[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6298043,"mediaKeyId","2505658-97f723478175b70481d68a9effba2d80","parentId",2505658,"title","Senate Health and Welfare committee advances several bills on daycare, provider reinstatement, hospital assessment and public health messaging","audioSeconds",548,"startMs",3112000,"endMs",3660000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2505658-97f723478175b70481d68a9effba2d80&start=3112&end=3660","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2505658-97f723478175b70481d68a9effba2d80/thumbnail_3112000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6298043/Tennessee/Senate-Health-and-Welfare-committee-advances-several-bills-on-daycare-provider-reinstatement-hospital-assessment-and-public-health-messaging","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6298043-7d7df83aef882c0a470aa4de580d7b57/orig.mp4?Expires=1770525066&Signature=aoLdAbaeAyDlHiEdkWUaqQYe4Qanx02Lsq8s8LdMIMAWiG-B~8fbEU4Brs5BALeDeneNyww0c2tdoSbjQuRAnjmDO4W23UvPFNTKDQ7M7UMQJVbNkoxQiU3u32efU1jbbwpgEXmuwGpn3OpOo-GihIE-9nl1yz2j6Y-l0u7hKvFxfRLq3wBnhObh2p095GF~PxrGSrDDxQxn20ZMX8Ujti3S1fc6pDBQmrdj6FrKxuhxGyMO1gqLS0sbJaHb1hXzD2Nm~BpDlZk2bdZOgkGzTQo-VshG7ltN~gkptmfEJJw42y~3LgYO6Uq5WW3DuE7eXqQYvEHh~akAoJ~jam3Ghw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","TN State Legislature","date","2025-03-05T00:00:00Z","article","At a meeting of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, members considered a series of bills affecting child care, health professional licensing, TennCare hospital assessments, genomic security, public health messaging and children's mental health reporting. Several measures were advanced to calendar or to the Finance committee.

Key votes and committee actions (votes shown as Y'N where recorded):

- Senate Bill 1012 (Sen. Oliver): Amends statute to include half nieces and nephews in the family count for family home child care ratios. Motion moved, seconded by Sen. Yarbrough. Roll call produced 8 ayes, 1 no; bill advanced to calendar and referred to Finance, Ways and Means for further consideration.

- Senate Bill 619 (Sen. Harshbarger; as amended): Creates a process by which healthcare providers disciplined for substance use disorder may petition boards to remove certain public disciplinary listings after specified conditions (discussion and amendment established the final language). Committee passed the amendment and the bill; roll call recorded 8 ayes and 1 present not voting; bill advanced to calendar.

- Senate Bill 577 (Sen. Hale; hospital assessment amendment): An amendment to last year's hospital assessment legislation that authorizes TennCare to continue assessments and make approved direct payments while federal (CMS) approvals remain pending. Witnesses from the Tennessee Hospital Association (Zach Blair, Amanda Newell) described partial CMS approval and the need for interim statutory authority. Committee approved the amendment and bill on voice and roll calls; bill advanced to calendar.

- Senate Bill 318 (Sen. Lowe; as amended): The bill (as amended) prohibits Tennessee businesses from using certain foreign adversary DNA banks for commercial storage or disposal of genetic material; passed and advanced to calendar on unanimous committee votes.

- Senate Bill 1031 (Sen. Bolling): As amended, this \"Restore Trust in Public Health Messaging\" bill limits state public health messaging about FDA-regulated products (vaccines, masks and emergency-use-authorized products cited in testimony) to content that aligns with FDA labeling; it also permits critique or public discussion of labeling and allows the attorney general discretion in certain reporting duties. Bernadette Pager testified in support. The committee approved amendments and advanced the bill (committee tally reported as 6 ayes, 1 no, and 2 present not voting).

- Senate Bill 1342 (Sen. Campbell): Requires the Council on Children's Mental Health (attached administratively to the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth) to submit an annual report on children's mental health status and recommendations to the General Assembly. Richard Kennedy (Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth) confirmed the council can absorb the work. Committee advanced the bill to calendar (roll call reported eight ayes).

- Senate Bill 706 (Sen. Massey): At the sponsor's request and as amended, this bill asks TennCare to collect and publish county-level data on services for Tennesseans with disabilities (percent service utilization, appointment wait time, time from approval to service start) to pinpoint access gaps. Committee approved the amendment and advanced the bill to Finance.

Several bills were taken off notice, rolled to the heel or held for amendment (including the Childcare Workforce Improvement Act introduced by Sen. Oliver, and SB401 regarding TennCare eligibility for minors).

Witnesses included Zach Blair and Amanda Newell (Tennessee Hospital Association), Richard Kennedy (Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth), and Bernadette Pager (citizen witness). The committee produced roll-call tallies on the recorded items and sent approved measures to the calendar or to Finance as indicated.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Health and Welfare Committee\tMar 5, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Health and Welfare Committee advanced several bills affecting child care, professional licensing, TennCare hospital assessments and public health messaging, moving them to the calendar or to Finance after debate and amendments.","taxTitle","Health and Welfare, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Tennessee","taxId",29601,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6298048,"Department of Children's Services outlines budget for expanded treatment, case managers and intake centers",1297,4762000,6059000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2505658-97f723478175b70481d68a9effba2d80&start=4762&end=6059","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2505658-97f723478175b70481d68a9effba2d80/thumbnail_4762000.jpg","/articles/6298048/Tennessee/Department-of-Childrens-Services-outlines-budget-for-expanded-treatment-case-managers-and-intake-centers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6298048-8c3f40b9b7e3f04739427b98dfa8ddd7/orig.mp4?Expires=1770525066&Signature=ZAK5-FEYhCIaYl5AV5FkDT2X2ap71ueEgBeq6jzb4Tzd3l2DrtwP8jj36SAzgMgvSmLVZIl4XFPPgxhhAzIMOakFmHgbpM~NH-G-1VS-Ms6nxbMa0Qd8KWkGxR48sL-cVOtkZy83TyE90NxiOxglNXrgJTJJxblwTpxMiZykMVOaok8ZdsC2dWuPafudil6iqcesqvK8LqQhD0Nq4xZgt6nVzz8NMkQ3mcC4hTLwNyj21mfc5MnDsCv4Be5rBeJAwHtudgcxLJ6q-IRwT~UCVA43VROC2XrIpq0olE~ZR00c5SWJlzM1qQjlJw57Eer9LgConAXvm8HIvrEDWtMvDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Department of Children Services Commissioner Margie Quinn told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that DCS has shifted from crisis response to a strategy-driven model and asked lawmakers to fund changes to match the agency's current caseload and clinical needs.

The request presented to the committee covered several categories: recalculation of the residential custodial budget to reflect a higher-acuity population; expansion of assessment treatment home beds from 48 to 96; maintenance of recent provider rate increases; continued funding for specialized treatment foster care; private-provider case management to add 95 case managers in stressed regions; targeted Intercept (Youth Villages) expansion in 15 counties that produce half of the state's foster entries; and supports for youth aging out of care, including a continuation of LifeSet and extension of foster care case management.

Quinn said recent workforce and placement metrics show progress: the DCS all-case-manager turnover rate for the first seven months of the fiscal year fell to 11.9% from 16.9% the prior 12 months and from as high as 28.8% in 2022. She told the committee that open case manager positions have dropped from 692 when she took office to 258 at the time of the hearing and that a new class of roughly 75 case managers will begin April 28.

Executive director of network development Frank Mix summarized placement trends that are driving the budget request: an increasing share of children is placed in higher-cost residential treatment (level 3 enhanced, PRTF, and level 4), while placements in lower-cost levels have declined. \"The purpose of this request is to address the imbalance this change in our service population has created and ensure that DCS's residential placement budget is funded to support the children we serve today,\" Mix told the committee.

Quinn and staff asked for continued funding of policies enacted over the past two years (including provider rate investments) so the state can maintain new vendor capacity and reduce reliance on short-term or office-based placements. They described assessment treatment homes as short-stay clinical assessment settings (average length of stay cited as about 38 days) that improve downstream placement stability, and recommended doubling those beds to reduce disruptions.

The budget packet also includes requests aimed at youth aging out of foster care: extension of foster care from age 21 to 23 (an administration bill moving separately through the legislature), funding for LifeSet services and workforce pathways (including connections to TCATs and employer partners), and a request to fund salary increases for forensic interviewers at child advocacy centers.

Committee members asked for details on caseloads, hiring cadence and program costs. Quinn said regional caseloads vary; one region that had averaged as many as 96 cases per manager has been reduced to about 32'34. She said DCS is using an 18-week pre-service training model and running roughly five to six cohorts of new hires a year; the department considers ~2,200 case managers near full staffing and expects to reallocate positions across regions as hires stabilize.

On facilities, Quinn said the agency is proceeding with a real-estate plan to build new intake/assessment centers and to replace older residential facilities such as Wilder with more clinically oriented, efficient sites; she said those longer-term capital decisions could change unit costs but declined to forecast precise savings. She also said some juveniles are still placed out of state when the specific specialty care they need is unavailable in Tennessee.

The committee voted to move the DCS budget package to the Senate Finance committee.","Commissioner Margie Quinn told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee that DCS is shifting from crisis response to strategic care, seeking funds to recalibrate residential custodial budgets, expand assessment treatment homes and specialized foster care, and to extend supports for youth aging out of care.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate Health and Welfare committee advances several bills on daycare, provider reinstatement, hospital assessment and public health messaging

Department of Children's Services outlines budget for expanded treatment, case managers and intake centers