Bill > H3655

This bill proposes several significant changes to South Carolina's juvenile justice system, focusing on reducing the harshness of consequences for status offenses (behaviors that are only considered violations when committed by minors, such as truancy or incorrigibility). The bill eliminates the exception allowing children to be tried as adults for certain offenses, decreases the maximum time a child can be held in juvenile detention, and mandates that families first seek counseling before formal legal proceedings for status offenses. Specifically, the bill reduces the time a juvenile can be held in secure confinement, requires families to attempt counseling or family therapy before filing an incorrigibility petition, and modifies commitment rules to limit the circumstances under which a child can be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for status offenses. Additionally, the bill introduces automatic expungement of records for status offenses once the individual turns 18 and successfully completes any court-ordered dispositions, provided they have not been subsequently adjudicated for or convicted of a criminal offense. These changes aim to provide more rehabilitative and less punitive approaches to addressing juvenile behavioral issues, with a focus on family intervention and record protection for young offenders.

Justice

https://www.scstatehouse.gov/billsearch.php?billnumbers=3655&session=126&summary=B