Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

Committee Report

March 27, 2024

S. 266

Introduced by Senators Hutto, Jackson, Shealy, Devine and McLeod

S. Printed 03/27/24--S.

Read the first time January 10, 2023

________

The committee on Senate Judiciary

To whom was referred a Bill (S. 266) to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by amending Section 63-19-820, relating to out-of-home placement, so as to eliminate the exception for children to be tried, etc., respectfully

Report:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:

    Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:

SECTION 1.  Section 63-19-20(9) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

    (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, or running away, playing or loitering in a billiard room, playing a pinball machine, or gaining admission to a theater by false identification.

SECTION 2.  Section 63-19-820(C) and (E) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

    (C) No A child may must not be placed in secure confinement or ordered detained by the court in secure confinement in an adult jail or other place of detention for adults for more than six hours. However, the prohibition against the secure confinement of juveniles in adult jails does not apply to juveniles who have been waived to the court of general sessions for the purpose of standing trial as an adult. Juveniles A child placed in secure confinement in an adult jail during this six-hour period must be confined in an area of the jail which is separated by sight and sound from adults similarly confined.

    (E) A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained in an adult detention facility. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of the law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult must not be placed or ordered detained more than twenty-four hours in a juvenile detention facility, unless an order previously has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the secure detention of that child in a juvenile detention facility. If a juvenile is ordered detained for violating a valid court order, the juvenile may be held in secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility for not more than seventy-two  hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this section precludes a law enforcement officer from taking a status offender into custody. A child who is taken into custody because of a violation of law which would not be a criminal offense under the laws of this State if committed by an adult, or because of a violation of a court order related to a status offense, must not be placed or ordered detained in an adult or juvenile detention facility. If an order previously has been issued by the court, of which the child has notice and which notifies the child that further violation of the court's order may result in the out-of-home placement of that child, the child may be held in secure confinement in a juvenile detention facility, therapeutic foster care, crisis shelter, or other alternative nonsecure placement approved by the Department of Juvenile Justice, when leaving the child outside of state custody will not reasonably protect the child or the public, for not more than forty-eight hours, excluding weekends and holidays. However, nothing in this section precludes a law enforcement officer from initiating a case against a child allegedly committing a status offense, as long as all requirements listed in Section 63-19-1020(B) are met.

SECTION 3.  Section 63--1020 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

    Section 63-19-1020.  (A) The parent or custodian of a child, an official of a child welfare board, a public official charged by law with the care of the poor, the recognized agents of an agency, association, society, or institution, a person having knowledge or information of a nature which convinces the person that a child is delinquent or that a child, by reason of his own acts in accordance with this chapter, is subject to the jurisdiction of the court, any person who has suffered injury through the delinquency of a child, or an officer having an arrested child in charge, may institute a proceeding respecting the child.

    (B) Before the department may accept a referral for the status offense of incorrigibility or before a petition for the offense of incorrigibility may be filed, the person or entity seeking to institute the proceeding first shall provide documentation indicating that the parent or custodian and the child have made reasonable efforts to resolve the challenges confronting the family through participation in family counseling, pastoral counseling, parenting improvement classes, or other family therapy services. If no prior assistance has been sought, the department shall refer the parent or custodian to service providers in the family's community or provide services itself to assist the family.

SECTION 4.  Section 63-19-1410 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

    Section 63-19-1410.  (A) When a child is found by decree of the court to be subject to this chapter, the court shall in its decree make a finding of the facts upon which the court exercises its jurisdiction over the child. Following the decree, the court by order shall enter the least restrictive appropriate disposition order from the following options in view of the seriousness of the delinquent act, such child's culpability as indicated by the circumstances of the particular case, the age of such child, such child's prior record, and such child's strengths and needs; and by order may:

       (1) cause a child concerning whom a petition has been filed to be examined or treated by a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist and for that purpose place the child in a hospital or other suitable facility and;

       (2) order care and treatment as it considers best, except as otherwise provided in this section and may designate a state agency as the lead age