South Carolina Department Of Juvenile Justice To Raise Age Of Family Court To 17

South Carolina is preparing to raise the upper age of juvenile justice jurisdiction from 16 to 17 by 2019. Family Courts will have jurisdiction over youth accused of committing crimes while 17 years old, excepting more severe offenses which may be waived to general sessions court.

A workgroup has been formed to estimate how many 17-year-old youth will come under Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) jurisdiction. All state and local agencies and courts are collecting the relevant data and statistics from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, and will transmit the data and statistics to court administration . . .