Scrutiny of Tennessee Children's Office Increasing

State lawmakers mulling probe of the state's Department of Children's Services after deaths

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State lawmakers in Tennessee are giving increased scrutiny to the Department of Children's Services following revelations about 31 children who have died this year after interacting with the agency, The Tennessean reports.

One state lawmaker has called for the government to appoint an auditor to examine the agency, and another is mulling a special meeting of a legislative committee to analyze the issue, according to the newspaper.

A former official with the office revealed this week that he had urged the office to report child deaths and near-deaths to state lawmakers, but the department has admitted it has not always lived up that obligation.

That's riled lawmakers, who say they need up-to-date information about those deaths to assess how good a job the state is doing at protecting children.

Last week, Gov. Bill Haslam announced he would launch his own study of the deaths, according to The Tennessean.

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Communications manager for the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute and former Governing staff writer
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