GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A 12-year-old boy with intellectual disabilities was handcuffed and held face down on his mattress in a Department of Children's Services transitional home in Northeast Tennessee in October.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates obtained a picture of the incident which shows a masked security guard on top of the boy, who had his hands cuffed behind his back.
Internal DCS communications reveal the boy weighed "about 70 pounds," and is believed to have autism.
The 12-year-old is in state custody because his "mom was unable to care for him and did not have the resources to do so."
The boy had been in the transitional home for more than a week which is located at Freewill Baptist Ministries in Greeneville, Tennessee.
Just one day before the photo was taken, a DCS worker reported a similar incident in which a security guard handcuffed the same child.
The report said the guard started "yelling and cussing" at the 12-year-old after he "would not get into his bed."
As things escalated, the worker reported that the guard took out a "second pair of handcuffs" and "double cuffed" the child - leading one DCS official to describe it as "hog-tying."
Zoe Jamail with Disability Rights Tennessee was shocked when we showed her the picture.
"Everytyhing about this is horrifying. I cannot imagine what that small human felt in that moment," Jamail said.
DCS sent a statement stating the incident is under investigation and the security guard "is no longer working with our agency."
But the incident happened shortly after DCS quietly changed its policy to allow the use of handcuffs on kids who have never been charged with a crime.
Longstanding DCS policy used to say handcuffs are "strictly prohibited" for children ...."placed into custody due to dependency or neglect."
But in September DCS changed the policy.
The new policy (31.19) deleted the above language and allows handcuffs for "youth who are actively destroying property"... and "to maintain safety, security and order."
It also allows handcuffs on youth who are "at imminent danger of self-harm or harming others."
Disability Rights Tennessee advocates for disabled children and follows DCS policies and regulations, but the organization was unaware of the change in the policy.
"Policy change can happen within the department sort of behind closed doors, without any real feedback from the public," Zoe Jamail said.
The new policy went into effect as DCS opened transitional homes across the state.
The transitional homes keep kids from having to sleep in state office buildings while they wait to be placed in a foster home.
This month DCS Commissioner Margie Quin told Governor Bill Lee in budget hearings that hard to place kids, like those with special needs, often stay in transitional homes longer.
"We know there are issues with kids waiting to be placed, and we want to place them as quickly as possible," Quin said.
The policy change allows the use of handcuffs on disruptive kids in transitional homes.
DCS said in a statement "The policy change was necessitated by multiple incidents of violent attacks on staff by youth in our custody."
It went on to state, "DCS, working with certified security officers, will use handcuffs in limited emergency situations when other de-escalation steps haven't worked."
Internal documents show people in the department question whether the security guards hired by DCS have been trained in how to work with children with special needs and in the use of de-escalation techniques.
Internal DCS emails also show strong opposition to the policy.
One DCS official wrote "I believe our policy is in violation of both federal and state law."
An email sent directly to Commissioner Quin warned the policy "could have a detrimental impact on traumatized children."
And it questioned how all DCS employees could be properly trained to use handcuffs.
"When you see that there is concern within the department about this shift in policy, it should raise red flags for the public," Jamail said.
Lawmakers recently killed a bill that would have allowed security officers in schools to handcuff disruptive special needs students.
"When we talk about handcuffing youth with disabilities, that is prohibited in the school context," Jamail said.
The internal DCS emails reveal guards used "handcuffs to chain" a door closed at one transitional home.
The practice was stopped because it was a violation of the fire code.
Another email revealed security guards walked out of a transitional home after several teens started "acting up, throwing things," leaving one DCS caseworker alone in the home.
The emails reinforce what DCS employees first told us about the transitional homes.
Brenda Myers was in charge of inspecting the homes.
She wrote a memo in July detailing dangerous conditions at the Davidson County facility she and a co-worker inspected.
"They are blaming the children for the conditions they are forced to live in," Myers said.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked, "If you went to a private home and saw conditions like what would you do?"
Myers responded, "We would recommend removal."
But Myers said Commissioner Quin told her she was not a team player for reporting the dangerous conditions in the transitional home.
She was told to write a new report the very next day saying the dangerous issues were no longer a concern.
She wrote the new report and then left the department, which ended her 13-year career.
"She intended for me to engage in activities that would cover up the conditions there," Myers said.
The situation is clearly taking a toll on DCS employees.
A DCS worker who witnessed the handcuffing of the 12-year-old wrote he could not believe this was happening to children that he "vowed to keep safe."
He concluded "now I feel like I should have stepped in (and done) more."
Here is the full statement from the Department of Children's Services:
‘The need for a policy change regarding handcuffs was necessary to protect the lives of our children, our staff and our communities. Tennessee law allows all state departments to make changes to policies, but rule changes have to go through a rigorous review process.
The policy change was necessitated by multiple incidents of violent attacks on staff by youth in our custody. Regularly across the state, youth are placed in DCS custody as dependent and neglected, yet dozens come into care with serious criminal charges such as first-degree murder, aggravated assault and rape of a child. DCS, working with certified security officers, will use handcuffs in limited emergency situations when other de-escalation steps haven’t worked.
There is an investigation underway in the situation referenced, and the third-party contractor was notified. The security officer is no longer working with our agency. In all cases when DCS is notified that a third-party contractor is not meeting our standards and providing the quality of care we require for our youth, we take steps to ensure those individuals are no longer partnering with us or working with our children.
Our overarching goal is to provide quality care for youth while ensuring the safety of children, staff and the general public.’
