63-19-460(C)(3) must be deposited into this fund. Of the amount contributed to the fund by each juvenile, ninety-five percent must be paid by the department on behalf of the juvenile as restitution to the victim or victims of the juvenile's adjudicated crime as ordered by the family court or the releasing entity, and five percent must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund. If the amount of restitution ordered has been paid in full or if there is no victim of the juvenile's adjudicated crime, the juvenile's contributions must be submitted to the South Carolina Victims' Compensation Fund.
SECTION 63-19-490. Authority to promulgate regulations.
The Department of Juvenile Justice in consultation with this state's regulatory agencies may promulgate regulations which are necessary to implement Sections 63-19-450 and 63-19-460.
ARTICLE 5.
BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE
SECTION 63-19-610. Board.
(A) There is created under the Department of Juvenile Justice the Board of Juvenile Parole. The parole board is composed of ten members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Of these members, one must be appointed from each of the six congressional districts and four members must be appointed from the State at large. If a vacancy occurs on the parole board when the Senate is not in session, the Governor may appoint a member to fill the vacancy and the appointee is a de facto member until the Senate acts upon the appointment.
(B) Members of the parole board shall serve four-year terms and until their successors are appointed and qualify and these terms expire on June thirtieth of the appropriate year.
(C) No member may be reappointed to the parole board until two years after the expiration of a full four-year term.
SECTION 63-19-620. Removal of member.
A member of the parole board is subject to removal by the Governor as provided for in Section 1-3-240(C).
SECTION 63-19-630. Officers; rules and procedures.
The parole board shall elect from among its members a chairman who shall serve a one-year term and who may not succeed himself as chairman. The parole board may elect a vice-chairman and secretary and shall fix the time and place of meetings. Rules and procedures for parole board meetings, as considered advisable, must be adopted by the parole board. Six members of the parole board constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
SECTION 63-19-640. Compensation.
The members of the parole board must be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred in attending parole board meetings and shall receive as compensation the same per diem as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions.
ARTICLE 7.
CUSTODY AND DETENTION
SECTION 63-19-810. Taking a child into custody.
(A) When a child found violating a criminal law or ordinance is taken into custody, the taking into custody is not an arrest. The jurisdiction of the court attaches from the time of the taking into custody. When a child is taken into custody, the officer taking the child into custody shall notify the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child as soon as possible. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the person taking the child into custody may release the child to a parent, a responsible adult, a responsible agent of a court-approved foster home, group home, nonsecure facility, or program upon the written promise, signed by the person, to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. The written promise, accompanied by a written report by the officer, must be submitted to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as soon as possible, but not later than twenty-four hours after the child is taken into custody. If the person fails to produce the child as agreed, or upon notice from the court, a summons or a warrant may be issued for the apprehension of the person or of the child.
(B) When a child is not released pursuant to subsection (A), the officer taking the child into custody shall immediately notify the authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice, who shall respond within one hour by telephone or to the location where the child is being detained. Upon responding, the authorized representative of the department shall review the facts in the officer's report or petition and any other relevant facts and advise the officer if, in his opinion, there is a need for detention of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the authorized representatives of the department and must state:
(1) the facts of the offense;
(2) the reason why the child was not released to the parent. Unless the child is to be detained, the child must be released by the officer to the custody of his parents or other responsible adult upon their written promise to bring the child to the court at a stated time or at a time the court may direct. However, if the offense for which the child was taken into custody is a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60, the child may be released only by the officer who took the child into custody. If the officer does not consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to any judge of the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the family court judge. The family court judge may establish conditions for such release.
(C) When a child is charged by a law enforcement officer for an offense which would be a misdemeanor or felony if committed by an adult, not including a traffic or wildlife violation over which courts other than the family court have concurrent jurisdiction as provided in Section 63-3-520, the law enforcement officer also shall notify the principal of the school in which the child is enrolled, if any, of the nature of the offense. This information may be used by the principal for monitoring and supervisory purposes but otherwise must be kept confidential by the principal in the same manner required by Section 63-19-2220(E).
(D) Juveniles may be held in nonsecure custody within the law enforcement center for only the time necessary for purposes of identification, investigation, detention, intake screening, awaiting release to parents or other responsible adult, or awaiting transfer to a juvenile detention facility or to the court for a detention hearing.
SECTION 63-19-820. Out-of-home placement.
(A) When the officer who took the child into custody determines that placement of a juvenile outside the home is necessary, the authorized representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice shall make a diligent effort to place the child in an approved home, program, or facility, other than a secure juvenile detention facility, when these alternatives are appropriate and available.
(B) A child is eligible for detention in a secure juvenile detention facility only if the child:
(1) is charged with a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;
(2) is charged with a crime which, if committed by an adult, would be a felony or a misdemeanor other than a violent crime, and the child:
(a) is already detained or on probation or conditional release or is awaiting adjudication in connection with another delinquency proceeding;
(b) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failures to appear at court proceedings;
(c) has a demonstrable recent record of violent conduct resulting in physical injury to others; or
(d) has a demonstrable recent record of adjudications for other felonies or misdemeanors; and
(i) there is reason to believe the child is a flight risk or poses a threat of serious harm to others; or
(ii) the instant offense involved the use of a firearm;
(3) is a fugitive from another jurisdiction;
(4) requests protection in writing under circumstances that present an immediate threat of serious physical injury;
(5) had in his possession a deadly weapon;
(6) has a demonstrable recent record of wilful failure to comply with prior placement orders including, but not limited to, a house arrest order;
(7) has no suitable alternative placement and it is determined that detention is in the child's best interest or is necessary to protect the child or public, or both; or
(8) is charged with an assault and battery or an assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature on school grounds or at a school-sponsored event against any person affiliated with the school in an official capacity.
A child who meets the criteria provided in this subsection is eligible for detention. Detention is not mandatory for a child meeting the criteria if that child can be supervised adequately at home or in a less secure setting or program. If the officer does not consent to the release of the child, the parents or other responsible adult may apply to the family court within the circuit for an ex parte order of release of the child. The officer's written report must be furnished to the family court judge who may establish conditions for the release.
(C) No child may be placed in secure confinement or ordered detained by the court in secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention for adults for more than six hours. However, the prohibition against the secure confinement of juveniles in adult jails does not apply to juveniles who have been waived to the court of general sessions for the purpose of standing trial as an adult. Juveniles placed in secure confinement in an adult jail during this six-hour period must be confined in an area of the jail which is separated by sight and sound from adults similarly confined.
(D) Temporary holdover facilities may hold juveniles during the period between initial custody and the initial detention hearing before a family court judge for a period up to forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and state holidays.
(E) A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained in an adult detention facility. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of the law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained more than twenty-four hours in a juvenile detention facility, unless an order previously has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the secure detention of that child in a juvenile detention facility. If a juvenile is ordered detained for violating a valid court order, the juvenile may be held in secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility for not more than seventy-two hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this section precludes a law enforcement officer from taking a status offender into custody.
(F) Children ten years of age and younger must not be incarcerated in a jail or detention facility for any reason. Children eleven or twelve years of age who are taken into custody for a violation of law which would be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult or who violates conditions of probation for such an offense must be incarcerated in a jail or detention facility only by order of the family court.
(G) For purposes of this section, "adult jail" or other place of detention for adults includes a state, county, or municipal police station, law enforcement lockup, or holding cell. "Secure confinement" means an area having bars or other restraints designed to hold one person or a group of persons at a law enforcement location for any period of time and for any reason. Secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention does not include a room or a multipurpose area within the law enforcement center which is not secured by locks or other security devices. Rooms or areas of this type include lobbies, offices, and interrogation rooms. Juveniles held in these areas are considered to be in nonsecure custody as long as the room or area is not designed for or intended for use as a residential area, the juvenile is not handcuffed to a stationary object while in the room or area, and the juvenile is under continuous visual supervision by facility staff while in this room or area which is located within the law enforcement center. Secure confinement also does not include a room or area used by law enforcement for processing "booking" purposes, irrespective of whether it is determined to be secure or nonsecure, as long as the juvenile's confinement in the area is limited to the time necessary to fingerprint, photograph, or otherwise "book" the juvenile in accordance with state law.
(A) If the officer who took the child into custody has not released the child to the custody the child's parents or other responsible adult, the court shall hold a detention hearing within forty-eight hours from the time the child was taken into custody, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. At this hearing, the authorized representative of the department shall submit to the court a report stating the facts surrounding the case and a recommendation as to the child's continued detention pending the adjudicatory and dispositional hearings. The court shall appoint counsel for the child if none is retained. No child may proceed without counsel in this hearing, unless the child waives the right to counsel and then only after consulting at least once with an attorney. At the conclusion of this hearing, the court shall determine whether probable cause exists to justify the detention of the child and the appropriateness of, and need for, the child's continued detention. If continued detention of a juvenile is considered appropriate by the court and if a juvenile detention facility exists in that county which meets state and federal requirements for the secure detention of juveniles or if that facility exists in another county with which the committing county has a contract for the secure detention of its juveniles and if commitment of a juvenile by the court to that facility does not cause the facility to exceed its design and operational capacity, the family court shall order the detention of the juvenile in that facility. A juvenile must not be detained in secure confinement in excess of ninety days except in exceptional circumstances as determined by the court. A detained juvenile is entitled to further and periodic review:
(1) within ten days following the juvenile's initial detention hearing;
(2) within thirty days following the ten-day hearing; and
(3) at any other time for good cause shown upon motion of the child, the State, or the department.
If the child does not qualify for detention or otherwise require continued detention under the terms of Section 63-19-820(A) or (B), the child must be released to a parent, guardian, or other responsible person.
(B) A juvenile ordered detained in a facility must be screened within twenty-four hours by a social worker or if considered appropriate by a psychologist in order to determine whether the juvenile is emotionally disturbed, mentally ill, or otherwise in need of services. The services must be provided immediately.
SECTION 63-19-840. Detention homes; temporary care and custody.
Provisions must be made for a detention home or homes for the temporary detention of children to be conducted by the court or, subject to the approval and supervision of the court, by an appropriate public agency; or the court may arrange for the use of private homes for detention, subject to the supervision of the court or other agency, or may arrange with an institution or agency to receive for temporary care and custody children within the jurisdiction of the court.
SECTION 63-19-850. Transportation to detention facility.
No child may be transported to a juvenile detention facility in a police vehicle which also contains adults under arrest. When a child is to be transported to or from a juvenile detention facility following a detention screening review conducted by the Department of Juvenile Justice or after a detention order has been issued by the court, the local law enforcement agency which originally took the child into custody shall transport this child to or from the juvenile detention facility. Transportation of juveniles between department facilities, if necessary, is the responsibility of the department.
ARTICLE 9.
INTAKE AND INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS
SECTION 63-19-1010. Intake and probation.
(A) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall provide intake and probation services for juveniles brought before the family courts of this State and for persons committed or referred to the department in cooperation with all local officials or agencies concerned. The role and function of intake is to independently assess the circumstances and needs of children referred for possible prosecution in the family court. Recommendations by the department as to intake must be reviewed by the office of the solicitor in the circuit concerned, and the final determination as to whether or not the juvenile is to be prosecuted in the family court must be made by the solicitor or by the solicitor's authorized assistant. Statements of the juvenile contained in the department's files must not be furnished to the solicitor's office as part of the intake review procedure, and the solicitor's office must not be privy to these statements in connection with its intake review.
(B) Where circumstances do not warrant prosecution in the discretion of the solicitor, the intake counselor shall offer referral assistance for services as appropriate for the child and family. In the event that a juvenile is adjudicated to be delinquent or found by the family court to be in violation of the terms of probation, the intake counselor shall offer appropriate dispositional recommendations to the family court for its consideration and determination of the disposition of the case.
SECTION 63-19-1020. Instituting proceedings.
The parent or custodian of a child, an official of a child welfare board, a public official charged by law with the care of the poor, the recognized agents of an agency, association, society, or institution, a person having knowledge or information of a nature which convinces the person that a child is delinquent or that a child, by reason of his own acts in accordance with this chapter, is subject to the jurisdiction of the court, any person who has suffered injury through the delinquency of a child, or an officer having an arrested child in charge, may institute a proceeding respecting the child.
SECTION 63-19-1030. Prehearing inquiry.
(A) Whenever a person informs the court that a child is within the purview of this chapter, the court shall make preliminary inquiry to determine whether the interest of the public or of the child requires that further action be taken. Thereupon, the court may make an informal adjustment as is practicable without a petition or may authorize a petition to be filed by any person.
(B) The petition and all subsequent court documents must be entitled:
"In the Family Court of ____ County.
In the Interest of ___, a child under seventeen years of age."
The petition must be verified and may be upon information and belief. It shall set forth plainly:
(1) the facts which bring the child within the purview of this chapter;
(2) the name, age, and residence of the child;
(3) the names and residences of the child's parents;
(4) the name and residence of a legal guardian, if there is one, of the person or persons having custody of or control of the child, or of the nearest known relative if no parent or guardian can be found. If any of these facts are not known by the petitioner, the petition shall state that.
(C) Before the hearing of a case of a child, the judge shall cause an investigation of all the facts pertaining to the issue to be made. The investigation shall consist of an examination of the parentage and surroundings of the child, the child's age, habits and history, and also shall include inquiry into the home conditions, habits and character of the child's parents or guardian, if that is necessary in the discretion of the court. In these cases the court, if advisable, shall cause the child to be examined as to the child's mentality by a competent and experienced psychologist or psychiatrist who shall make a report of the findings. Before the hearing in the case of a child, if the child attends school, a report on the child must be obtained from the school which the child attends. The school officials shall furnish the report upon the request of the court or its probation counselor. The court, when it is considered necessary, shall cause a complete physical examination to be made of the child by a competent physician.
(D) In a case where the delinquency proceedings may result in commitment to an institution in which the child's freedom is curtailed, the child or the child's parents or guardian must be given written notice with particularity of the specific charge or factual allegations to be considered at the hearing. The notice must be given as soon as practicable and sufficiently in advance to permit preparation. The child or the child's parent or guardian also must be advised in the notice of their right to be represented by counsel and that, if they are unable to employ counsel, counsel will be appointed to represent them. In the hearing, the parent and child also must be expressly informed of their right to counsel and must be specifically required to consider whether they do or do not waive the right of counsel.
SECTION 63-19-1040. Indigent defense.
Notwithstanding Title 17, Chapter 3, Defense of Indigents, in determining indigence for the purpose of appointing legal counsel for a child in a delinquency proceeding, the court shall determine the financial ability of the child's parents to retain counsel for the child. If the court determines that the parents are able to retain counsel for the child but the parents refuse to retain counsel and the court appoints counsel, the court may order the parents to reimburse the Indigent Defense Fund or pay the court-appointed attorney in an amount to be determined by the court.
ARTICLE 11.
TRANSFER OF JURISDICTION
SECTION 63-19-1210. Transfer of jurisdiction.
In accordance with the jurisdiction granted to the family court pursuant to Sections 63-3-510, 63-3-520, and 63-3-530, jurisdiction over a case involving a child must be transferred or retained as follows:
(1) If, during the pendency of a criminal or quasi-criminal charge against a child in a circuit court of this State, it is ascertained that the child was under the age of seventeen years at the time of committing the alleged offense, it is the duty of the circuit court immediately to transfer the case, together with all the papers, documents, and testimony connected with it, to the family court of competent jurisdiction, except in those cases where the Constitution gives to the circuit court exclusive jurisdiction or in those cases where jurisdiction has properly been transferred to the circuit court by the family court under the provisions of this section. The court making the transfer shall order the child to be taken immediately to the place of detention designated by the court or to that court itself, or shall release the child to the custody of some suitable person to be brought before the court at a time designated. The court then shall proceed as provided in this chapter. The provisions of this section are applicable to all existing offenses and to offenses created in the future unless the General Assembly specifically directs otherwise.
(2) Whenever a child is brought before a magistrate or city recorder and, in the opinion of the magistrate or city recorder, the child should be brought to the family court of competent jurisdiction under the provisions of this section, the magistrate or city recorder shall transfer the case to the family court and direct that the child involved be taken there.
(3) When an action is brought in a circuit court which, in the opinion of the judge, falls within the jurisdiction of the family court, he may transfer the action upon his own motion or the motion of any party.
(4) If a child sixteen years of age or older is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor, a Class E or F felony as defined in Section 16-1-20, or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or less, and if the court, after full investigation, considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction, the court, in its discretion, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offense if committed by an adult.
(5) If a child fourteen or fifteen years of age is charged with an offense which, if committed by an adult, would be a Class A, B, C, or D felony as defined in Section 16-1-20 or a felony which provides for a maximum term of imprisonment of fifteen years or more, the court, after full investigation and hearing, may determine it contrary to the best interest of the child or of the public to retain jurisdiction. The court, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper criminal proceedings to a court which would have trial jurisdiction of the offenses if committed by an adult.
(6) Within thirty days after the filing of a petition in the family court alleging the child has committed the offense of murder or criminal sexual conduct, the person executing the petition may request in writing that the case be transferred to the court of general sessions with a view to proceeding against the child as a criminal rather than as a child coming within the purview of this chapter. The judge of the family court is authorized to determine this request. If the request is denied, the petitioner may appeal within five days to the circuit court. Upon the hearing of the appeal, the judge of the circuit court is vested with the discretion of exercising and asserting the jurisdiction of the court of general sessions or of relinquishing jurisdiction to the family court. If the circuit judge elects to exercise the jurisdiction of the general sessions court for trial of the case, he shall issue an order to that effect, and then the family court has no further jurisdiction in the matter.
(7) Once the family court relinquishes its jurisdiction over the child and the child is bound over to be treated as an adult, Section 63-19-2020 dealing with the confidentiality of identity and fingerprints does not apply.
(8) When jurisdiction is relinquished by the family court in favor of another court, the court shall have full authority and power to grant bail, hold a preliminary hearing and any other powers as now provided by law for magistrates in such cases.
(9) If a child fourteen years of age or older is charged with a violation of Section 16-23-430(1), Section 16-23-20, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, or Section 44-53-445, the court, after full investigation and hearing, if it considers it contrary to the best interest of the child or the public to retain jurisdiction, acting as committing magistrate, may bind over the child for proper cri
