NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Stepping into a new role entirely, Margie Quin will take over the helm of the Department of Children's Services.
Her predecessor Jennifer Nichols will vacate the position at the end of August, leaving behind a staffing shortage and low morale reported by employees.
"When you think about taking any job, you weigh the pros and the cons," Quin said in an exclusive interview with anchor Carrie Sharp. "On the pro list, on the top of the list, is to positively impact the life of a child, and it really doesn't matter what comes after that for me that was the overriding reason to take this job."
Quin has been in law enforcement for 25 years — 20 of those with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, where in 2007 she took over the Amber Alert system and the missing children clearing house. Her most recent job was with End Slavery Tennessee.
But DCS is a two-prong department with juvenile justice and foster care.
"I think three and a half years spent at End Slavery Tennessee working in a victim services agency I think I learned a lot, and I hope that's really going to help me in this position," Quin said. "If law enforcement is done right, we are the preeminent victim advocates because many times we are the only people left speaking for a victim."
She said she hopes her collective experience "brings to bear" the change needed at DCS.
When asked if the juvenile justice arm and foster care system should collectively be under DCS, she said she wasn't sure.
"I don't know," she said. "I've got to get in and hear from the people in the department, hear from the subject matter experts there. I think everything is on the table we'll look at everything to see if it furthers the mission of the Department of Children's Services."
