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.
Report: Child abuse and neglect are costing Tennessee billions of dollars a year
Abuse and neglect take an enormous emotional toll on children across Tennessee. Now, a new report estimates the economic impact of child abuse, and finds it’s costing the state billions of dollars each year.
A top Republican pauses Gov. Bill Lee’s attempt to disband the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth
A bill, which seemed to be retaliatory, would’ve dissolved a commission made to audit the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. The idea came straight from the governor’s office, but it is no longer being pursued.
Tennessee Democrats demand DCS release children taken from Black family after a traffic stop
Tennessee Democrats are demanding the state’s Department of Children’s Services return five Black children taken from their parents following a traffic stop in Coffee County last month, the details of which quickly went viral after the Tennessee Lookout first reported the story on Thursday.
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services says fewer children are sleeping in its offices
The Department of Children’s Services commissioner gave an update to the legislature that showed improvements to the troubled system.
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.
‘It’s been a never-ending cycle’: Inside the confusion and heartache of one family’s experience with Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services
Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services is struggling — from shortages of case workers to lack of appropriate foster placements. So what impact do those problems have on the children this system is meant to serve?
State panel recommends upgrades, new facility for troubled Wilder Youth Development Center
A legislative committee set up to examine how to improve the Wilder Youth Development Center in west Tennessee met for the last time this week. It was created after a recent report detailed physical and sexual abuse at the youth detention facility in Somerville, outside Memphis. The list the following recommendations: Build a […]
Watchdog group concerned about deaths of Tennessee children in homes known to state caseworkers
Abuse that happens within a home where prior problems were documented draws special attention from the Second Look Commission.
Gov. Lee previews budget priorities, including support for toll lanes and the Department of Children’s Services
The governor fielded questions from reporters as state budget season approaches.
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