Jim Henry was named interim commissioner of the Department of Children’s Services following the departure of Kate O’Day. She left under pressure because of unreported child deaths. Credit: Blake Farmer/WPLN
Three state lawmakers have written a letter to Department of Children Services Commissioner Jim Henry, imploring him to reopen the Taft Youth Development Center, a detention facility for the state’s most violent teenagers that closed in 2012.
The letter follows recent violent episodes at Nashville’s Woodland Hills Youth Development Center. On Monday night, thirty-two inmates escaped the facility, six of whom are still at large. A small riot Wednesday included inmates brandishing pipes and spraying fire extinguishers. Authorities responded with police helicopters and officers from the Tennessee Highway patrol, who eventually quelled the uproar.
“I feel very confident if Taft was still open, these incidents would not have happened,” wrote Rep. Cameron Sexton. He sent the letter along with Rep. Paul Bailey and Rep. Ron Travis.
In 2012, Then-Commissioner Kathryn O’Day recommended closing Taft. It was the most expensive detention facility to operate — around $8.5 million a year. The decision to close the facility was of a piece with Gov. Bill Haslam’s goal of cutting state spending across the board by 2 percent.
DCS Spokesman Rob Johnson said Commissioner Henry respects the position of the lawmakers. Yet right now, “I don’t think he’s seriously considering reopening Taft, given the number of empty beds at other facilities,” he said.
Johnson said Woodland Hills, unlike Taft, emphasizes rehabilitation and therapeutic practices. “We’re shifting away from using lock-up facilities in the way they may have in past decades,” he said.
Still, Rep. Sexton, whose district includes Cumberland County, said Taft was the most costly facility for a reason: It’s expensive to control the state’s most violent teenagers.
“We felt strongly that the other facilities would not be able to handle the more violent and troubled youth. This was one of our primary concerns with the 2012 decision,” he wrote.
The three lawmakers wrote that they “respectfully ask that you give strong consideration to reopening Taft. We understand that additional resources will be needed to accomplish this and we are committed to working with you to make this happen.”
Although Johnson maintains that Woodland Hills’ staff was at full capacity the night of the break, he did admit that many of them might have been over-extending from overtime. There are currently 26 vacancies at the facility.
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