South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice Reducing Isolation Initiative

The Reducing the Use of Isolation in Juvenile Facilities program will provide funding to support states, territories, units of local government, and federally recognized tribes to implement strategies to safely reduce the use of isolation in juvenile facilities.

The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) Reducing Isolation Initiative aims to reduce the use and duration of isolation in its current secure long-term facility and in two additional long-term facilities. The initiative is designed to mitigate the negative consequences of isolation for the projected 6,408 youth that the agency is expected to serve over a 3-year period. The goals of this initiative include providing leadership and agency policy on the use of isolation by SCDJJ; increasing the capacity of security staff to prevent and appropriately respond to disruptive youth behaviors; enhancing understanding of and accountability for isolation practices; and implementing evidence-based practices and protocols to prevent behaviors that may lead to the use of isolation, including significantly enhanced programming and development of a positive and incentive-based behavior management system with alternative responses and interventions. CA/NCF