Despite ongoing problems, SC’s juvenile justice agency won’t seek more money
Despite acknowledging her agency has serious problems, the acting director of South Carolina’s juvenile justice agency isn’t asking for more money in her annual budget request.
Instead, in order to cover $56.7 million in facility upgrade needs and efforts to address staffing shortages, Department of Juvenile Justice Acting Director Eden Hendrick wants to use accumulated money that went unspent in previous years and just needs the go-ahead from lawmakers.
“I know it’s a very unusual request that I’m sitting here telling you all the bad things that are happening to DJJ and that we’re not asking for money,” Hendrick told S.C. House budget writers. “But we have that cash. We just need the flexibility to use it. I’m not saying that next year, I won’t come back with a huge ask and have all of these different things that we want to do. But I’ve only been there four and a half months. These are the immediate needs I have assessed, and I think this is the most prudent way to go forward.”
Hendrick said she expects the agency to have enough in unspent dollars to upgrade cells, add more security cameras and add bathrooms in order to improve DJJ facilities. Her plan also includes more than a half-million dollars to work with a recruiting agency to encourage people to work at DJJ and $200,000 over five years for an employee assistance program.
“Anything we can do to improve our physical facilities, (to) improve employee morale, all of that will help us recruit and maintain better staff,” Hendrick said.
Hendrick took over for previous director Freddie Pough, who resigned last September after a scathing Legislative Audit Council report identified severe staffing and security issues at the agency that came to a head in June when employees at the Broad River Road Complex walked off the job over low pay, working conditions and staff shortages.
In recent years, the agency has had trouble filling positions, such as juvenile correctional officers. It’s a problem that continues. More than half of the agency’s budgeted juvenile correctional officer positions are unfilled, Hendrick said. Only 192 of the agency’s 410 positions are filled, she said.
As a result, the agency has accumulated millions of unspent dollars allocated by lawmakers. Lawmakers last year gave DJJ an additional $4.5 million to retain employees at the agency.
“You almost have to have the environment where people that work there are willing to tell their friends at church or the convenience store or grocery store that they want to come work there. I’d like to get to that,” said state Sen. Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg.
Hendrick told Senate budget writers most of the employees who were involved in the June walkout are still employed with the agency and said she has spoken to them about their concerns
“I have tried to think outside of the box and try to do things very differently than the past administration to make our staff and our youth feel more secure so that we can recruit better people,” Hendrick said.
‘Ask for more’
To improve morale and increase safety within the agency’s facilities, Hendrick wants to tackle many capital needs.
Before she started working at the agency, DJJ began upgrading its security camera system, a project she expanded.
“The more cameras, the better,” Hendrick said. “The more we can see, the better.”
She also has a contract with a recruitment company to try to attract people to work for the agency, and she wants to start an employee assistance program for workers who deal with a traumatic situation at work.
“DJJ is known to have some worker comp issues,” Hendrick said. “You can get injured, and you can see some things that happen at work. And so I think it’s necessary for us to be able to provide that service for our employees.”
DJJ can’t use its kitchen at its Broad River Road facility because it’s in need of upgrades, which Hendrick called dire.
Even though the agency has completed several deep cleans, an extensive remodel would be in the best interest of the agency, Hendrick said.
“I wouldn’t eat out of that kitchen,” Hendrick said. “I wouldn’t serve my children out of that kitchen, so I don’t want DJJ’s kids to be served out of that kitchen.”
Hendrick also wants to increase its contracts for outside companies to handle janitorial and lawn mowing work, because the agency doesn’t have in-house staff to handle the work.
State Sen. Katrina Shealy, R-Lexington, who was a vocal critic of the previous DJJ leadership, said she thinks Hendrick is on the right track and wants to fix the agency.
But in a year when lawmakers have $3 billion in available surpluses to allocation, Shealy said she believes Hendrick and DJJ should have asked for additional dollars because other issues may arise.
“She should always ask for more money for more staff or more money to increase salaries,” Shealy said. “You’re not always going to get all that you ask for, number one, so ask for more and hope you get part of it. But ask for money for programs and facilities because the facilities are in pretty bad shape and need some upfitting, even what’s out there.”
Shealy said, however, she wishes DJJ spent the money in previous years on recruiting and hiring more employees, programs for the incarcerated children, maintenance of buildings and fields, or upgrading security systems, rather than holding onto it.
“There is so much they could have used that money for,” Shealy said.
The proposed work includes:
▪ $11.25 million for technology needs
▪ $2.8 million for security upgrades for dorms to allow for closed-bay pods and in-dorm, short-term isolation
▪ $4.5 million for statewide surveillance equipment and services for existing facilities
▪ $2.5 million for heating, ventilation and air conditioning replacements
▪ $730,000 for gym and science buildings roof replacement
▪ $1.72 million for Laurel Building safety modifications
▪ $150,000 for repairs to finance building to allow for relocation of administrative staff
▪ $10 million for new kitchen and laundry room facility at the Broad River Road campus
