COLUMBIA, S.C. — Looking for work in South Carolina? Juvenile Justice corrections officers get $35,000 a year to start, but the shifts are grueling and violence is an ever-present danger.
Eden Hendrick just took over South Carolina’s Office of Juvenile Justice. She told lawmakers that she has 232 corrections officer vacancies - more than she has officers. She says no one is applying.
The starting salary was recently bumped up from $30,000 a year, and she's hiring a recruiting firm to help. But she testified Tuesday that there's no way the office's problems will get fixed anytime soon.