The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services has been in shambles, and this year’s legislative session will determine how much support DCS receives to improve its situation moving forward.
There have been multiple reports regarding the extreme, crisis-level conditions at DCS, including one published by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury in December. The report highlights how the department is failing the children in its care due to overcapacity and understaffing, with children having to sleep in state offices and hospital beds. Meanwhile, some instances of abuse, neglect and harassment are going under-addressed.
Margie Quin has served as DCS commissioner since September and told the state House Finance, Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 30 that between three and 30 children are sleeping in offices and transitional homes each night. During the meeting, she requested $26.6 million in supplemental funding to increase bed capacity, incentivize people to foster hard-to-place populations like teens and sibling groups and improve employee retention. This funding request comes alongside a state budget request for more than $156 million. Though funding will be an important mechanism to address the DCS situation, lawmakers have also proposed bills that would increase reporting requirements, address staff caseload levels and add mental health supports for adolescents under the department’s care.
“It really boils down to additional funding for some of our employees at DCS,” says Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis). “I do think it’s a bipartisan issue that we all understand. We’re at a crisis level, and something’s going to have to be done, and I think primarily additional funding to DCS we can agree on. I’m sure there will be other areas where we will not agree on."
In his State of the State address on Monday, Gov. Bill Lee proposed $190 million in additional resources for DCS, pledging to "strengthen DCS services" and "expand care for families."
This year, the Republican supermajority plans to focus on infrastructure, punishing Metro Nashville and culture-war issues
