NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A recent audit report of the Department of Children’s Services called on lawmakers to get involved when it comes to accountability standards for publicly run juvenile detention centers.
In Tennessee the state works to serve thousands of justice-involved youth each year. When a crime is severe enough, they get sent to youth detention centers. Those facilities can be run by public entities, such as a local government or sheriff’s office, or privately-run, which includes meeting certain criteria.
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“For privately-run operated facilities, the department can issue a license and take actions like placing the facility on probation, or even suspending or revoking its license when there’s ongoing non-compliance,” explained Jaclyn Clute, legislative senior auditor for the Office of the Comptroller.
However, publicly run facilities don’t have the same standards…