TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Dec 15, 2022

Department of Children's Services Commissioner Margie Quin appeared before a legislative committee yesterday to explain how her department plans to fix widespread problems at the agency, the Tennessean reports. The department's plans include raising staff pay, capping caseloads, temporarily privatizing some case management and studying counterparts in New Jersey. Quin, who became commissioner on Sept. 1, asked for a $156 million budget increase this coming fiscal year, which would include $15 million for pay increases. The hearing comes one day after the state Comptroller released a scathing audit that found an array of issues within the agency, including staggering turnover rates, high caseloads and failure to adequately investigate dozens of reports of sexual abuse and sexual harassment.