New DCS Commissioner Reworking Agency’s Top Leadership, Taking Up “Chronic Issues” Head-On

Image Credit: Screengrab from capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

Although Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) commissioner Margie Quin has only held her position since September, she is already making moves to rework the agency’s top leadership.

Recent DCS leadership turnover has included their assistant commissioner and their deputy commissioner of child programs. 

Under Quin’s leadership, DCS has appointed a new superintendent of the Wilder Youth Development Center as well as a new top administrator for Davidson County, an area that was averaging caseloads double the state average as recently as February. The agency has also appointed a new spokesperson. 

Reworking DCS leadership seems to be a clear priority for Quin and understandably so since just two months into her work as commissioner, a comptroller’s report citing DCS failures was released. 

This report included failure to address many long-term problems such as children sleeping in DCS office buildings, high numbers of vacant positions and caseloads, failures to meet child abuse investigation timelines, and more.

Quin has stated that this particular comptroller’s report pointed her to many of the issues that she has since been working to resolve.

“When we came in, we had 13 findings with the comptroller, some are repeat finds,” Quin said recently. “We had some chronic issues that had not been solved. And so sometimes changes in personnel or leadership are necessary in order to see the changes that we want to see.”

One such “chronic issue”, the practice of children sleeping in DCS offices, was completely stopped back in March thanks to the work of Quin alongside several faith-based organizations.

Eliminating this practice and reworking the agency’s leadership are not the only ways Quin is bringing about change in the state of Tennessee. She has also initiated the usage of “surge events” by the agency.

Many DCS caseworkers face major case overload, and often have to choose between closing out an open case or focusing on a new case where a child is more likely in danger. 

Closing a case out properly usually includes making a final home visit, making contact with the child, uploading images to department systems, and completing unfinished or any additional paperwork. All of which tends to get put on the back burner. 

So, during these “surge events” DCS caseworkers from across the state sign up to work the weekend and properly close out cases that have only remained open because of staff shortages. 

The first five of these “surge events” closed a total of 489 cases, which speculatively relieved a great deal of stress for the workers and families involved. 

In terms of the caseworker shortage which leads to this case overload in the first place, Quin cooperated with the state legislature this year to bring case manager starting salaries up to $50,600 and the agency has filled 241 of their 620 job openings since last fall. Longer training periods and caseload caps have also been implemented to help with staff retention.

While there is a long road ahead, it certainly seems that Quin is determined to get this particular state agency heading in the right direction. 

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.