The state’s Department of Children’s Services is threatening to close one of its five facilities for juvenile offenders as a way to meet a reduced budget. Governor Bill Haslam has asked for department heads to consider the impact of a five percent cut.
DCS Commissioner Kathryn O’Day says she would close the Taft Juvenile Center near Pikeville and move the delinquents to other facilities.
“This was a difficult decision as to which center. You know you’ve got to do something structural with that kind of cost.”
Taft is the oldest and most expensive center to run. O’Day says the Bledsoe County campus is in need of $37 million in upgrades.
However, O’Day’s business-like decision isn’t sitting well with state lawmakers. Objections are coming from both sides of the aisle. Five state senators signed a letter calling Taft’s potential closure “drastic,” pointing out that the center is designed to handle “more serious and older delinquents.”
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