Amidst allegations of harrowing abuse and negligence, Tennessee's Department of Children's Services is facing a class action lawsuit, which claims the state agency knowingly subjected children, many living with disabilities, to violent and abusive conditions in its facilities. Disability Rights Tennessee complained to federal court, naming DCS Commissioner Margie Quin and Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds as defendants, according to NewsChannel 5.
The lawsuit details numerous instances of physical abuse, including allegations that staff members at DCS facilities encouraged, and even incentivized with items such as "ramen noodles, cannabis, and other incentives", and peer-on-peer violence. It also includes claims of children being placed in solitary confinement for extended periods and denied access to education and healthcare services. NewsChannel 5 had previously reported on a distressing photo obtained in December showing a 12-year-old boy with a purported disability handcuffed and restrained on a mattress, suggesting a pattern of abuse within the system.
One of the plaintiffs, a 17-year-old identified as John Doe 1, reportedly experienced multiple attacks from other teens within the DCS facilities, including being beaten after refusing to perform sexual acts, as noted by WKRN. Another plaintiff, a 15-year-old girl known as Jane Doe 1, was allegedly shackled by her ankles, dragged across the floor, and pepper-sprayed while naked. The lawsuit charges that punitive measures were often reactions to behaviors stemming from the children's disabilities.
Experts from Disability Rights Tennessee argue the state has failed to provide safety and appropriate accommodations for these young individuals. "The state should recognize disabilities and trauma in the youth they serve and address those disabilities instead of ignoring them", Jack Derryberry, legal director at Disability Rights Tennessee, stated as per NewsChannel 5. Furthermore, the 114-page legal complaint, as described by Tennessee Lookout, illustrates a staggering scope of alleged state-sanctioned mistreatment, including a facility averaging 48 instances of pepper spray use per month against children in its care.
These allegations come as DCS has previously been scrutinized for conditions where children were left to sleep on office floors or stay in hospital rooms beyond their discharge dates. In their legal challenge, the attorneys seek to represent upwards of 1,000 Tennessee youth with disabilities who have been under the state's custody via the juvenile justice system and claim that the state violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. While the Tennessee Attorney General's office has acknowledged the lawsuit, an official statement further addressing the allegations has yet to be offered.
