South Carolina General Assembly
105th Session, 1983-1984

Bill 3287


                    Current Status

BillNumber:                3287
Ratification Number:       357
Act Number:                325
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Relating to the Children's Code and exclusive 
                           original jurisdiction of the Family Court

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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A325, R357, H3287)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-400, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE CHILDREN'S CODE AND EXCLUSIVE ORIGINAL JURISDICTION OF THE FAMILY COURT, AND SECTION 20-7-1330, RELATING TO THE CHILDREN'S CODE AND DISPOSITION AND ADJUDICATION OF CASES IN THE FAMILY COURT, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR ANY CHILD WHO HAS BEEN PLACED ON PROBATION TO REMAIN UNDER THE COURT'S AUTHORITY UNTIL THE EXPIRATION OF THE SPECIFIED TERM OF HIS PROBATION WHICH MAY EXPIRE BEFORE BUT NOT AFTER THE CHILD'S EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY AND TO CHANGE ANY REFERENCE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE PLACEMENT AND AFTERCARE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH SERVICES.

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

Jurisdiction of Family Court

SECTION 1. Subsection (B) of Section 20-7-400 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 71 of 1981, is amended to read:

"(B) Whenever the court has acquired the jurisdiction of any child under seventeen years of age, jurisdiction continues so long as, in the judgment of the court, it may be necessary to retain jurisdiction for the correction or education of the child, but jurisdiction shall terminate when the child attains the age of twenty-one years. Any child who has been adjudicated, delinquent and placed on probation by the court remains under the authority of the court only until the expiration of the specified term of his probation. This specified term of probation may expire before but not after the eighteenth birthday of the child."

Further

SECTION 2. Item (a) of Section 20-7-1330, as added by Act 71 of 1981, is amended to read:

"(a) Place the child on probation or under supervision in his own home or in the custody of a suitable person elsewhere, upon conditions as the court may determine. Any child placed on probation by the court remains under the authority of the court only until the expiration of the specified term of his probation. This specified term of probation may expire before but not after the eighteenth birthday of the child. Probation means casework services during a continuance of the case. Probation must not be ordered or administered as punishment, but as a measure for the protection, guidance, and well-being of the child and his family. Probation methods must be directed to the discovery and correction of the basic causes of maladjustment and to the development of the child's personality and character, with the aid of the social resources of the community. The court may impose restitution or participation in supervised work or community service as a condition of probation. The Department of Youth Services, in coordination with local community agencies, shall develop and encourage employment of a constructive nature designed to make reparation and to promote the rehabilitation of the child. If the court imposes as a condition of probation a requirement that restitution in a specified amount be paid, the amount to be paid as restitution may not exceed five hundred dollars. The Department of Youth Services shall develop a system for the transferring of any court ordered restitution from the juvenile to the victim or owner of any property injured, destroyed, or stolen."

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 6th Day of April, 1984