Remarks By Governor David M. Beasley

1988 Governor's Conference on Youth Crime

March 5, 1998

Note: The Governor sometimes deviates from text.

Thank you, Judge Byars. I want to start by saying a huge "Thank you" to you and your fellow Juvenile Justice Task Force members.

Judge Byars recently took on the chairmanship of the Task Force, and we're grateful to him for his leadership and commitment.

A few short years ago, I also asked many of you to give your time, energy and expertise to some hurting, troubled young people in this state.

You rose to that challenge and you helped us develop a system of juvenile justice we can be proud of.

Today I'm honored to welcome all of you to our second Governor's Conference on Youth Crime.

This conference is an important part of the work you're called to. Not only is it a time to get a well-deserved pat on the back, but it's also a time to swap ideas and go home with new ones.

Inez Tenenbaum, you have been an incredible force. And we thank you, Mary Resch and the Center for Family Policy for making this conference possible.

Bart Lubow and the Annie Casey Foundation, we also want to thank you for your continued generous support of our reforms and this conference.

And I should thank Justice Finney for allowing Bill and our judges to join us today.

They're one component of a powerful team...from child advocates to legislators to clergy...that has absolutely moved mountains in the lives of South Carolina youth.

It was only three short years ago that we had a real crisis on our hands. Ours was an overcrowded, broken down system...complete with a federal court order.

Today, we're being held up as a model across the nation. Other states want to know: How can we do what South Carolina is doing?

Today in South Carolina's juvenile justice system, boot camp training is standard. Treatment is intense and individualized. Violent and non-violent offenders are being separated.

And in the most proven method of rehabilitating young offenders, inmates are getting out from behind the razor wire and into wilderness camps, where they're learning life skills and the measure of their own self-worth.

Ours is a thoughtful, preventive approach that's truly restoring young lives.

And I think Flora Boyd, Colonel Kispert and the entire DJJ staff deserve a round of applause. You all have done an extraordinary job.

Together, we've done more than just met the stipulations of a court order. We have exceeded them.

And now we're ready for the next phase in curbing youth crime. We're ready to move from behind the fences into the community...where these children grow and live...to prevent crime on the local level and promote lasting change.

That work is already underway, thanks to our 16 local youth councils.

A year ago at this conference, I charged you in our youth councils with creating diversion programs locally and getting to troubled youth early.

We knew we could do the most good if we brought families and communities into our efforts...instead of just shipping kids off to Broad River without a backwards glance.

You have really rolled up your sleeves...giving up your time and getting yourselves involved in the lives of young people.

One growing initiative that's seeing phenomenal success is juvenile arbitration. That's a fancy name for the old-fashioned way of handling troublemakers.

We just get the child, the arresting officer, the volunteer arbitrator, and the victims all in one room together. And we hash it out. We say, "OK, what does this teenager need to do to get back on track, to pay back the damage he or she has done?"

Juveniles are facing up to their crimes. They're looking their victims square in the eye. And they're making valuable decisions not to offend again.

Inez told us about one teenager who had vandalized a church.

Instead of just riding off to DJJ to do her time, she had to stand up in front of the entire congregation, shaking in her boots, and say, "Yes, I did this to you. I'm sorry."

Instead of throwing stones, that church greeted her with open arms. They told her how proud they were of her courage to come forward. And she's never committed another offense since. It's been seven years.

Those kinds of experiences seem to be changing the course of a lot of lives. Only about 5 out of a hundred kids who go through arbitration ever get into trouble again.

Whether it's innovative ideas like drug courts, family intervention or mentoring, what you're doing is having an impact. And I want you to know, we believe in it and we want to support it.

That's why I'm proud to announce today that DJJ is making available $500,000 in grants, available as seed money that the youth councils can apply for. It's our hope that the money will be matched by community dollars for a real partnership.

Most of you have been putting your plans together hook and crook, so this ought to be a powerful incentive for you to keep moving with the programs you've created and establish even more of them.

And our new Youth Council staff will keep working to assist you in your communities.

But if there's anything we've learned these three years, it's that government and its money can only do so much.

We can only promote change. But you are the folks to see it through.

You know what needs to be done and how to do it. You're going to learn even more at this conference.

But you have the most valuable equipment of all: you have hearts that care....that don't believe in the label, "lost cause."

I tell you, you don't have to listen very long to DJJ's Insiders group before they'll make believers out of you...that there is hope for the young people of DJJ.

I sat down with that group of kids out at Midlands R&E last year. And just like they'd already told 40,000 of their peers, they told me their stories. They told me about their home lives and their hurts and their hopes.

It absolutely breaks your heart to see where their wrong choices have taken them.

But now those young people are moving in a new direction in part by the grace of God, and in part by the compassion and leadership of the folks in this room.

Our young people need rules and discipline and someone to believe in them.

The more we can do to empower the family and the community to bear that responsibility, the better off we'll all be.

But I'm thankful that you, too, have chosen to believe in lost causes. You've helped us change the mission and the results of a broken system and broken lives.

And with your help, I'm looking forward to showing the rest of the nation how sweet that victory can be when a lost cause wins.

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