December 3, 2012<\/p>\n
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is under fire for its oversight and reporting of child abuse and neglect cases in which multiple children died this year, namely 23 babies, 4 toddlers, one 5-year-old, and 3 teenagers.<\/span><\/p>\n The Tennessean newspaper has engaged in numerous communications with DCS requesting information about the cases leading to the deaths, and DCS has refused to comply.<\/span><\/p>\n Communicating through legal counsel, Tennessee DCS has indicated that it is already subject to oversight by a number of agencies, including a Child Protective Investigative team operating in each county, Child Fatality Review teams overseen by the Department of Health, and internal review by the DCS Office of Child Safety.<\/span><\/p>\n However, upon further investigation by the Tennessean, neither the Child Protective Investigative teams nor the Child Fatality review teams indicated providing any oversight of the DCS’ work, while the work of the internal review office was found to be completely private.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the Tennessean, other states’ investigative agencies have provided detail concerning child deaths, including case history leading up to the deaths. The Tennessee DCS appears to be behaving suspiciously, and the numbers are certainly shocking.<\/span><\/p>\n