News
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October 16, 2023Out of Sight, Out of Media – A Recipe for Neglect: Statement on Tennessee Department of Children’s Services’ New Funding and Announced Projects
For a PDF of the Press Release, please click here. En Español The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) has been allocated over $400 million to combat the chronic mismanagement of care for Tennessee’s vulnerable youth, including funds to build more hardware secure facilities. Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT) reaffirms our commitment to preventing unwarranted institutionalization […]
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September 11, 2023Press Release on Disability Voting Rights Week
To view the original press release, click here. Disability Rights Tennessee celebrates Disability Voting Rights Week. The campaign is focused on education and action for the over 38 million eligible voters with disabilities and is hosted by the American Association of People with Disabilities’ REV UP Campaign. NASHVILLE, TN- Disability Rights Tennessee, the Protection & […]
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September 5, 2023NewsChannel5 Open Line: Juvenile Crime Rates in Middle Tennessee
Zoe Jamail, Policy Coordinator here at Disability Rights Tennessee, joins OpenLine to discuss juvenile crime trends in Nashville and Middle TN. View the content here. Access the NewsChannel5 website here.
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August 28, 2023Press Release on Week 2 of TN Special Session
For a PDF of the Press Release, please click here. As advocates for youth with disabilities, we are grateful for the Senate’s leadership in refusing to pass harmful juvenile justice legislation that seeks to criminalize children in a special session about protecting them. While we join many Tennesseans in mourning the lost opportunity to meaningfully […]
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August 16, 2023Tennessee’s Special Session: What You Need to Know
What is a Special Session? Article 3, Section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution states that the governor “may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the General Assembly by proclamation, in which he shall state specifically the purposes for which they are to convene; but they shall enter on no legislative business except that for which they were […]
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August 11, 2023The Sentencing Project Memorandum
View the original memorandum here. View more data here. To: Disability Rights Tennessee From: Josh Rovner, Director of Youth Justice Re: Juvenile and Adult Crime in Tennessee Date: August 11, 2023 I have reviewed arrest data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s “Crime in Tennessee” reports for the years 2011 through 2022, the most recent […]
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August 9, 2023Press Release on TN General Assembly Special Session
For a PDF of the Press Release click here. For Immediate Release As advocates for youth in the youth justice system, we are disturbed to see the Governor and legislature propose increasing youth incarceration as a response to the tragedy at The Covenant School, a tragedy that had nothing to do with the youth justice […]
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July 26, 2023The Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Although 33 years have passed since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed, there is still progress to be made in all facets of life. Here, at Disability Rights Tennessee, we believe that disability rights are human rights and continue advocating for and protecting the rights of Tennesseans with disabilities. If you have experienced discrimination because of a disability, contact our Get Help Line at 800-342-1664 or GetHelp@DisabilityRightsTN.org
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July 21, 2023Free the Vote: Addressing Voter Disenfranchisement in TN
Kristen Robinson The Power of the Vote “It means my words count.” “Taking control of my destiny.” “A second chance.” “It means freedom.” “Every vote counts. Just being able to be heard means a lot.” These are just a handful of the responses received from individuals housed at the Davidson County Jail when asked what […]
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July 19, 2023Press Release on DCS Investment in Wilder Youth Development Center
For Immediate Release PDF of Press Release As authors of the Designed to Fail report Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT) and Youth Law Center (YLC) oppose any plans by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) to invest further funds in youth incarceration facilities beyond the minimum necessary to keep youth from languishing in unsanitary and […]
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July 14, 2023Long COVID as a Disability Under Civil Rights Laws
En español Welcome back to DRT’s blog series related to the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). This is our fourth blog post in a series looking at the lingering effects of the pandemic in the wake of the federal government’s announcement that the PHE is over. Today, we are looking at how […]
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July 7, 2023News Channel 5 Nashville | Child advocates blast proposed DCS rules for housing delinquent youth
One licensing board member: ‘They caught some things maybe we didn’t’ View original article here. Published by Ben Hall on July 6, 2023. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A proposed change to rules at the Department of Children’s Services could lead to widespread privatization of youth detention facilities and may even lead to children being kept […]