Wes Hickman (202)224-5972 or Kevin Bishop (864) 250-1417

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today announced the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has awarded a $166,000 grant to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety to support improvements in juvenile justice programs. The funds, awarded through the State Challenge Activities Grant Program, provide incentive for states to develop, adopt, and improve programs in one or more of ten specified Challenge areas. The ten Challenge Activities are: Basic System Services, Access to Counsel, Community-Based Alternatives, Violent Juvenile Offender Facilities, Gender Specific Policies and Programs, State Ombudsman, Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders, Alternatives to School Suspension or Expulsion, Aftercare Services, and State Agency Coordination/Case Review System. “This grant will help ensure the juvenile justice programs in South Carolina are serving the needs of the state,” said Graham. ####