Sustain juvenile justice reform

It is because of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice's remarkable progress in recent years that it should be able to weather severe budget cuts. But eroding the agency further would be a serious mistake.

In the past seven years, under the direction of retired Family Court Judge Bill Byars, DJJ has successfully shifted its emphasis from incarceration to more effective alternate programs.

Those changes are working for juveniles, and they also are saving money. They have reduced the need for cell space and reduced juvenile recidivism. In 2003, there were 90 girls behind the razor wire in Columbia. Last week, there were 12.

Judge Byars has also heightened community supervision of serious offenders after they are released and has focused on wilderness camps and after-school centers for offenders who end up in trouble often because they fall behind in school.

DJJ's philosophy mirrors that of the state's new sentencing reform law, which recognizes that in dealing with adults, violent offenders need to be treated differently than drug users.

Like the reforms at DJJ, the new law will manage those guilty of non-violent offenses in the community rather than in prison, where they are more likely to become hardened, dangerous criminals. Recognizing that sentencing reform will increase the burden on state parole officers, the Legislature restored some of the funding that had been cut from that agency because of state budget woes.

While DJJ reforms have limited incarceration costs, its alternative programs have still sustained budget cuts. The agency has had to close a school and eliminate one of its 12 wilderness camps, which are run by Clemson University. Fourteen school jobs have been lost and employees are being required to take furloughs that range from seven to 14 days.

Should the successful DJJ programs falter because of budget cuts, people in all parts of the state would suffer the consequences.

Children on the wrong course who might be rehabilitated could miss out on the help they need. Crime could increase. More citizens could become victims, and more parents could see children end up behind bars.

One of society's obligations is to promote the welfare of children. And one of the most important roles of government is to protect its citizens.

The state cannot afford, morally or financially, to handicap the Department of Juvenile Justice and undermine the impressive progress it has made toward fulfilling those obligations.