NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) – Children in state custody are spending months in Tennessee hospitals because the Department of Children's Services has nowhere else to put them.
The children were treated medically, but hospital beds were tied up for use by others, especially during times of high demand.
One child stayed at Children's Hospital for over 9 months (276 days) after he should have been discharged.
Some hospital officials said this. NewsChannel 5 Investigation It is becoming a dumping ground for children that DCS cannot place.
“There are hundreds of days without hospital care,” the Children's Hospital Alliance of Tennessee (CHAT), which represents children's hospitals across the state, said in a statement.
TennCare covers the cost of hospital care for children detained by DCS, but does not disclose how much taxpayers spend on long-term stays.
The Department of Children's Services said these children could not stay in the DCS office building like other children because they were difficult to place in foster care and were medically vulnerable.
It often begins in the pediatric emergency room.
DCS social workers take children with real medical problems to the hospital.
Typically, children have just been removed from abusive or neglectful homes.
But when the hospital says your child can leave, DCS says your child has nowhere to go.
State Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, was uneasy by the details we showed her.
“Our state is failing. We have failed these kids and frankly, I think DCS has failed as well,” Campbell said.
An example is a 10-year-old child with muscular dystrophy who stayed at East Tennessee Children's Hospital in Knoxville for 103 days.
DCS was unable to find a placement for the child because his mother died from COVID-19 and his father was unable to care for him.
Another 10-year-old child with severe autism was also admitted to the same hospital for 51 days.
He ended up being sent to a facility in another state because there was no room for him at DCS.
And one insulin-dependent diabetic patient stayed for several days because hospital records said, “DCS will not take (the child) to the hospital because he or she needs an insulin injection.”
“Choosing between an office and a hospital is not a rational choice,” said Senator Campbell.
DCS placed children with mental health diagnoses at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital for 270 days.
The child occupied the room from May 2021 to February 2022.
The agency left another child in a hospital in Johnson City for 243 days, long after he should have been discharged.
DCS Director Margie Quin, who took over last September, told Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee at a budget hearing that DCS was fielding calls from hospitals concerned about long-term hospitalizations.
“These are very difficult youth to place,” Quin said.
“They have been in the hospital for 100 days, they are not seriously ill, but they cannot stay in the office and they are not suitable for temporary housing,” Quin told the governor.
DCS lacked foster care facilities, forcing some children to sleep in office buildings.
“Children in wheelchairs can also be difficult to place,” the DCS attorney said. “The most difficult situations are those with medical and behavioral/mental health needs.”
Commissioner Quin requested more than $8.7 million to fund “assessment treatment facilities” located throughout the state that would house some of the medically challenged children.
“They really need specialized care, and we don’t have a program for them,” Director Quin said during the budget hearing.
Senator Campbell can't believe that state government often has to choose between an office and a hospital room.
“Let’s be responsible and give DCS the money it needs to care for our kids,” Campbell said.
“Our state now has more funding than we have had in decades, and there is absolutely no reason why we can’t make sure we are taking care of our most vulnerable,” Campbell said.
Lee announced his intention to fund DCS' request for additional funding during the budget hearing.
But even if the budget request is approved, there are still months left before help is available, raising questions about what can be done now.
Senator Campbell said: “These are issues that the Department of Children's Services can definitely address without sending children to the hospital.
Below is the full statement from the Children's Hospital Association of Tennessee (CHAT).
“Children's hospitals serve as a safety net for the physical and mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. In nearly a decade, the number of youth receiving primary care at children's hospitals in Tennessee and across the country has increased significantly. Services made readily available Mental health assessment is necessary because there is a shortage and fragmented delivery system for such services.
Another group of children admitted to our state's children's hospitals are those in DCS custody. These adolescents are often brought to the pediatric emergency room due to genuine medical or behavioral needs. However, once patients are ready for discharge, DCS teams have difficulty finding appropriate placement options, delaying discharge. While these children remain in the hospital, they tie up resources available to other children. Hospital stays across the state range from days to months, with one children's hospital reporting the longest stay at 276 days.
Collectively, these patients account for hundreds of additional days not requiring hospital care. DCS frequently cites limited placement options and a lack of resources to adequately staff and support these children. New DCS Director Margie Quin recently acknowledged the problem of long-term hospitalization for some children and plans to address these and other issues facing DCS through important actions, including more funding, increased training, and increased support for caseworkers. I explained the outline.
Mary Nell Bryan, President of the Children's Hospital Alliance of Tennessee, said: “The Tennessee Children's Hospital Association commends the staff of the Department of Children's Services for working hard to address the challenges of finding foster homes for medically frail and disabled children. Chronic diseases such as diabetes. Sometimes there are not enough suitable locations where these transfers can take place quickly. We appreciate Director Quin requesting more funding and presenting a plan that includes expanded training and support for case workers. The work of DCS case workers and other DCS staff is very important. As can be said about those who work in hospitals, the job can be challenging, but it can also be very rewarding. “We urge families to consider fostering children who are medically fragile or have chronic conditions such as diabetes.”