COLUMBIA, S.C. — Employees of the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice facility on Broad River Road walked out in protest of their working conditions Friday morning. They gathered outside for the entire work day demanding higher pay and shorter shift hours.
"It's getting hard, you know as a parent, as a staff member, you don't know if you're gonna come in here and leave out the same way you came," Juvenile Correctional Officer Brittany Larkin told News19.
Larkin said staff members are overworked and exhausted, which leads to an unsafe environment.
"There are people getting badly assaulted, and you don't see them for months, because it's just that the kids are not safe, because we as staff members if you're working, that many hours, you don't have a high response time, communication is down. You're tired. So, how can we as officers, protect the kids if we're working these long hours like this," asked Larkin.
Many of the protesters said they work over 24 hours straight in a shift with little to no breaks because they’re understaffed.
Senator Katrina Shealy also attended the protest to show her support for the DJJ employees.
"Their salaries are very, very low," the Senator said. "They're not appreciated for what they do and they have a very important job. They protect the children of South Carolina."
Shealy has been advocating for change at DJJ since a legislative audit report found several violations in the agency.
"I've talked over and over with the Governor's Office. I have asked him to make some changes. They haven't done that," said Shealy.
Shealy has been working with lawmakers to create recommendations to improve DJJ. The agency said they were working to make sure the facility was safe and secure while fewer staff members were working due to the protest.
DJJ Director Freddie Pough eventually came out to speak with the protesters. He addressed their concerns and answered questions about pay and safety.
"We want to try to do all that we can to get some more folks in here, to give them the support they need, the relief they need. We hope we're going to get the support from the General Assembly to raise their salaries," Pough told reporters.
Pough said he's trying to hire more employees and raise salaries for staff members, but some protesters worry that won't happen as quickly as they'd like.