child death records Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

16 Dec, 2025

Audit: DCS has not been fully reporting information on deaths, near deaths of children
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Audit: DCS has not been fully reporting information on deaths, near deaths of children

child deaths

Audit: DCS has not been fully reporting information on deaths, near deaths of children

By Deborah Fisher|2025-12-18T09:01:34-06:00December 16, 2025|Categories: child deaths|Tags: Audit, child death records, Department of Children's Services, Margie Quin|0 Comments

A new state comptroller's audit has found that the Department of Children's Services has not been fully reporting — and in some cases still hadn't reported — information about the deaths and near deaths of children in 2023 and 2024 who had been involved with DCS. The delayed reporting has reduced transparency and accountability of the department's work in investigating cases of deaths and near deaths. "As a result, the public may lack critical information needed to evaluate the effectiveness of Tennessee's child protection system in a timely manner," the audit said. The finding in the December 2025 performance audit was one of several that revealed DCS continues to have [...]

20 May, 2022

Lawsuit seeks access to DCS child death records
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Lawsuit seeks access to DCS child death records

child deaths, crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee, state records

Lawsuit seeks access to DCS child death records

By Deborah Fisher|2025-12-16T15:47:44-06:00May 20, 2022|Categories: child deaths, crime records, public records lawsuits Tennessee, state records|Tags: child death records, Department of Children's Services, Paul McAdoo, Stacey Jacobson, WREG|0 Comments

A lawsuit filed earlier this month by journalist Stacy Jacobson of WREG in Memphis is seeking access to records related to the Department of Children's Services interactions with a 14-year-old boy who died in Memphis 2020. The department had investigated issues surrounding the boy four times previous to his death.

15 Apr, 2014

7 new laws affecting meetings, records in TN – plus a few that didn’t make it
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7 new laws affecting meetings, records in TN – plus a few that didn’t make it

exemptions, Legislature

7 new laws affecting meetings, records in TN – plus a few that didn’t make it

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T16:55:12-05:00April 15, 2014|Categories: exemptions, Legislature|Tags: child death records, economic development records, government transparency initiatives, government websites, legislature, schools, sexual assault records|0 Comments

As the 108th General Assembly wraps up this week, here's a quick rundown on new laws affecting government meetings and open records in Tennessee: Legislation passed: Sexual assault victims: The names of sexual assault victims can now be redacted from public records under new legislation that makes their identity confidential. This only applies after a conviction or guilty plea, and sentencing has occurred. In addition to the name, any images that depict the victim (video or photo) are also confidential, as is the victim's address and phone number. The victim has a right to waive confidentiality. Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knoxville, and Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson sponsored the bills. Note that [...]

27 Feb, 2014

Bill defines DCS disclosure of child death records

By Deborah Fisher|2021-02-02T12:12:05-06:00February 27, 2014|Categories: state records|Tags: child death records, DCS, legislature, open records|1 Comment

Chas Sisk with The Tennessean reports today of a bill that would lay out required disclosures of child death records by DCS. Such records were at the heart of a lawsuit last year led by The Tennessean. Here is an excerpt from Sisk's story. House lawmakers gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that sets new disclosure rules for the Department of Children’s Services. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee unanimously approved House Bill 1505 on a voice vote Wednesday afternoon after members raised no objections to the measure. The bill lays out the disclosures DCS must make when a child dies or comes close to death, and it says a full report [...]