Of Tennessee DCS and Domes
Plenty of money for the Titans, not so much for Tennessee kids
When I read stories about the current crisis in the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, I can’t help but think the state and its policymakers have some strange priorities.
Reports indicate TN DCS is severely understaffed and lacks adequate facilities to house children. This means kids are sometimes sleeping in state office buildings - for days or weeks - until a bed opens.
This story from Tennessee Lookout is just one example:
A recent investigation by The Tennessean newspaper found more than 600 children taken into custody after allegations of abuse or neglect had spent multiple nights sleeping on office floors or in other makeshift shelters over a five-month period this year, a circumstance that Quin acknowledged has been traumatizing.
Even if beds WERE available, it seems unlikely DCS could house kids given current staff salary levels:
“We know we can’t put any more youth (in Wilder) until we hire staff,” Quin said. Salaries for youth development officers, however, start at just $22,000 annually.
“As you can imagine, we are not competitive in that area until we can raise compensation,” said Quin, who told lawmakers she’d like to see that salary doubled.
And yet the state has hundreds of millions of dollars available to house the Tennessee Titans:
By some estimates, it could cost up to $1 billion to properly address the DCS crisis.
The good news is the state has a multi-billion-dollar surplus. The bad news: Policymakers have yet to express willingness to invest that money into schools or DCS or healthcare - programs that would directly benefit children and families.
The most recent revenue report notes that the state is once again far exceeding revenue projections - with nearly a half billion dollars MORE than projected just two months into the fiscal year.
This follows a year in which the revenue surplus exceeded $2 billion.
Here’s more from the TN Department of Finance and Administration:
Tennessee revenues exceeded budgeted estimates for the month of September. Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson today reported that total September tax revenues were $2.1 billion, which is $243.3 million more than September of last year and $277.2 million more than the budgeted estimate. The total growth rate for the month was 12.76 percent.
Year-to date revenues for the first two months of the fiscal year were $407.7 million more than the budgeted estimates. The general fund exceeded estimates by $383.5 million . . .
Lawmakers could invest more in programs benefiting kids - but they haven’t.
A good question for the lawmakers elected today is: What will you do with the extra money?