COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice said they were able to properly staff their facilities over the weekend after multiple employees walked off the job to protest working conditions.
The agency said in a statement Monday that direct-care employees helped cover all the shifts over the weekend. They also said SCDJJ Director Freddie Pough and other senior managers worked through the weekend to make sure security was in place and rehabilitative efforts for students continued. Five Department of Corrections personnel also gave assistance.
According to the agency, most of the employees who walked off the job Friday returned to work Monday.
About two dozen employees walked out Friday morning at the DJJ facility off Broad River Road to demand higher pay and shorter shift hours. They also said conditions inside the facility, which houses juvenile offenders, are unsafe for both themselves and the juveniles.
DJJ Director Freddie Pough eventually spoke with the protesters for about an hour. He told them he's trying to hire more employees and raise salaries for staff members.
The protests come in the wake of increased security of the state agency following an audit that was released in April by the Legislative Audit Council. That report surveyed over 1,200 DJJ employees for their opinions on job satisfaction, security, education, and medical services for juveniles.
The report found evidence of insufficient security measures to keep employees and juveniles safe, inadequate medical care, and schooling for the teens who are housed there. The report said violence was increasing, with some employees saying they feared for their own personal safety working there.
The audit findings have upset some state lawmakers, who have called multiple hearings about the problems at DJJ, with some calling for the director of the agency to step down.