The Children Behind the Fence (Preview)

All children deserve to be safe and supported. The unfortunate reality is that South Carolina's system of juvenile justice is marred by inequality, hampered by constant staff turnover, and struggling to rehabilitate the children in its care.

That's why the ACLU of South Carolina is preparing a report, "The Children Behind the Fence," highlighting facts and stories from the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice that do not often reach the general public.

The full report will be out soon. In the meantime, here are a few of our early findings.

Status offenses include truancy, incorrigibility, running away, and possession of alcohol while underage. [1] We agree with leaders in the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) who have said for years that the state must find better ways to provide care for children who commit these nonviolent offenses. That's why we support bills like S. 16 and H. 3655 that would prevent children from being detained in SCDJJ facilities for status offenses.

SCDJJ used to release statistical reports about the children in its care every year. In a failure of public transparency, the department stopped publishing those reports in 2021. To understand how the racial inequality in this system has changed, we filed Freedom of Information requests to obtain the data you see above.

We found that the existing patterns of racial inequality in referrals and detention had only worsened. From solicitors to school districts to SCDJJ itself, the state is still placing a disproportionate number of Black children on the school-to-prison pipeline.

We can fix this problem, and it starts by speaking plainly about how unequal our system is. Schools and prosecutors can find other ways to care for children exhibiting behavior problems, including community-based interventions. Lawmakers can pass bills like H. 3595, which set up pretrial diversion courts for juveniles who commit certain first-time, nonviolent status offenses.

Some of the public conversation around juvenile justice reform has focused on a supposed spike in youth crime. While some children do still commit serious crimes, these crime numbers — like most crime numbers — have fallen dramatically since the 1990s. [2] The list of the top offenses leading to SCDJJ referrals in 2025 included marijuana possession, running away (a status offense), and shoplifting.

If South Carolina wants to make progress and help the children in its care, we must find ways to rehabilitate and uplift children, not punish them.

Interested in learning more about how your home county fits into the juvenile justice system? Explore the data below.

Want to learn more about bills involving children's rights and the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice? Visit our Legislation page and learn more.

[1] Status offenses are defined in S.C. Code of Laws Section 63-19-20(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.”

For the purposes of this report, the following offenses are considered status offenses: Contempt of Court by Child (Status); false representation of age to obtain liquors; minor purchase or possession of alcoholic liquors; purchase or possession of beer or wine by minor; Municipal or Local Jurisdiction Status Offense; Probation Violation for Cat. VI - Status; Status: Incorrigible, Ungovernable, Beyond the Control of Parents; Runaway; and Truancy.

[2] The S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice has referred to the following offenses as "violent or serious" reasons for referral: murder, criminal sexual conduct 1st & 2nd degree, assault & battery with intent to kill, kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery, arson 1st & 2nd degree, burglary 1st & 2nd degree, drug trafficking, and all offenses categorized in the South Carolina Code of Laws as acts against persons, except for non-aggravated assaults such as assault and battery 3rd degree.