NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) – A new lawsuit notes allegations of violence and abuse of Tennessee children in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services.
Disability Rights Tennessee filed the class action lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against DCS, DCS Commissioner Margie Quin, the Tennessee Department of Education and TDOE Commissioner Lizette Reynolds.
In short, the lawsuit presented a picture that DCS failed children with disabilities by failing to screen them for any conditions and then punishing them for behaviors related to their disabilities. Those punishments included being placed in solitary confinement, pepper spraying children while they were naked, having other children hit a child, and chaining and dragging a child across the floor.
He also added that children were not able to obtain an adequate education in DCS custody and that their learning needs were not being met.
Watch our previous story on DCS abuse claims in the player above.
“The state must recognize the disabilities and traumas in the youth it serves and address those disabilities rather than ignore them. They must provide safe environments,” said Jack Derryberry, legal director of Disability Rights Tennessee. “We have spent the last two years doing everything in our power to make changes to these systems, without success. At this point, we have no choice but to ask the courts to intervene to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
NewsChannel 5 Investigates has previously reported on cases of children with disabilities and their treatment in DCS custody. In December, journalist Ben Hall obtained a photograph showing a disabled 12-year-old boy handcuffed and held face down on a mattress. Internal DCS communications reveal the boy weighed “about 70 pounds” and is believed to have autism.
Incident we are referring to: 12-year-old special needs boy handcuffed and ‘tied up’ at DCS returns home
Just one day before the photo was taken, a DCS worker reported a similar incident in which a security guard handcuffed the same child.
There are many allegations written into this 114-page lawsuit. We’re going to break it down for you.
Who are the plaintiffs?
There are three plaintiffs in the case: John Doe 1, John Doe 2, and Jane Doe 1.
John Doe 1 is 17 years old. He has depression, PTSD, ADHD and an anxiety disorder. He entered the DCS system as foster care at age 11. However, he became a convicted felon in 2023 and moved between five different facilities in six months across Tennessee. He then returned to foster care and is now in a foster family.
John Doe 2 is 12 years old and is located at Bill’s Place in Youth Villages. He entered the DCS system due to a negligence charge after witnessing his older brother being shot. After that, according to the lawsuit, he began running away and using alcohol and cigarettes. From there, he became the subject of multiple missing child reports. He has an IQ of 63, which means that he has a low verbal comprehension and reasoning ability. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, conduct disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit.
Jane Done 1 lives with her mother but entered DCS custody in 2022. She went through three facilities before returning home. She has disruptive mood disorder, PTSD, major depressive disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder. She is 15.
what the fuck
What the lawsuit says happened
The boys attacked and beat him when he refused to perform sexual acts, according to John Doe 1 in the lawsuit. He said he told center staff, who then encouraged the other children to hit him again. In total, he was beaten more than 30 times while in DCS custody.
“A scary voice in my head was telling me to do things,” John Doe 2 reported in the lawsuit. The 12-year-old boy had started self-harming and was not addressed by DCS. He lived in five different facilities in two years.
He has a history of sexual victimization and mental health problems. However, that didn’t stop facility staff from handcuffing her and dragging her across the floor, according to Jane Doe 1’s account. She said she was then placed in solitary confinement after a minor disciplinary incident. Another day, she said center staff pepper-sprayed her while she was naked.
“DCS defendants’ failure to evaluate youth to understand their individualized needs results in placing youth in highly restrictive facilities without adequate consideration of whether they could be cared for in a more integrated setting,” the lawsuit states. . “These failures are not new. The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth noted in 2012 that juvenile justice centers are unable to treat and rehabilitate youth with significant mental and behavioral health issues; yet these youth are disproportionately represented in the custody of DCS juvenile justice.
While the three plaintiffs described what happened to them, the lawsuit also compiled the experiences of other children in DCS custody.
The children described being held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, unable to attend school, being suicidal, and sleeping in a bare bed next to cockroaches and mold.
The lawsuit also mentions a child who was hit and center staff offered ramen noodles to other children so they would continue hitting him. NewsChannel 5 Investigates reported on that incident in 2022.
Ramen noodle incident: Guards ‘put bounties’ on children’s heads at DCS-run juvenile detention center, report says
In that report, we spoke with the mother of the child who was beaten.
“They give the kids, say, 10 noodles and they hit this person and keep the noodles,” one mother said.
“What do you mean noodles?” NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked.
“Ramen noodles, like the noodles you eat,” Mom said.
The report found that “staff tell youth that another youth ‘has ten noodles on his head,’ meaning that a youth who attacks the identified youth will receive a reward of ten packages of ramen noodles.”
WTVF
What the plaintiffs want
The three plaintiffs seek to have DCS comply with federal law to care for children with disabilities.
That would mean complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
They are also asking the court to reimburse attorney fees and any other compensation the court considers.
WTVF
We have been reporting on the Department of Children’s Services and its cases since 2019.
Those stories have included large numbers of cases, detention of minors in solitary confinement, whistleblower complaints and other allegations of abuse.
To see all of our reports, you can tap this link to search our stories.
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