TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Nov 17, 2023

An investigation by ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio has found that the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center in Knoxville has been using seclusion as a punishment for years. It reports that the Department of Children's Services (DCS), the licensing agency for the facility, has documented the improper use of seclusion and has put the Bean Center on corrective action plans, though it has continued to renew its license. In 2017, DCS changed the standards for using seclusion, adding guidelines and a reporting requirement, which were then codified into law. The Bean Center, the report found, continues to use seclusion as punishment, rather than as a last resort as the law requires. Richard Bean, the facility's superintendent and namesake, says of his operation: “What we do is treat everybody like they’re in here for murder. You don’t have a problem if you do that.” A similar investigation into juvenile detention practices in Rutherford County ended with the resignation of the presiding juvenile court judge.