TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Mar 16, 2023

Multiple Tennessee child advocacy experts say they are alarmed by a sudden move to dissolve an independent children's advocacy commission and distribute its responsibilities to other state agencies, reports the Tennessean. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, was set to present Senate Bill 282 on Wednesday to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, but the legislation, backed by Gov. Bill Lee's administration, was ultimately delayed to next week. The bill essentially strips any mentions of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth from state code. The commission released a report in January finding Tennessee foster kids experience the highest levels of instability in U.S. Nearly 34% of foster cases meet that definition in Tennessee, according to the report, more than double the overall U.S. national average of 14.9%.