A class action lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services failed to protect children in the juvenile justice system.
DCS gets approval to add more beds for kids in state custody, but not without being told to think bigger in the future
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services got approval to add 72 more beds for housing juvenile inmates. And they plan to ask for 500 more next session. But some lawmakers think they will need even more.
Child welfare advocates ask DCS to look to previous federal oversight for a path forward
Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services could stand to revisit federal oversight that lifted in 2017, say child welfare advocates and legal experts. The court settlement known as “Brian A” required that the state spend money on critical improvements, like having enough case managers so they didn’t handle more than 20 children at a time.