Opioid Crisis Strains DCS Budget With More Foster Kids

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services has asked Gov. Bill Lee to increase its funding to continue its work with kids in foster care.

The department said it needs $78 million more to successfully serve an increase in children in the foster system.

DCS Commissioner Jennifer Nichols told Lee at a budget hearing Monday that Tennessee has seen an uptick of about 10.3 percent in the number of kids in custody in the state since 2016. She said that has led to cost increase for case management and health treatment.

The reason there are more kids in foster care can be attributed to the opioid epidemic, Nichols said.

“At this point we are asking to just recognize that this ain’t going anywhere,” Nichols said. “We need to put a name on it, and have it in there for what it is.”

The department is also facing a $15 million loss in federal funding in October, Nichols said. That money was used to reduce the number of children in foster care.

Nichols said last year more than 1,200 kids left the foster care system because they were adopted. The department still serves nearly 8,000 children.