A statewide program aimed at curbing recidivism rates among youthful offenders has been producing dividends in its early years, South Carolina Department of Corrections officials report.<\/p>\n
The department incorporated the Intensive Supervision Services as a part of the Division of Young Offender Parole and Reentry Services in 2011. The program sought to reduce the rate that youthful offenders 17 to 25 years old return to jail. That rate historically has exceeded 50 percent, marking what the SCDC considered the least successful rate of any age group under parole supervision.<\/p>\n
So far, the program has served 1,240 youthful offenders, and of that number, 57 violated terms of their parole \u201d\u201c and went back to jail \u201d\u201c while 140 others have graduated from the program and reentered their communities. A parole violation, like the failure of a drug test, doesn\u2019t always result in a return to jail but can result in a graduated response such as additional rehabilitation or tracking bracelets.<\/p>\n