MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Performance audits on the Department of Children’s Services and the Department of Human Services were released in December, highlighting key issues found within both departments.
The Department of Child Services had eight key findings in its report, according to the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
The following key audit conclusions for DCS are listed below.
- Finding 1: A lack of management oversight in the Special Investigations Unit allowed for insufficient and untimely investigations of child abuse and neglect by adults in authority roles, increasing the risk that children are not protected from abuse or neglect
- Finding 2: Management must strengthen its investigative oversight of Child Protective Services to ensure staff meet key timelines for investigating child abuse and neglect
- Finding 3: Prolonged investigative tasks, delayed supervisory reviews, and the lack of a physician reviewer impacted the department’s ability to update information on its website regarding child fatalities and near fatalities
- Finding 4: Despite recent improvements, the department has not fully met its oversight responsibilities for hard-to-place children and youth remaining in transitional housing
- Finding 5: Management cannot continue to rely on TFACTS as it currently exists, and as such, management must provide constant and consistent oversight of the new system development to avoid repeating TFACTS’ history of unmet user needs that impacted critical child welfare operations
- Finding 6: The department continues to experience delays in obtaining medical and dental screenings for children in their care, which increases the risk that children may not receive prompt care for their health needs
- Finding 7: The department’s lack of oversight of provider eligibility determinations resulted in stipend payments that did not comply with program requirements
- Finding 8: The department must strengthen its oversight of residential facilities and juvenile detention centers that house custodial youth to ensure safety, compliance, and accountability
The audit period for DCS was from September 1, 2022, through September 30, 2025…