‘It’s almost not feasible:’ SC DJJ Director addresses potential influx of newly-arrested Richland County teens in coming months

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – As unanswered questions swirl about how the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) will handle a potential influx of teenagers at its detention center in the coming months, the agency’s executive director is providing more insight into the plans.

After approval from the Richland County Council, the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center will not take in any more newly arrested juveniles come August 1.

Instead, they will be sent to DJJ.

Eden Hendrick, DJJ’s Executive Director, said in a Friday interview that the agency is working closely with jail officials to ensure a smooth transition.

But, she said, DJJ is trying to make the best of a difficult situation that will likely only make its overcrowding problems worse.

“We’re put in a situation to figure out solutions when it’s almost not feasible, but we’ve so far tried to do what we can,” Hendrick said. “It creates a terrible situation for the employees and the youth, though.”

Hendrick wishes that the agency did not need to house additional youth; however, she understands that it is completely outside of her control.

“In a perfect world, every county would have their own juvenile detention facility,” she said. “That’s what is ideal if you think about – so if a youth is arrested in Horry County or Anderson County, law enforcement has to drive all the way to Columbia, drop them off, drive all the way back, drive again 48 hours later, pick them up, drive all the way back again. That is a lot of law enforcement time wasted on transporting juveniles.”

Richland was one of just two counties left in the state to house youth at their facilities.

The law stipulates that DJJ is responsible for all juvenile detention services.

“Juvenile justice is way more complex than anyone really knows and understands,” Hendrick said. “This is not a simple fix. There’s no short fix. If this state really wants to fix our juvenile justice system and this agency, it’s going to be long-term commitment of significant funds and some real difficult changes.”

The Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) on Shivers Road in Columbia, where these teenagers will go, has a 72-person capacity.

Hendrick said, though, that over the past few years, it has always been above that number.

On Friday, 93 teens were housed there, according to Hendrick.

“Five extra causes an issue so you can imagine how many when you’re actually in double capacity causes,” she said.

One thing driving the uptick in juvenile detention is a significant increase in violent gun charges over the last few years, Hendrick said.

The county jail’s juvenile wing will not close immediately.

As many as 32 juveniles are currently being housed at Alvin S. Glenn, and are expected to be moved in November.

However, Hendrick suggested that the number may shift.

“Juvenile cases move significantly faster than general sessions cases,” she said. “So hopefully some of 32 cases will be resolved, meaning that they could come to our other facilities, be on probation, be at an alternative placement so we’re not going to get the same 32 kids that are there on August 1 on November 1.”

The main issue at the JDC, Hendrick said, is that there is not enough space.

“JDC was not designed to hold youth longer than maybe 60 days,” she said. “We have a very limited number of classrooms, very, very limited recreational space, there’s not even a gym. The cafeteria is tiny. The medical place is absolutely not functional, intake is not functional. It’s a very, very difficult building to operate just because of the way it’s designed and the actual space we have is so limited.”

If the number of juveniles at the detention center rises above 110, Hendrick said there are ongoing discussions to possibly move some of the teenagers with more serious charges to an old facility at its Broad River Road Complex (BRRC), which has not been used in decades.

Greenville’s detention facility has sat vacant since it closed in 2022.

The state has allocated funds for DJJ to use to house additional youth, but that process is not near completion.

Any adjustments are likely only temporary solutions, Hendrick said.

“Ultimately, we need a new detention facility,” she said. “There’s no way around it.”

DJJ is currently undergoing renovations at its facilities, consolidating resources and has completed a master plan.

No construction timeline has been established for a new facility, and DJJ is still seeking more money from the legislature to make that happen.

Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WIS. For more free content like this, subscribe to our email newsletter, and download our apps. Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.

Copyright 2024 WIS. All rights reserved.