On July 1 New Laws Went Into Effect to Improve Adoption and Foster Care Services
By State Senator Page Walley
As Tennessee ushered in the new fiscal year on July 1, a slew of new Tennessee laws passed by the General Assembly went into effect, including many new laws I sponsored. I was proud to pass new laws to care for children by improving adoption and foster care services, as well as strengthening resources to the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and the Wilder Youth Development Center in Fayette County.
On July 1, a new law I sponsored went into effect to protect prospective adoptive parents and expectant parents from illegal adoption facilitators. Unfortunately, unlicensed and unregulated adoption facilitators, often based out of state, take advantage of those seeking adoption services by charging high, nonrefundable payments in advance – typically upwards of $50,000 – to match expectant parents with adoptive parents.
These facilitators provide no other service other than matchmaking and prey on victims through online advertising. In Tennessee and in most states, these facilitators are currently prohibited, but enforcement has been a challenge.
The law strengthens enforcement of existing prohibitions against illegal adoption facilitators by enhancing the Consumer Protection Act to more specifically address the problem. It creates an adoption facilitation claim under the state’s tort law. Furthermore, it allows for civil penalties against illegal facilitators of at least $100,000 in damages to deter the crime by making it so cost prohibitive illegal facilitators won’t risk operating in Tennessee.
Additionally, another new law I was influential in passing will now make several improvements to adoption and foster care proceedings after July 1 by eliminating red tape and burdensome regulations. It gives foster parents more input and participation in cases of children who have been in their care. The new law also reduces the timeframe for when finalized adoptions can be overturned to provide more stability to adopted children and families. To protect children from abuse and further trauma, it also requires DCS to timely file a petition for termination of parental rights with the court when a case involves egregious circumstances.
To ensure our justice system is equipped with prosecutors to go after child abusers, I was a sponsor of a new law that went into effect July 1 to create lead prosecutors for crimes committed against children. This law requires each District Attorney General to designate at least one Assistant District Attorney General as lead prosecutor in cases involving crimes committed against children. The law also requires the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to provide annual training to the lead prosecutors which will help them make informed judgements on these heinous crimes.
On July 1 a new law I sponsored provided a new tool to more tools to disincentivize escapes at the Wilder Youth Development Center in Fayette County. It allows courts to charge juveniles who escape from youth development centers and are at least 16 years old as an adult and possibly move the juvenile to a Tennessee Department of Corrections facility. Under the law, the juvenile would only be charged as an adult for the crime of escaping. The law is a result of recommendations from the General Assembly’s Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Juvenile Justice, which I Co-Chaired.
To help protect public safety and provide early intervention for disturbed juveniles, on July 1 a new law requires a mental health evaluation and potentially court-ordered psychiatric treatment for juveniles convicted of aggravated cruelty to animals. Juveniles who are extremely cruel to animals can be more prone to commit further criminal activity, including homicide, as they become adults. It is important we identify these troubled children early and take steps.
Finally, another new law I sponsored went into effect July 1 to ensure qualifying DCS teachers receive performance and longevity pay increases. It also ensures that special school districts educating juveniles in youth development centers are eligible for the same federal funding as other school districts in the state.
In the coming weeks I will continue to update you on other important new laws that went into effect at the start of the new fiscal year. I have enjoyed being out in the district this summer and speaking with many citizens.
As always, please reach out to me if I can assist you in any way at sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov or 615-741-2368.
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