PROBLEM STATEMENTS:

As a surrogate mother of 92 children, I find this treatment of children unacceptable and bordering on inhumane treatment. Atwater will immediately change the trajectory of how these children are being treated.

• An audit by the Tennessee Comptroller outlines new and persistent failures in caring for abused and neglected children taken into custody by the Department of Children’s Services.

• Tennessee’s child welfare agency has fallen under scrutiny in recent years over reports of children forced to sleep on office floors, lax oversight of juvenile facilities, and abuse in residential treatment centers.

• Two ongoing class-action lawsuits are challenging the department’s care of children in foster care and youth with disabilities in juvenile detention.

• The audit released Tuesday by the Tennessee Comptroller noted some agency improvements but outlined a series of lapses that place kids at risk. More than 8,000 children are in DCS custody.

• These findings call for immediate attention and meaningful action to improve oversight, accountability and care for Tennessee’s most vulnerable children and youth.

• delays in obtaining medical and dental screenings for children;

• reliance on extended stays in temporary housing, particularly for “hard to place” children, that “further expose children and youth to significant emotional, behavioral, and safety risks”;

• insufficient and untimely investigations of child abuse and neglect perpetrated by adults in authority roles, such as teachers and coaches;

• delays in reporting child fatalities and near fatalities to the public. The department is charged with investigating and reporting all child abuse deaths and serious injuries.

• and inadequate oversight of residential and juvenile detention centers, placing the safety of children and youth in jeopardy. 

• With the infusion of state funding, the agency has hired more caseworkers and paid them better, limiting crushing workloads that once overwhelmed staff responsible for too many children at once. 

  The department has invested more funding in allowing relatives, instead of strangers, to care for children taken from their parents.

  Eleven new facilities are planned to house children, including three new “wellness spaces,” six welcome centers and two new juvenile justice centers, Quin said.

  For many children now in state custody, however, the audit paints a disquieting picture.

  Between March 3 and Sept. 5, 172 children spent at least one night in an office building because no appropriate foster home or treatment facility was available.

  In northeast Tennessee, children spent an average of 18 days housed in government offices during the same six-month period. One child spent 104 days in an office.

  An additional 1,134 children were placed in transitional housing such as churches or short-term shelters, averaging nine to 12 nights per child. The audit noted that one child spent more than two months in transitional housing.

Key Problems Identified (2025-2026)

• Children Sleeping in Offices: "Hard-to-place" children with behavioral issues have been forced to sleep on office floors, in mattresses in offices, or in unstable temporary housing for weeks or months.

• Failed Investigations: Audits found that the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) failed to conduct timely, in-person visits to victims and delayed investigations into abuse by authority figures like teachers and coaches.

• High Foster Care Instability: Tennessee has one of the highest rates of foster care instability in the nation, with children frequently moved between temporary placements, causing trauma.

• Staffing & Burnout: While vacancies have reduced since 2023, high caseloads and "moral dilemmas" have caused staff burnout and high turnover.

• Unregulated Transitional Homes: Temporary homes created to avoid having kids sleep in offices are largely unregulated, leading to safety concerns.

• Abuse in Care: A 2026 report documented instances of children in custody experiencing drug use, running away, and sexual trafficking while in state-supervised transitional homes.

• Class Action Lawsuits: Multiple class-action lawsuits, including a major 2025 suit, have been filed alleging "inhumane" conditions, denial of education, and failure to provide necessary care, particularly for children with disabilities.

Atwater's Total DCS Overhaul Plan:

• Funding and Action: Since 2022, lawmakers have allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to boost salaries, build new transitional housing, and hire more workers.

• Audit Results: The Dec. 2025 audit showed that out of 13 previous findings, 5 were resolved, 4 partially resolved, and 4 were repeated, indicating slow improvement.

• DCS New Leadership: Commissioner Margie Quin has acknowledged the challenges, noting that "turning a ship with more than 3,800 employees does not happen overnight".

• Legislative Review: The 2025 audit was part of a "sunset" review to determine if the agency should be continued, restructured, or terminated.

• TBA - Continue Strategies