FLORENCE - The director of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice said Monday that a major hurdle will be overcome if the department can graduate abused and neglected children into a productive life.

William R. “Bill” Byars Jr.’s remarks came during a luncheon attended by members of the Florence Rotary Club and the Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault. The luncheon at Florence Civic Center was held in recognition of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Byars said there are many good things going on at DJJ following some rocky years in which the system was near the bottom nationwide. Improved educational facilities rank at the top.

Byars said improving the department’s services is one of Gov. Mark Sanford’s priorities. And DJJ has created its own foundation to assist with things the state can’t supply.

“There are a lot of people out there who care about abused and neglected kids, even when they are in trouble and are in one of our facilities” he said. “People are asking what we need and saying they will help us.”

Byars said this year he asked the governor and the General Assembly to let him build one thing. He said he wants those who work with him to believe that change can happen. He would like to see small, individualized facilities with individualized care.

“We’re on a new day,” Byars said. “We don’t need big facilities. DJJ is not forgetting these children who were abused five and 10 years ago. They are now being looked at too.

“And the ultimate thing for us is if we can graduate them into a productive life, then we will save tens upon tens upon tens of thousands of dollars to make you and me more safe,” he said. “And we will have done unto the least of God’s children for the benefit of us all.”

Byars said a study published in Sacramento, Calif., said abused children are 100 more times likely to commit crime than the average child who is not abused or neglected. He said those who are abused eventually move from being victims to being perpetuators.

Byars said two-thirds of the children who wind up at DJJ come from families with annual incomes less than $20,000. Most are born out of wedlock and one-third don’t live with a mom or a dad. Only 12 percent come from a home with both parents, and 56 percent from a home with one parent.

“Over 100,000 kids are in foster care drift,” he said. “That means they are not going back home yet they aren’t being adopted.”

Byars said parents are the perpetuators in many cases like these, plus U.S. adoption laws compound problems.

“You can’t hold a child in limbo waiting on the parent to get the monkey off their backs,” he said. “Children can’t wait. If you don’t do things like this in a timely manner, a child is lost.”

The Pee Dee Coalition serves seven counties. It is located at 226 S. Irby St., and its 24-hour crisis line is (843) 669-4600 or (800) 273-1820.

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