Juvenile Offenders

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details about improvements or changes that might result from TACIR’s findings, only the requirement for a study and report.

Juvenile Offenders Study Act

This bill requires TACIR to study licensing and oversight mechanisms for juvenile facilities in Tennessee and compare them with other states' models.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) to examine how residential facilities that house and treat juvenile offenders are licensed and overseen in Tennessee.
• Includes a review of licensing and oversight practices used by other U.S. states for similar facilities housing juvenile offenders.
• Also looks at models used within Tennessee for overseeing different types of residential care, like prisons, mental health centers, and special needs facilities.

Who It Names or Affects

• Juvenile offenders in custody of the Department of Children’s Services or housed in local detention centers.
• State agencies like the Departments of Children’s Services, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Education, and other relevant entities.

Terms To Know

TACIR

The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, which studies state issues and makes recommendations.

Residential facilities

Places where juvenile offenders live while receiving treatment or punishment, including detention centers and other housing options.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how the study will be funded.
• It is unclear what specific changes might result from TACIR's findings.
• The bill only requires a report by January 1, 2027; it does not mandate any action based on the report.

Official Summary Text

ON FEBRUARY 26, 2026, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1401, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, require the Tennessee advisory commission on intergovernmental relations (TACIR) to study all of the following:



The current structure of licensing and oversight mechanisms for residential facilities licensed by, approved by, operated by, or contracted with this state, the department of children's services, or a juvenile court for the housing and treatment of juvenile offenders
.


Licensing and oversight models used by other states to ensure compliance, safety, and adequacy of services for juvenile offenders in residential facilities
.


Licensing and oversight models used by other state agencies within this state to ensure compliance, safety, and adequacy of services in other types of residential facilities, such as prisons and jails, mental health facilities, and facilities for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities
.


Opportunities for improvement in this state's licensing and oversight mechanisms for residential facilities housing and treating juvenile offenders.

As used in this amendment, "licensing and oversight" includes
formal licensing processes and regulations, facility inspections, compliance reviews, complaint, investigatory, and enforcement mechanisms, as well as youth, family, and community input processes
. As used in this amendment, "residential facilities" includes
local juvenile detention centers and other facilities for the housing and treatment of juveniles detained prior to an adjudicatory hearing, as well as facilities for the housing and treatment
of juvenile offenders who have been adjudicated delinquent and committed to the custody of the department of children's services, including temporary and transitional placements, assessment centers, shelters, out-of-state placements, and any other locati
on where juvenile offenders in custody of the department reside while in state custody
.

In completing the study, this amendment authorizes TACIR to request information and input from the department of children's services
, the department of mental health and substance abuse services, the department of education, and other appropriate state and local governmental entities, as necessary.
Such entities are required to comply with TACIR's request. TACIR must report its findings to each member of the general assembly and provide a copy of its report to the legislative librarian no later than Janu
ary 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 1245
By Reedy

SENATE BILL 1401
By Roberts

SB1401
003183
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 37 and Title 41, relative to juvenile facilities.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-1-189(a), is amended by deleting
"six (6) hours" and substituting "four (4) hours".
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.