June 26, 2024
One child was kept in solitary confinement until he was driven to rip his hair out. Another was shackled in his cell, held down by staff and pepper sprayed for being “disrespectful.” These are just a few of the allegations laid out in a class action lawsuit filed by Disability Rights Tennessee on Wednesday.
The state of Tennessee, Department of Children’s Services, and the commissioners of both DCS and the Department of Education were named in the suit for failing to protect children in the juvenile justice system from physical and mental harm.
The more than 100 page document alleges that the juvenile justice system in Tennessee punishes children with disabilities instead of treating them, exacerbating mental health problems and pushing kids to self-harm or suicidal ideation. And it states that Tennessee’s DCS has known about many of these issues inside facilities, yet their “policy of inaction” allowed it to continue. The attorney general’s office responded on behalf of DCS and said the department is aware of the lawsuit, but didn’t provide further comment. . .
It details the widespread and illegal use of solitary confinement in facilities across the state. One boy with depression and PTSD was kept in solitary for over six months, the suit alleges, spending 23 hours per day alone in his cell. Staff slipped his homework under the door instead of letting him go to school. He became suicidal.
https://wpln.org/post/pepper-spray-beatings-and-neglect-dcs-sued-over-treatment-of-kids-in-tennessees-juvenile-justice-facilities/