Tennessee Bill Intended To Bring Greater Oversight To Juvenile Detention Facilities Sent To Summer Study

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The Tennessee Conservative Staff –

Legislation that would have required regular inspections of privately-owned juvenile detention centers in Tennessee has been deferred to a summer study effectively killing the bill until at least next session.

Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield-District 23) introduced the legislation in January following an abuse investigation that found many of these facilities were using seclusion as a primary form of punishment, contrary to state laws that ban use of this method.

The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in early April and had been placed on the Senate Regular Calendar for April 10. However, on April 9, members of the House Civil Justice Committee voted to send it to a summer study instead.

Bills sent to summer study are typically “killed” there.

The bill would have had an independent agency inspect facilities and enforce requirements that would eliminate violations of state standards. This would basically allow the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services to enforce standards rather than just create them.

DCS would have had the ability to suspend the facility’s license or discontinue placements until violations were corrected.

State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge-District 33) sponsored the bill in the House. The legislation would not have cost the state nothing.

In the House subcommittee, Representative Andrew Farmer (R-Sevierville-District 17) introduced an amendment that would remove the oversight of DCS. 

Following that meeting, Farmer said he did not know the background of the bill and was not aware of the reports of abuse and seclusion. He stated that his opposition was to the great degree of state oversight it allowed in the facilities.

Farmer was heavily involved in the 2021 passage of a bill that limited seclusion for children in these facilities, although he now says he would alter that bill to give facilities more leeway in making those decisions on their own.

“Frankly, if it was up to me, I would reverse the seclusion law that we passed and be sure that youth that are violent, that attack guards, that attack other children, can be put into a place by themselves until they calm down,” Farmer said.

State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville-District 20) blames the involvement of Jason Crews for the failure of the bill. Crews is the owner of privately-owned facilities across the state and was vocal in trying to remove restrictions on privately-run facilities from the bill.

A spokesperson from Crews’ group stated that they had issue with the amount of power being given to an independent agency. 

Representative Farmer has received $4500 from Crews’ PAC, Focus PAC, since 2021, while House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland-District 44) – who proposed sending the legislation to summer study – has received $13,000.

Senator Roberts says he plans to continue to work on the bill to try to “come up with an even better, more robust inspection program than what we proposed.”