NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A new lawsuit points to alleged violence and abuse against Tennessee children in the custody of the Department of Child Welfare.
The Tennessee Disability Rights Coalition filed a class action lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against DCS, DCS Commissioner Margie Quinn, the Tennessee Department of Education and TDOE Commissioner Lizette Reynolds.
In essence, the lawsuit painted a picture of DCS failing children with disabilities by not testing them for any conditions and punishing them for behavior related to their disabilities, including putting them in solitary confinement, pepper spraying naked children, having other children beat one child, and shackling children and dragging them across the floor.
He added that children are not receiving a proper education under DCS custody and their learning needs are not being met.
Watch our previous coverage of DCS abuse allegations in the player above.
“The state needs to recognize and address the disabilities and trauma of the young people they serve, not ignore them, and provide a safe environment,” said Jack Derryberry, legal director for the Tennessee Disability Rights Coalition. “We’ve been trying our hardest to change these systems for the past two years, but we’ve not seen any results. At this point, we have no choice but to ask the courts to step in to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
NewsChannel 5 Investigates has previously reported on children with disabilities and their treatment in DCS custody. In December, reporter Ben Hall obtained photos of a 12-year-old boy with disabilities handcuffed and lying face-down on a mattress. According to internal DCS communications, the boy weighs “approximately 70 pounds” and is believed to have autism.
The case we are referring to: 12-year-old special needs child handcuffed and “tied up” in DCS home
Just one day before this photo was taken, DCS officials reported a similar incident in which a security guard handcuffed the same child.
This 114-page lawsuit makes many allegations, which I will explain in detail.
Who is the plaintiff?
There are three plaintiffs in this lawsuit: John Doe 1, John Doe 2 and Jane Doe 1.
John Doe 1 is 17 years old and suffers from depression, PTSD, ADHD and anxiety. He entered the DCS system as a foster care recipient at age 11, but was adjudicated a juvenile delinquent in 2023 and was moved between five facilities across Tennessee in a six month period. He has since been placed back into foster care and is currently living with an adoptive family.
John Doe 2 is 12 years old and is at Bill’s Place Youth Village. He entered the DCS system for alleged neglect after witnessing his older brother being shot. He then ran away from home and began to turn to alcohol and tobacco, according to the lawsuit. From there, he was the subject of multiple missing child reports. His IQ is 63, meaning he has poor language comprehension and reasoning skills. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, conduct disorder and PTSD, according to the lawsuit.
Jane Doe 1 lives with her mother but was placed into DCS custody in 2022. She was placed into three facilities before returning home. She has disruptive mood disorder, PTSD, major depressive disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. She is 15 years old.
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What happened in the lawsuit?
According to the lawsuit, John Doe 1 said the children attacked and beat him when he refused to have sex with them. He told staff at the facility, who encouraged the other children to beat him again. In total, he was beaten more than 30 times while in DCS custody.
“Scary voices in my head were telling me to do things,” John Doe 2 said in the lawsuit. At age 12, he began self-harming, which DCS didn’t address. He lived in five different facilities over a two-year period.
Jane Doe had a history of sexual assault and mental illness, but that didn’t stop the facility’s staff from shackling her and dragging her around the floor, Jane Doe said. She later received a minor reprimand and was placed in solitary confinement. On another day, she said staff sprayed her with pepper spray while she was naked.
“DCS defendants failed to conduct assessments to understand the individual needs of youth, resulting in the placement of youth in highly restrictive facilities without adequately considering whether they would be better served in a more integrated setting,” the lawsuit states. “These failures are not new: The Tennessee Children and Youth Commission noted in 2012 that juvenile justice facilities are unable to treat and rehabilitate youth with serious mental and behavioral health problems, yet these youth are disproportionately housed in DCS juvenile justice detention facilities.”
While the three plaintiffs describe what happened to them, the lawsuit also collects the experiences of other children who have been in DCS custody.
Children described being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, not being allowed to attend school, having suicidal thoughts and sleeping in bed frames next to cockroaches and mold.
The lawsuit cites a child who was beaten and staff at the facility encouraging Ramen to encourage other children to continue beating the child. A News Channel 5 investigation reported on the case in 2022.
Ramen Incident: Reports say guards at DCS-run juvenile detention center put “bounties” on kids’ heads
The report spoke to the mother of the child who was beaten.
“If you give each child 10 sticks of noodles, they will hit each other to take the noodles away,” one mother said.
“What do you mean noodles?” a News Channel 5 investigator asked.
“It’s ramen. It’s like the noodles you eat,” Mom said.
The report states, “Young people are told by staff that another young person has 10 packets of ramen on their head, and anyone who assaults the identified young person is given a reward of 10 packets of ramen.”
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Plaintiff’s demands
The three plaintiffs want DCS to care for children with disabilities in accordance with federal law.
That would mean complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and screening children for disabilities in advance, which the lawsuit says DCS currently does not do.
They also are asking the court for reimbursement of their attorneys’ fees and any other relief the court may grant.
“We’ve been trying for years to actually address these issues through reports and through discussions with Congress,” said Jasmine Miller, a staff attorney at the Youth Law Center. “We weren’t seeing any progress, so I think this was the option we were left with.”
Miller said the lawsuit isn’t about money, and he hopes it will force DCS to change the way it operates.
“We just want young people who have gone through these experiences to know that we believe you,” Miller said. “Some of the things that happened are not acceptable.”
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We have been reporting on the Child Welfare Agency and its cases since 2019.
These stories include extensive caseloads, solitary confinement in juvenile detention centers, whistleblower complaints and other allegations of abuse.
To see our full report, tap this link and search for the article.