Amid the unfolding controversy at the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center, Knox County has appointed a new interim director to navigate the facility through its crisis, Brian Bivens, a retired Assistant Chief of the Knox County Sheriff's Office, takes up the role left by outgoing superintendent Richard L. Bean whose retirement, brought forward by Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' loss of confidence, will commence come August 1, WATE reported.
The transition has its roots in allegations of retaliatory firings by Bean—the center's namesake—of employees raising concerns about operational shortcomings, these include a nurse whistle-blowing on juvenile care and medication practices and last week Knox County Commission moved to restructure the center under Knox County Sheriff's Office for an 18-month span beginning next year, as shared by WBIR.
Bivens' appointment is seen as a step toward addressing the issues highlighted by Jacobs, including medication errors, lack of protocols, and insufficient tracking systems in a facility that underwent scrutiny by law due to its substandard care; further exacerbated by the absence of qualified medical personnel after the nurse's dismissal, as indicated by WVLT News.
The new interim director, who is also the CEO of Top Tier Correctional Consultants and boasts affiliations with multiple criminal justice organizations, steps into a challenging environment with the onus to rehabilitate the county's approach to juvenile detention, particularly with an emergency ordinance now in play which puts the facility under close watch of new board directors appointed by Juvenile Court Judge Irwin and Knox County commissioners, the stakes are elevated for Bivens to steer the center out of its troubled waters as Knox County aims to reshape how its vulnerable youth are held and healed "There’s absolutely nothing that’s more important than the children we care for in the juvenile detention facility," Commissioner Larsen Jay told WATE.
