TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 17, 2026

Lawyers representing Tennessee foster children have filed a motion in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, for an emergency preliminary injunction in a lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS), the Nashville Post reports. The legal team is urging the court to end alleged “inhumane conditions” in transitional housing. A Better Childhood, a New York-based nonprofit watchdog organization, filed the lawsuit last year. The nonprofit is being assisted by lawyers at Bass Berry & Sims, Willkie Farr & Gallagher and the Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center. The new motion outlines “inhumane and unconstitutional conditions,” including physical abuse, overcrowding, lack of showers and medical care based on a December 2025 state audit of DCS. The motion seeks to correct these conditions for youths living in transitional housing and seeks ongoing monitoring of the facilities. The suit is pending before District Court Judge Aleta Trauger.