Strom Law Firm partnered with Represent Justice, Share One Love and SCCID to host a screening of the movie “On These Grounds” followed by a discussion on the South Carolina Juvenile Justice Reform Act, and a Q & A with activist Vivian Anderson (Every Black Girl) and Professor Josh Gupta-Kagan (University of South Carolina). The event took place at Barrister Hall and was cosponsored by the Lawyers’ Committee on Children’s Rights, South Carolina.
Photo (L to R): Chamal Mediwaka (Strom Law Firm), Josh Gupta-Kagan (University of South Carolina Law School), Dr. Aleksandra Chauhan (Public Defender - Richland County), Vivian Anderson (Every Black Girl) , Jordan Thomas (Share One Love)
The Juvenile Justice Reform Act (JJRA) and the school-prison pipeline
- Narrows “student threats”
- Requires information on special education status to be shared with school-based Family Court referrals
- Limits misdemeanor school-based referrals to when child engages in repeat behavior (3x over 6 months)
- Limits when schools must report crimes to law enforcement to serious offenses
- Prohibits incarceration for status offenses, including truancy
The JJRA: Reforms Related to Education
- Limits the statute related to student threats (SECTION 4)
- Changes to possession of non-lethal weapons on school grounds statute (SECTION 5)
- Establishes petition requirements for misdemeanor school-based offenses (SECTION 29)
- Limits unnecessary referrals to law enforcement by reducing the school-to- prison pipeline (SECTION 29)
- Limits collateral consequences of juvenile justice system involvement at school (SECTION 46)
- Prohibits automatic placement in an alternative school upon release from DJJ (SECTION 47)
- Provides assistance to justice-involved children with timely graduation (SECTION 47)
- School liaisons to facilitate children’s reentry into local school districts (SECTION 47)
Reforms on Diversion programs
- Establishes the presumption of diversion for first-time non-violent offenses (SECTION 28)
- Establishes at least one pre-detention intervention program in each circuit (SECTION 23)
- Establishes a civil citation program (SECTION 3)
- Establishes specialty treatment programs in each circuit (SECTION 35)
- Requires diversion programs to be available for more than first time offenders (SECTION 28)
- Establishes an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal option (SECTION 32)
- Establishes diversion programs for status offenders (SECTION 27)
- Establishes a standard for diversion programs to be evidence-based, culturally relevant, trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate and they need to promote long-term success for children (SECTION 23)
- Prohibits fees for juvenile diversion programs (SECTION 31)
Reforms related to status offenders
- Prohibits incarceration of status offenders (SECTION 26)
- Mandates services to status offenders and their families before petitioning to the court (SECTION 28)
- Prohibits commitment to DJJ for status offenders (SECTION 36)
- Provides for automatic expungement for status offenses (SECTION 44)
