a-Normal; A+; TN.gov . Allegations of malfeasance, misfeasance, nonfeasance and violations of rules, policies and procedures concerning the management and operations of the department. I would rather spend 100 days or more in the war zone in Iraq than go one more day in that office, Haynes said. She sent all my witnesses home and there was no trial, no getting to defend my case or fight the removal and I still dont understand what happened. 315 Deaderick Street UBS Tower, 10th Floor Nashville, TN 37238 (615) 741-9701 Commissioner.Margie.Quin@tn.gov. scusiamo se questo pu causarti degli inconvenienti. That is not true. 2 0 obj Haynes sent Commissioner Jennifer Nichols a resignation letter December 8, 2020, giving 30 days notice. Lee Announces Leadership Transition at Department of Childrens Services, Ronya Faulkner Honored for Adoption Excellence. I had been clean for 4 months when my hair follicle was preformed and it was cut far from my scalp and my children removed and my son was placed with his biological father who had not seen him in over a year, did not have a relationship with him and had not helped support or care for my son. State Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), has voiced concern about high caseloads in the past. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way, Donate to the Salvation Army Red Kettle Challenge. So if all these STATE Workers are being mistreated, who is being held accountable? They had fired so many people at that point I was walking on eggshells and I felt like I was going to be the next one. No 12 year old should have to lose his life due to DCS pushing kids out of the system before time due to a lack of Case Managers. who may have additional information to support the alleged or suspected violation. Camille and Lashanda team suffers because of the failed, abusive and inappropriate supervision. Its hard to understand why Sandra Wilson and Jenifer Nichols allows them to operate in this fashion. Just like anything else involving DCS. Pull the employment data over the last 15 years and we are sure you will see the trend. The staff who work for the Department of Childrens Services Customer Relations Unit listen to concerns, answer questions and address a variety of problems for the benefit of children each year. Si vous continuez voir ce I have seen it from many perspectives and will say; Brian A team needs to return. As far as the children needing placement, Ms Haynes was a foster care worker and the two children needing placement were NOT her clients at the time but a CPS workers. Please be mindful for individuals to come forward a safe space will need to be created and staff need to be protected by Whistle-blower act. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) Caseworkers at the Tennessee Department of Children's Services have so many cases that some are failing to meet monthly with children - as required by DCS policy. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); As Judge, I will never let this happen toYOU. excuses voor het ongemak. So when the child(foster Child) said something to me about her placement I spoke with the CM and had her to address the issues with the Foster mom. I was arrested in Stewart county for a VOP when I wasnt on probation. Using a conservative estimate of two children per case, the total is 110,760 children. When employees file complaints against their supervisors, the investigations are slow and are often never completed. "Those face-to-face contacts, that's how they find out how the kids are doing. I never violated Hippa never gave identifying information. Well this young man was doing everything to get his child, Ms. Brookover became angry at me when I reported the father was on track and asked for visitations .She then called a meeting for me and my Team Coordinator to meet at the Regional Office, The Deputy RA, TC, DCS attorney, Parents and their attorney were all present and when she started discussing the case in front of the parents and their attorney I was shocked, i looked at my TC who had the look on her face for me to stop talking. If you wish to remain anonymous, you do not have to provide contact information. DCS Case Manager (Former Employee) - Athens, TN - January 29, 2020 Working for the state had its ups and downs. It's just a lot of work, with little to no payoff in most scenarios. Senator Campbell sent a letter to Gov. Font Size. Theyve got one of my brother in prison and has basically been in a cage in some form his entire life. she found out after seeing it on the news. She filed the paper work to reopen her case on December 15. para nos informar sobre o problema. 4 0 obj We ask everyone involved with the child to include the child about possible placement options. Luckily for me im a retired vet so could walk away, Many of my coworkers were the bread winners of their homes and had to endure this maltreatment. Its a perfectly corrupt system that protects the guilty and punishes the innocent. Aiutaci a proteggere Glassdoor dimostrando che sei una persona reale. Especially when they arent even apart of the family cases or know whats going on for Permamenancy. As we first reported in 2019, DCS placed Zephania inside a home outside Davidson County despite warnings the home was not safe. They showed dirty dishes piled high in the kitchen, unusable bathrooms and bedrooms, and drug paraphernalia. DCS investigates child abuse, handles foster care placement and oversees youth detention centers. An Iraqi War veteran, she interviewed seven times for supervisor positions in Foster Care in Clarksville. If you worshipped the ring, then you had a seat at her table and she promoted you. ALL DCS employees and persons are prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, creed, color, age, sex, national origin, religion, mental or physical disability, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, and alien/citizenship status. That is nearly five times higher than the average monthly caseload allowed by state law. I will say this: DCS may have intentionally tried to hurt me but all they did was speed up my healing. DCS Internal Affairs Covered Up Dozens of Complaints. We need to take a hard look at why it's not working," Campbell said. Please follow the link below to report suspicions of abuse/neglect of children when the suspected abuse/neglect took place in Tennessee. If prior workers interviewed for jobs and Ms. Jeffries did not like them she did not hire them. They all trained Angel, Heather and a list of other terrible superviosrs. The Unit can take the appropriate action to aid in the resolution of a specific issue or systemic problem. I had a case and the Case Manager was out sick and in these instances the Team Leader is responsible to ensuring the family continue to receive services in the workers absence. xZK7sh%`dX?_D>*k//bWoo?WKn5xVZ1kZ>^~fRf +%? Tn dcs Desktop Support Engineer (Former Employee) - Nashville, TN - April 30, 2018 Indeed Featured review DCS employees are usually not paid as well as they should be and raises arent that common either. naar All cases for the past five years need to be reviewed if not the last ten to 15 or 20 years. But even she was surprised by the internal graphs we showed her. Lawmakers say the high caseloads and lack of regular visits show the urgent need for reforms at DCS. Nelson still has the essay she wrote nine years ago to get into the social work program at Middle Tennessee State University. DCS said Terri. Im sure more will come forward. so if the Team Leaders are afraid imagine how the Case Managers feel. Ms. Jeffries wanted us to do it in 30 days, Haynes said. Haynes said her pastor backed up her side of the story but it made no difference to Williams. In order to most effectively utilze our investigative resources, and to protect the identity and reputation of the individuals incorrectly accused of committing improper acts, we do not undertake formal investigations without adequate cause. =)p`rvvn))Bo~@';u7)Oa7FqSmZO76a|\~p?p~ I used to say I hated my birthmother but as of last year I began to start loving her and today I have more grace and forgiveness for her because now I truly know what monsters DCS really is! No 12 year old should have to lose his life due to DCS pushing kids out of the system before time due to a lack of Case Managers. I dont want to sound like a conspiracy nut but its hard not to feel like someone somewhere is rubbing elbows to get what they want. And in August it rose to 46.9% nearly half of all open cases. Your email address will not be published. When i questioned the attorney the next day she said she was doing what she was told. During the interview process when someone was coming thru Ms. Jeffries didnt like she would attend and asked all the questions and at times would state who she was going to hire or not hire, which is unfair hiring practices. Neither of the have to sit in the office with children, yet they tell us what we have to do. I trusted the child but my hands was tied by higher up. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Review the Quarterly Summary of Provider Complaints here. DCS provides administrative and due process procedures for alleged perpetrators who have been named in substantiated reports of abuse or neglect and releases the information from records involving substantiated perpetrators. When i questioned the attorney the next day she said she was doing what she was told. We filed an appeal for the substantiations based on the fact that the case is still ongoing so how could they substantiate and we were told that we couldnt appeal until the case was over extremely contradicting! The letter said they received her complaint on January 13, 2021. Font Size. If you pissed her off you had to come to detention, she said. Ms. Hudson was a terrible Team Leader in Davidson Region, she was manipulative, a liar and Promoted to a position she was out of her depth in. . I worked under her in Wilson County, I quit also. endobj Jul 5, 2016 - DCS Case Manager II in Tullahoma, TN. "It's always been bad. Court got put off somehow from November to December and when it finally came, I got railroaded and apparently my court appointed public defender got scared for some reason because we went from being ready to testify and show my hair follicle and the picture of where my hair from when Dcss hair follicle was done I correct, along with the woman from the lab I went to to get my rest present and ready to testify that she was the one who pointed out the hair wasnt cut correctly and that she preformed my test following policy and chain of command, also present was my Omni worker who did my parenting classes and had spent a lot of time with me and my children during my case. Because of the chaos and the ongoing turnover many of our kids are being neglected even more due to unethical leaders and their selfish practices. Its not, its setting them up for failure! DCS stated "we are aggressively taking steps to retain our current staff" including a recent pay raise of more than 4% for case managers. This was on top of salary increase for all state employees. A. I had a case and the Case Manager was out sick and in these instances the Team Leader is responsible to ensuring the family continue to receive services in the workers absence. Pull a DCS roster of workers that used to be under this team, interview them privately and Im sure they will provide more information. My family and I will continue to fight because we will come out on top and expose the department for everything that they have been and want to continue to be. While working in the Montgomery County Office there were multiple times I witnessed Ms. Jeffries and the higher powers rail road parents they felt were not fit to parent. Snickering and pointing at workers with Angel Miller. Because DCS didnt report that my child was suicidal I lost him August 10, 2021. Look at the multiple complaints over the years that have been washed down the drain. DCS required certain tasks to be completed within 90 days. It is important that you call out every single state employee that abuses their power, is negligent in their duties, falsifies documents, or commits fraud. They force FSWs to sleep in offices with kids because they have overcrowded placements and run providers off. The church did on thier own. Internal DCS data raises concerns that caseworkers are not meeting monthly with potential child abuse and neglect victims as required. Help ons Glassdoor te beschermen door te verifiren of u een persoon bent. It also set a goal of conducting 50% of those visits in the childs placement (at the foster home or residential treatment facility). But she never heard from the department about the incident. The tragic case of 2-year-old Zephania Green shows why regular visits are critical. Our kids families and employees deserve more. Ajude-nos a manter o Glassdoor seguro confirmando que voc uma pessoa de If you believe a child has been abused or neglected, please call the TennesseeChild Abuse Hotline at 1-877-237-0004 and report the abuse. Well this young man was doing everything to get his child, Ms. Brookover became angry at me when I reported the father was on track and asked for visitations .She then called a meeting for me and my Team Coordinator to meet at the Regional Office, The Deputy RA, TC, DCS attorney, Parents and their attorney were all present and when she started discussing the case in front of the parents and their attorney I was shocked, i looked at my TC who had the look on her face for me to stop talking. This again is why change is so darn difficult at DCS. New Case managers coming in was supposed to have 15 cases many had 22. All kids thats been in custody over 6 months case is reviewed each month to ensure the Team Leader and Case Manager is doing what DCS has entrusted in them to attempt to get the child home by 12 months. I hope the focus changes things but I doubt it will. My job was to assist the parents in permanency , but when you receive interference from The powers that be you are helpless. A real poll is how many innocent families have been destroyed because Ms. Jeffries believes she has all the power and flexes it against families who cannot afford real representation to fight her. The Hotline is available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week. days later this child lost his life. 2021-08-21. My son ended having to go to the ER after messaging a teacher in virtual asking her to send police because he was in such distress. The Safe Measure reports show a single point in time. We have plenty of documents showing Policy Violations with Camille Legins and her Hench woman Lashanda Hudson. Caso continue recebendo esta mensagem, Atif assured me theyd get to the bottom of it, Haynes said. We have watched Camille and Lashanda nickel and dime providers for money DCS can pay to provide Permanency placements on whats called a Unique Care Agreement. Mom was arrested for child abuse despite medical doctors and psychologist stating the allegations were not abusive. Multiple caseworkers contracted COVID and we still had to come in. Ive kept this secret for 27 years and its only been in the last few years that I confirmed this with my adoptive parents, told a well-known pastor who is our cousin in Crossville at Cumberland Fellowship. Aidez-nous protger Glassdoor en confirmant que vous tes une personne relle. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) Caseworkers at the Tennessee Department of Children's Services have so many cases that some are failing to meet monthly with children - as required by DCS policy. I worked for DCS for seven years. Look at the number of Team Leaders that have left the Department or the number of workers it speaks for itself, Keep in mind the biggest snake Lisa Brookover is the real culprit for allowing Ms. Jefferies actions to continue without recourse. Yet Gail still sits high on her horse and African Americans come and go. The father was living with his mother at the time. When I came to live with my last foster family I had already experienced much trauma. Contact the DCS Customer Relations Unit Toll-Free: 1-800-861-1935 E-mail : DCS.Custsrv@tn.gov Department of Children's Services Customer Relations Unit UBS Tower, 7th Floor 315 Deaderick Street Nashville, TN 37243 Contact the DCS Commissioner directly at Commissioner.Margie.Quin@tn.gov Become a DCS Provider; Become a Foster Parent; File A Complaint; Find Adoption Agency; Get Info for Youth in Transition; Learn About Juvenile Justice; Learn My Client's Rights; . The father and his mothers were smokers but was so excited to get the child they ensure they smoked outside. This process is also available for disputing annual Episodes of Care Reports. Well, thank God this excellent foster mom went to school intoxicated and was reported to DCS. Please help us protect Glassdoor by verifying that you're a I later went home and cried because i knew this young father was railroaded and lost his child because of friendships. Together the two wrecked Havoc on the Workers in the Clarksville Office. It was always the excuse that these children had mental health issues! Williams swept it under the rug and planned to keep it there. Nos informar sobre o problema not abusive Jennifer Nichols a resignation letter 8. Information to support the alleged or suspected violation they all trained Angel, Heather and a of! Lost him August 10, 2021 what she was told and violations of rules, policies procedures! 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