JUVENILE JUSTICE CIRCUMSTANCES WITHIN DJJ REVEAL THE NEED FOR AN ACTIVE
'WATCHDOG'

By Mike Fair The S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice has been under Federal
Court scrutiny for nearly 12 years. This began as a result of a suit that
found that conditions at the agency were unacceptable. Improvements have
been made, but much work is still needed.

Recently, a panel appointed by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Anderson
concluded that steps need to be taken at DJJ to make the environment safer.
Judge Anderson, in a hearing in May 2002, again urged DJJ to install
cameras in the facilities to help with the violence. The judge had
requested the agency install the cameras two years ago, but DJJ did not
request funding for these cameras.

The Senate Corrections and Penology Committee has invested a great deal of
time trying to get to the bottom of the difficulties at DJJ. The safety for
the inmates and the staff will always be the primary concern. Following
safety, the efficacy of the programs for the kids will be the gauge by
which the administration will be judged.

Like Judge Anderson, the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee has
determined that DJJ is not only an unsafe place, but we cannot adequately
determine the effectiveness of the programs because recidivism studies are
practically nonexistent.

Since 1995-1996, more than $600 million has been budgeted and spent by DJJ.
As we have already mentioned, the best measure of success for a
rehabilitation program is recidivism. Recidivism is the measure of the
number of inmates who, when released, commit another crime. Yet, even after
millions of dollars have been spent, the director says there are no
reliable recidivism statistics. How can that be??

Some youthful offenders have been placed in wilderness camps. The success
of wilderness camps is indisputable, primarily through the documentation
provided by recidivism studies. Unfortunately, budget cuts from the
governor's handpicked director of DJJ were targeted toward the wilderness
camps, whose successes do carry a price.

The Department of Juvenile Justice had an operating budget in fiscal year
1993-1994 of $40 million, and today the budget exceeds $91 million. That is
an increase of 128 percent. During the same time, the staffing level of the
department has grown from 999 to today's level of 1,712.

Although the increase in employees is significant - 71 percent - the
security of personnel and children has not received the priority in job
placements. In fact, the most common complaint heard by committee members
and staff has been, "The agency has become top-heavy in the administrative
structure while virtually ignoring the security ranks."

For example, in the face of a declining inmate population, the reported
incidents of fights and assaults continue to be disturbing. The total
institutional population averages about 600 on any given day. The data
reveals an average of 142 incidents per month of assaults and fights that
required medical attention. Additionally, the agency has settled lawsuits
for sexual assaults totaling $1.1 million in the past two years.

According to the numbers and the testimony, DJJ is not a safe place.

More and more is being required of our state agency heads as to how they
are allocating scarce resources. Yet, in August of 2000, DJJ declared it
would have to deficit spend in order to meet its obligations through June
2001. The records, however, indicate an expenditure of $79,000 for
out-of-state travel, which would include conference and workshop
attendance. Additionally, the agency experienced growth in rented
administrative office space from $229,000 in 2000 to $449,000 currently.
Security officers do not need offices.

To that end, our committee has pledged to Gina Wood, director of DJJ, and
to Gary Maynard, director of corrections, our desire to be a better
"watchdog" as we bring facts to the public's attention and as we get into
the harness with our corrections agencies to do that which our citizens demand.

In a real sense, our system has failed the young people who have come to us
via their troubled route and jaded attitudes. A drug education teacher who
also was a biology teacher was asked by one of his students whether it
really mattered whether he took drugs. The kid said that the teacher taught
him in biology that he was a product of randomness and chaos, which is
Darwin's incrementalism. If Darwin were right, he said, what does it matter
what I do with my life? Darwin was wrong!

Psalm 139 says that we were created, and the Creator knew us when we were
embryos and even before! The Bible also teaches that God has a plan for our
lives and that He equips us with the talents we need to accomplish that plan.

You see, this is the kind of information that is communicated in a
faith-based approach to rehabilitative incarceration. That approach
recognizes that the only difference in those of us inside the institutions
and those of us outside is the grace of God in helping us make better
choices. Those inside must understand their worth, and their managers must
do a better job.

With this in mind, the General Assembly recently created a Corrections Task
Force composed of private citizens representing the religious, business and
health-care communities, along with corrections professionals, to identify
strategies for improved services and increased accountability.

The state must ensure the safety of those incarcerated, especially
juveniles, and we must have reasonable expectations that our services are
adequate and effective. The troubled children, their families and the
citizens of South Carolina deserve nothing less.

Mike Fair of Greenville represents District 6 in the S.C. Senate and is
chairman of the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee.