South Carolina General Assembly
105th Session, 1983-1984

Bill 3284


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3284
Ratification Number:       317
Act Number:                299
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Relating to commitment of children to the
                           custody of the Board of Youth Services
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A299, R317, H3284)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-2170, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO COMMITMENT OF CHILDREN TO THE CUSTODY OF THE BOARD OF YOUTH SERVICES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMITTING JUDGE MAY WAIVE IN WRITING TEMPORARY COMMITMENT TO A RECEPTION AND EVALUATION CENTER IN CASES WHERE THE CHILD CONCERNED HAS WITHIN THE PAST YEAR EITHER BEEN EVALUATED BY THE CENTER OR HAS WITHIN THE PAST YEAR BEEN TEMPORARILY OR FINALLY DISCHARGED OR CONDITIONALLY RELEASED OR PAROLED FROM A CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES, AND THE CHILD'S PREVIOUS EVALUATION OR OTHER EQUIVALENT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE TO THE COURT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Temporary commitment of children

SECTION 1. The fourth paragraph of Section 20-7-2170 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 398 of 1982, is further amended to read:

"The court, before committing a child as a delinquent or as a part of a sentence, shall first temporarily commit the child to a reception and evaluation center of the Board of Youth Services for a period not to exceed forty-five days for evaluation, and the board shall make a recommendation to the court prior to final commitment. The committing judge may waive in writing temporary commitment in cases where the child concerned has within the past year either been evaluated by a center, and the evaluation is available to the court or has within the past year been temporarily or finally discharged or conditionally released or paroled from a correctional institution of the Department of Youth Services, and the child's previous evaluation or other equivalent information is available to the court. All commitments to the custody of the Board of Youth Services for delinquency as opposed to the conviction of a specific crime may be made only for the reasons and in the manner prescribed in Sections 20-7-400, 20-7-410, 20-7-430, 20-7-460, 20-7-600, 20-7-620, 20-7-740, 20-7-750, 20-7-760, 20-7-770, 20-7-780, 20-7-1330, 20-7-1340, and 20-7-1520, with evaluations made and proceedings conducted only by the judges authorized to order commitments in this section. When a child is committed to the custody of the board under the proceedings, commitment must be for an indeterminate sentence, not extending beyond the twenty-first birthday of the child unless sooner released by the board."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.