NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Lawmakers from both political parties are reacting to a NewsChannel 5 investigation into the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.
It comes after employees told NewsChannel 5 Investigates they were ordered to cover up dangerous conditions inside a state-run home for abused and neglected children.
ORIGINAL REPORTING: DCS whistleblowers claim ‘cover-up’ of ‘dangerous’ conditions in state-run homes
“As chair of the Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee, I am working to gather additional information from the department and others about what happened," Rep. Mary Littleton, R-Dickson, said. "We must ensure that every child in state custody receives the best care Tennessee can provide."
Senator Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, echoed similar sentiments.
"It is important for the department to make some clear statements it is not going to have a cover-up culture," Yarbro said.
As NewsChannel 5 Investigates reported, a former director at the Department of Children's Services Brenda Myers, and a current employee, Jared Holmes, inspected a DCS-run transitional home for abused and neglected children last July.
Myers wrote a memo immediately after the inspection detailing the dangerous conditions for the children at the transitional home.
"There were holes in the walls, exposed electrical wiring. The kids didn't have enough food to eat," Holmes said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Myers: "If you went to a home like that and saw conditions like that what would you do?"
"We would recommend removal," Myers said.
Myers and Holmes thought DCS Commissioner Margie Quin would immediately work to fix the problems after seeing the report.
But instead, Myers said she was called into a meeting where Commissioner Quin was upset Myers had written the report and voiced concern it would fall into the hands of the media.
"She indicated that I was not a team player," Myers said. "She knew very well the conditions that were out there. I mean, she said if we think this is bad wait until we go to the one in Clarksville."
Later that same day, she said a supervisor told her to write a new memo.
"He told me that I needed to write a new report that would mitigate the findings from the first, so that if there was a media request, he could give an updated report to the media that would show the conditions weren't so bad," Myers said.
Sen. Yarbro said the department cannot fix problems if it cannot be honest about the problems it has.
"The evaluator's job is not to be a team player for the people who are under evaluation or for her supervisors," Senator Yarbro said.
"When there are children in Tennessee that are in state custody that are living in substandard conditions, that is not a public relations problem. That's a problem, problem," Senator Yarbro said.
The employees said DCS stopped inspections of transitional homes.
"DCS leadership does not want it in writing — anything in writing — to reflect the actual conditions there, and in fact, they already know what the conditions are like," Myers said.
DCS said it does not comment on past employees.
It did not dispute what Myers said about the meeting or the memo she wrote the next day.
The department said it can take time to get bids to make repairs at transitional housing where some kids act out and cause damage.
