Gov. Haley Praises DJJ Turnaround

In her first two years as governor, Nikki Haley has acquired a no-nonsense reputation, a reputation that manifested itself over the summer when she took unpopular stances on funding some social programs during budget negotiations. 

But, in the last two weeks, at separate media events, Haley has praised those who in her administration who help those in need of the state's assistance. Last week, Haley touted the welfare-to-work efforts of Lillian Koller, who heads the Department of Social Services.

On Monday at Homes for Hope in St. Andrews, Haley sang the praises of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), and its Director, Margaret Barber, who Haley credits with turning the agency around. 

Haley said that the agency has made significant headway in training the young people in DJJ with skills that can be put to use in the workforce.

Barber said that the DJJ, with branches in all 46 South Carolina counties has over 1,800 volunteers. Those volunteers, along with a skeleton crew have helped drop the number of children "behind the razor wire" from 175 to 95 in the past two years. Over the same period, the case loads for DJJ officers dropped by half, from an average of 100 to an average of 45.

See pictures from Haley's visit and tour HERE.