Youth Justice Reform Now

South Carolina continues to lock up children for status offenses, or activities that are only illegal because of the offender's age.

Alonzo Canzater saw how children enter the school-to-prison pipeline – first as a young man in SCDJJ custody, and later as an adult who returned to mentor youth behind the fence. Watch Alonzo tell his story here:

In 2025, 14% of SCDJJ referrals and 8% of detentions were for status offenses including truancy, incorrigibility, running away, and possession of alcohol while underage.

Contact with the juvenile justice system is a common pathway into a system called the "school-to-prison pipeline," where youth find themselves pushed out of schools and into the carceral system.

The No. 1 charge leading to an SCDJJ referral was third-degree assault and battery. This is the lowest-level charge for assault and battery. Public defenders say that some of these referrals are for school fights and could be handled better as in-school disciplinary issues. Other top offenses included nonviolent crimes like marijuana possession and running away from home.

Racial inequality in South Carolina's juvenile justice system has widened in the last decade.

Tamara Coppinger Green sees the glaring racial disparities of the juvenile justice system every day in her job as a deputy public defender representing juvenile defendants in Charleston County. Watch Tamara tell her story here:

3 out of 4 children detained by SCDJJ in 2025 were Black. This is the highest level of inequality on record since 2015.

School officials, lawmakers, law enforcement officers, solicitors, family court judges, and SCDJJ staff all make decisions that lead to this outcome. Inside and outside of the system, we all can play a role in building a safer, fairer state for all children.

The S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice continues to place vulnerable youth in harm’s way.

Davon Stephens experienced the dangers of time spent in SCDJJ custody. Watch Davon tell his story here:

Again and again, people working inside and outside of SCDJJ have warned that conditions were dangerous. The ACLU of South Carolina sued SCDJJ in 2022 demanding clean water, safety from violence, and freedom from solitary confinement, among other things. Leaders promised the department would change. But did it?

One way to measure the ongoing harm to children in SCDJJ custody is by counting "critical incidents,” which include fatalities, near-fatalities, and instances of serious bodily or emotional injury.

Critical incident reports in SCDJJ have soared since 2021. In the most recent report from 2025, SCDJJ submitted 2,175 critical incident notifications including the following totals:

• Physical Injury: 848 incidents

• Substantial Risk of Injury: 512 incidents

• Suicidal Ideation: 216 incidents

• Medical Emergency: 199 incidents

• Sexual in Nature: 169 incidents

• Missing: 106 incidents

• Restraint: 62 incidents

• Isolation: 36 incidents

• Near Fatality: 27 incidents