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S*601 Session 116 (2005-2006)
S*0601(Rat #0353, Act #0309 of 2006) General Bill, By Fair, Knotts, Thomas,
Verdin, Cromer, O'Dell, Hayes, Land, Bryant, McGill and Alexander
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION
20-7-8303 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE SHALL
DETERMINE THE RELEASE OF JUVENILES ADJUDICATED DELINQUENT FOR A STATUS OFFENSE
OR MISDEMEANOR AND THE REVOCATION OF RELEASE FOR JUVENILES WHO HAVE VIOLATED
PROBATION FOR THESE OFFENSES AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE
SHALL DETERMINE THE RELEASE AND REVOCATION OF RELEASE OF JUVENILES FOR ALL
OTHER OFFENSES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 20-7-6840, 20-7-6910, 20-7-7810, 20-7-7815,
AND 20-7-8315 AND SECTIONS 20-7-8320 AND 20-7-8325, BOTH AS AMENDED, AND ALL
RELATING TO THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE
JUSTICE AND THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE, SO AS TO CONFORM THESE SECTIONS TO
THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-8305, AS AMENDED,
RELATING TO ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE, SO AS TO
CONFORM THIS SECTION TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT AND TO REQUIRE THE
DEPARTMENT TO DEVELOP WRITTEN GUIDELINES FOR THE RELEASE OF JUVENILES FOR WHOM
THE DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THEIR RELEASE. - ratified title
03/08/05 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-9
03/08/05 Senate Referred to Committee on Corrections and Penology SJ-9
04/26/05 Senate Polled out of committee Corrections and Penology SJ-7
04/26/05 Senate Committee report: Majority favorable, minority
unfavorable Corrections and Penology SJ-7
04/26/06 Senate Minority Report Withdrawn SJ-97
04/27/06 Senate Amended SJ-44
04/27/06 Senate Read second time SJ-44
04/27/06 Senate Unanimous consent for third reading on next
legislative day SJ-44
04/28/06 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-1
04/28/06 Scrivener's error corrected
05/02/06 House Introduced and read first time HJ-10
05/02/06 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-11
05/18/06 House Recalled from Committee on Judiciary HJ-64
05/24/06 House Read second time HJ-107
05/24/06 House Motion noted- Rep. G.M. Smith noted a motion to
reconsider the vote whereby S. 601 was read
second time
05/25/06 House Motion to reconsider tabled HJ-17
05/25/06 House Read third time and enrolled HJ-17
05/31/06 Ratified R 353
06/01/06 Signed By Governor
06/06/06 Copies available
06/06/06 Effective date 04/01/07
06/08/06 Act No. 309
S. 601
(A309, R353, S601)
AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-8303 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE SHALL DETERMINE THE RELEASE OF JUVENILES ADJUDICATED DELINQUENT FOR A STATUS OFFENSE OR MISDEMEANOR AND THE REVOCATION OF RELEASE FOR JUVENILES WHO HAVE VIOLATED PROBATION FOR THESE OFFENSES AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE SHALL DETERMINE THE RELEASE AND REVOCATION OF RELEASE OF JUVENILES FOR ALL OTHER OFFENSES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 20-7-6840, 20-7-6910, 20-7-7810, 20-7-7815, AND 20-7-8315 AND SECTIONS 20-7-8320 AND 20-7-8325, BOTH AS AMENDED, AND ALL RELATING TO THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE, SO AS TO CONFORM THESE SECTIONS TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-8305, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO ADDITIONAL DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF JUVENILE PAROLE, SO AS TO CONFORM THIS SECTION TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO DEVELOP WRITTEN GUIDELINES FOR THE RELEASE OF JUVENILES FOR WHOM THE DEPARTMENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING THEIR RELEASE.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Determination of release of juveniles
SECTION 1. Subarticle 17, Article 30, Chapter 7, Title 20 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 20-7-8303. (A) The release and revocation of release of juveniles adjudicated delinquent and committed to the department must be determined by:
(1) the department for juveniles adjudicated delinquent and committed for an indeterminate period for a status offense or a misdemeanor and for juveniles who have violated probation for a status offense or a misdemeanor;
(2) the Board of Juvenile Parole for juveniles adjudicated delinquent and committed for an offense other than an offense provided for in item (1).
(B) For purposes of this  article, 'releasing entity' means:
(1) the department for juveniles described in subsection (A)(1);
(2) the Board of Juvenile Parole for juveniles described in subsection (A)(2)."
Community services
SECTION 2. Section 20-7-6840 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-6840. 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 article;
(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 probation, 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."
Victim's compensation fund
SECTION 3. Section 20-7-6910 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 135 of 1997, is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-6910. 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 20-7-6890(E)(3) or 20-7-6895(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 Victim's 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 Victim's Compensation Fund."
Commitment and transfer of juveniles
SECTION 4. Section 20-7-7810(D) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
"(D) When a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent or convicted of a crime or has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in a court authorized to commit to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the juvenile may be committed for an indeterminate period until the juvenile has reached age twenty-one or until sooner released by the releasing entity or released by order of a judge of the Supreme Court or the circuit court of this State, rendered at chambers or otherwise, in a proceeding in the nature of an application for a writ of habeas corpus. A juvenile who has not been paroled or otherwise released from the custody of the department by the juvenile's nineteenth birthday must be transferred to the custody and authority of the Youthful Offender Division of the Department of Corrections. If not sooner released by the releasing entity, the juvenile must be released by age twenty-one according to the provisions of the juvenile's commitment; however, notwithstanding the above provision, any juvenile committed as an adult offender by order of the court of general sessions must be considered for parole or other release according to the laws pertaining to release of adult offenders."
Release of juveniles
SECTION 5. Section 20-7-7815(B) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 135 of 1997, is amended to read:
"(B) When the state agency to which a juvenile is transferred determines that it is appropriate to release from commitment that juvenile, the state agency must submit a request for release to the releasing entity. If the releasing entity does not grant the request to release the juvenile, the juvenile must be placed in an environment consistent with the provisions of this section."
Responsibilities of entities releasing juveniles
SECTION 6. Section 20-7-8305 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 321 of 2000, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8305. (A)(1) The releasing entity shall meet monthly, and at other times as may be necessary, to review the records and progress of juveniles committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice for the purpose of deciding the release or revocation of release of these juveniles. The releasing entity shall make periodic inspections, at least quarterly, of the records of persons committed to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice and may issue temporary and final discharges or release these persons conditionally and prescribe conditions for release into aftercare.
(2)(a) It is the right of a juvenile who has not committed a violent offense, as defined by Section 16-1-60, to appear personally before the releasing entity every three months for the purpose of parole consideration, but no appearance may begin until the releasing entity determines that an appropriate period of time has elapsed since the juvenile's commitment.
(b) The parole board may waive the quarterly review of juveniles committed to the department for the commission of a violent crime, as defined in Section 16-1-60, until the juvenile reaches the minimum parole guidelines the board establishes for the juvenile. At that point, the board may schedule its first review of the juvenile from three months up to twelve months after the juvenile reaches the minimum parole guidelines established by the board. The scheduling of subsequent reviews is in the discretion of the board but must occur within three to twelve months of the juvenile's last appearance.
(3) In order to allow reviews and appearances by juveniles, the releasing entity may assign the members or individuals to meet in panels of not less than three members or individuals, to receive progress reports and recommendations, review cases, meet with juveniles, meet with counselors, and to hear matters and consider cases for release, parole, and parole revocation. Membership on these panels must be periodically rotated on a random basis. At the meetings of the panels, a unanimous vote must be considered the final decision. A panel vote that is not unanimous must not be considered as a final decision, and the matter must be referred to the full parole board, which shall determine the matter by a majority vote of its membership, and in the case of reviews conducted by department staff, as provided for by the director of the department.
The releasing entity may conduct parole hearings by means of a two-way, closed circuit television system.
(B) In the determination of the type of discharges or conditional releases granted, the releasing entity shall consider the interests of the person involved and the interests of society and shall employ the services of and consult with the personnel of the Department of Juvenile Justice. The releasing entity may from time to time modify the conditions of discharges or conditional releases previously granted.
(C)(1) The department shall develop written guidelines for the release of juveniles committed to the department for offenses for which the department is the releasing entity.
(2) The parole board shall develop written guidelines for the consideration of parole release of juveniles committed to the department for offenses for which the parole board is the releasing entity.
(3) The guidelines developed pursuant to this subsection must be given by the releasing entity to juveniles upon commitment and periodically reviewed with each juvenile to assess the progress made toward achieving release on parole."
Aftercare, investigations, counseling and supervision; parole board staff; department assistance to parole board
SECTION 7. Section 20-7-8315 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 383 of 1996, is amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8315. (A) The department shall conduct aftercare investigations to determine suitable placement for juveniles considered for conditional release from the correctional schools. The department also shall supervise the aftercare program, making revocation investigations and submitting findings to the releasing entity.
(B) The director and such staff as the director shall designate in the performance of their duties of investigation, counseling and supervision, and revocation investigations are considered official representatives of the releasing entity.
(C) The directors and their staff are subject to the regulations for parole and parole revocation promulgated by the releasing entity and shall meet with the releasing entity at its meetings when requested. Community-based counselors, or their supervisors, with assigned clients committed to institutions of the department shall periodically visit the institutions in order to counsel their clients and accomplish the duties as outlined in this subarticle.
(D) Recognizing the need to maintain autonomy and to provide a check and balance system, the parole board shall employ a director of parole and other staff necessary to carry out the duties of parole examinations, victim liaison, and revocation hearings. The director serves at the will and pleasure of the parole board. All staff are employees of the parole board and are directly responsible to the parole board both administratively and operationally. Funds allocated for the functions designated in this section must be incorporated as a line item within the department's budget and are subject to administrative control by the parole board.
(E) The department shall continue to provide the budgetary, fiscal, personnel, and training information resources and other support considered necessary by the parole board to perform its mandated functions."
Conditional release
SECTION 8. Section 20-7-8320 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 343 of 1998, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8320. (A) A juvenile who shall have been conditionally released from a correctional facility shall remain under the authority of the releasing entity until the expiration of the specified term imposed in the juvenile's conditional aftercare release. The specified period of conditional release may expire before but not after the twenty-first birthday of the juvenile. Each juvenile conditionally released is subject to the conditions and restrictions of the release and may at any time on the order of the releasing entity be returned to the custody of a correctional institution for violation of aftercare rules or conditions of release.
(B) As a condition of release, the releasing entity may enforce participation in restitution, work ordered by the court, and community service programs established or approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice."
Revocation of release
SECTION 9. Section 20-7-8325 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 396 of 2000, is further amended to read:
"Section 20-7-8325. (A) At any time during the period of conditional release, an aftercare counselor or the counselor's supervisor or a probation or parole agent may issue or cause to be issued a warrant for the juvenile to be taken into custody for violating any of the conditions of the release. A police officer or other officer with power to arrest, upon request of an aftercare counselor or a probation or parole agent, may take the juvenile into custody. The arresting officer shall obtain a warrant signed by the aftercare counselor or a probation or parole agent setting forth that the juvenile, in the counselor's judgment, violated the conditions of the release which is authority for the detention of the juvenile in an appropriate place of detention. If an aftercare release revocation is necessary, the aftercare counselor or a probation or parole agent shall submit in writing a thorough report to the releasing entity, showing in what manner the delinquent juvenile has violated the conditional release. A juvenile returned to the custody of a correctional school by aftercare revocation shall have a hearing or review of the juvenile's case by the releasing entity. The releasing entity is the final authority to determine whether or not the juvenile failed to abide by the aftercare rules and conditions of release.
(B) An aftercare counselor or probation or parole agent who has successfully completed Class I or II law enforcement officer training and received a certificate from the Department of Public Safety pursuant to the provisions of Article 9, Chapter 6 of Title 23 has the power, when commissioned by the department, to take a juvenile conditionally released from the custody of the department and subject to the jurisdiction of the releasing entity into custody upon the issuance of a warrant for violating the conditions of his release."
Time effective
SECTION 10. This act takes effect April 1, 2007.
Ratified the 31st day of May, 2006.
Approved the 1st day of June, 2006.
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