DCS Plans to Spend $400M on Juvenile Detention Projects - Articles

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DCS Plans to Spend $400M on Juvenile Detention Projects

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Sep 18, 2023

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is embarking on more than $400 million worth of construction projects to handle children entering state custody and to improve detention centers, Tennessee Lookout reports. The projects include a new assessment center, two intake facilities and six other facilities across the state at a total cost of $88.3 million. Another $333 million will be spent for a new Woodland Hills Youth Detention Center in Nashville and improvements at John S. Wilder Youth Detention Center in Fayette County, where reports of abuse by guards, riots and poor living conditions have been frequent. A new Wilder center also is to be built to house another 24 to 48 minors, potentially bringing its population up to nearly 170.