Eden Hendrick, director of the Department of Juvenile Justice, speaks to a Senate committee on March 26, 2024, about a bill that would no longer detain status offenders. (Screenshot from SCETV legislative livestream)
COLUMBIA — In an effort to reduce overcrowding in South Carolina’s juvenile jail, senators advanced a bill Thursday that would require counties to pay more for each teenager detained.
Since 2007, state law has capped the amount counties must pay the state at $50 per day per juvenile awaiting a court ruling. The actual cost is closer to $400, said Eden Hendrick, director of the Department of Juvenile Justice…