From NewsChannel 9: Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would move troubled children from the Tennessee Department of Children's Serv
From NewsChannel 9: Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would move troubled children from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services to adult prisons at a younger age.
SB0608 would lower the age from 18 to 17 at which officials can transfer incorrigible teens from youth development centers to adult facilities in the state’s prison system.
The legislation comes months after a sweeping audit identified a host of problems at the agency. The 164-page report found “critical child safety incidents” that put kids at risk and in “unsafe situations” due to management misfires. Republican officials in Tennessee have proposed several ideas aimed at addressing these problems.
New reports suggest the new legislation is partly because DCS doesn’t have the bed space. Commissioner Margie Quinn earlier this month requested an influx of $26.6 million to keep children from sleeping in state offices or transitional housing.
“We know that this will move the needle. This is going to be progress,” she said. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you that this is going to fix it. I’ll know more in six to nine months about where this is going to get us.”
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ed Jackson and Rep. Mary Littleton, passed on the second reading.
