Tennessee audit: child-welfare agency had not publicly reported child near-fatalities since October 2023, with 58 cases awaiting physician review.
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A Tennessee Comptroller performance audit of the Department of Children's Services, released December 16, 2025 and covering September 2022 to September 2025, found the department had not reported any child near-fatalities since October 2023 because it lacked a physician reviewer; all 58 preliminary near-fatality cases from October 2023 through May 2025 remained pending physician review, though DCS said it had filled the position shortly before the audit period ended. Auditors also found insufficient and untimely investigations of child abuse by adults in authority roles by the Special Investigations Unit, including missed priority timeframes for initial face-to-face visits with alleged victims, and a transitional home where 15 youth were housed in apartments with 9 beds. Of 13 findings from the 2022 audit, DCS said five were fully resolved, four partially resolved and four repeated.
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