Image Credit: Knox County Government & Google Earth
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
The interim director of the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Facility has abruptly quit after less than six months in the position.
Brian Bivens, appointed in July to be the facility’s temporary director by Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, sent notice of his resignation via email on Sunday afternoon stating that it was effective immediately.
Bivens, former Knox County Sheriff’s Office assistant chief, had overseen operations at the county’s jail in the past. As part of a long range plan that aims to transition control of the juvenile center to the sheriff’s office by next year, Bivens was given the position in order to begin the arduous process of getting the center back on firmer footing.
News of his departure coincided with county officials preparing to vote on a possible extension of Bivens’ role for another six months and a couple of weeks after the state presented an in depth report of the center. The nearly 100-page assessment, put together by the County Technical Assistance Service, highlighted the need for more personnel, greater oversight and security measures, as well as other issues.
Larsen Jay, member of the board of directors, wished Bivens well and said that good work had been done since July when Bivens took over.
The mayor’s office released a statement saying that the facility is “safe, secure and being well managed” since Bivens was handed the reins.
“I would like to thank Brian for all he has done to get the juvenile service center on much firmer ground,” said Jacobs. “When he first came on board, we all knew there were issues and that it would be a challenging task. Thankfully, through Brian’s diligence and hard work, the facility is in a much better place now than it was a few months ago and we are confident that the current leadership team will continue to move it in the right direction.”
Richard Bean, the previous 85-year-old superintendent of the juvenile detention center, for whom the facility is named, finally retired https://tennesseeconservativenews.com/85-year-old-superintendent-of-abusive-east-tennessee-juvenile-detention-center-to-finally-retire-amid-firing-of-whistleblowers/following the firing of two employees who spoke out about problems at the center. Bean had been the center’s leader since 1972.
One of the two recently fired employees was the Richard L. Bean’s Juvenile Service Center’s only nurse. Without qualified medical personnel, the center did not meet state law requirements.
The nurse who was fired alerted Jacobs to the fact that medication at the center was going missing, sometimes being given to the wrong children, and not being reported correctly. Medical protocols and documentation is lacking, with no electronic system in place to track health issues or medication.
While calling on Governor Bill Lee to intervene at the state level, Jacobs recommended that the Knox County Commission place the facility under the control of the county sheriff’s office.
Bean was the focus of a 2023 ProPublica exposé which he fondly reminisced about the past when beating children in state custody was legal. As times changed, Bean switched over to excessive isolation practices to keep the youth in his care in line.
Meant to be used as a last resort in order to prevent children from hurting themselves, others, or property, or from escaping, under Bean, the facility used “seclusion” unlawfully for years, and yet DCS continued to approve the center’s license to operate.
Last year, a class action suit was filed by Disability Rights of Tennessee accusing several juvenile detention facilities, including Bean’s, of abusing the law regarding seclusion practices.
According to the lawsuit, staff at the Richard L. Bean center put youth into solitary confinement for nearly 24 hours a day, well past the 6 hour limit per day, sometimes for multiple days at a time, and seclusion was used as punishment over trivial matters.
While confined, youth were not given an education, not fed full meals, and often not given prescription medicine.
On Thursday, the juvenile center’s board will meet to discuss how to move forward.
Sources:
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
The ever growing problem of kids born to non nuclear “families” which didn’t provide God ordained discipline from an early age.