DCS in Crisis: Timeline chronicles years of systemic issues at Dept. of Children’s Services

Sen. Heidi Campbell, Rep. Gloria Johnson continue push for immediate reform to protect vulnerable children

NASHVILLE — Sen. Heidi Campbell and Rep. Gloria Johnson have launched a website documenting the crisis endangering vulnerable children at Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services.

The site, TN DCS Concerns, serves as a chronological index of issues, legislation and news reports related to issues at the department. Lawmakers say the page will be updated as new information comes to light.

Following a damning 2020 audit by the state comptroller, Johnson and Campbell have advocated relentlessly for reforms to fix systemic issues that have plagued the department.

A new performance audit of the Department of Children’s Services, again conducted by the comptroller, is scheduled to be presented 9 a.m. Wednesday to a government operations subcommittee at the Cordell Hull office building.

In the timeline, lawmakers included portions of the 2020 audit, reports of children being forced to sleep on state office floors, information detailing the staffing crisis, and DCS’s illegal use of hospitals for child placements.

Last year, Johnson and Campbell proposed a law to improve working conditions for department staffers. Under the bill, the number of child placement cases each worker could be responsible for at any given time would be limited, but the legislation was blocked by the GOP majority.

Rep. Gloria Johnson:
“Children, who came to DCS because they suffered neglect or abuse, are being victimized a second time because the governor and supermajority have failed to invest in the people responsible for their care. We need urgent and meaningful reforms to protect these children and this website underscores the importance of taking immediate action.”

Sen. Heidi Campbell:
“The crisis at the Department of Children’s Services is widespread and well-documented. There is no excuse for inaction, halfhearted fixes or more delay. The department’s top responsibility is to keep children out of harm’s way and we will sound the alarm until the state lives up that promise.”