Children's Services, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the commissioner to develop a statewide quality assurance program to ensure quality control through monitoring, evaluation, and feedback on the performance of the best, the official text

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                            PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 1075

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 1622

                                                        By Walley, Oliver

                                           Substituted for: House Bill No. 1966

                                                             By Farmer

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, Chapter 5, relative to the department of
          children's services.

          WHEREAS, quality assurance efforts in child and family services have traditionally focused
on determining state compliance with federal statutory and regulatory requirements to avoid a loss of
federal funds to the State; and

          WHEREAS, quality assurance reviews have also most often been directed primarily toward
foster care services, rather than examining the full continuum of services needed and used by
children and families; and

          WHEREAS, federal child and family service reviews now examine outcomes of services for
children and families rather than focusing entirely on procedural requirements following significant
revisions by Congress in 1993; and

          WHEREAS, the state of Alabama operates a successful outcomes-based, county-level
quality assurance program, and the state of New Jersey utilizes a continuous quality improvement
system that could serve as instructive models for creating a similar program in this State; and

          WHEREAS, an effective quality assurance program should support social workers,
supervisors, and management and also support the development, implementation, and refinement of
the service delivery system; and

          WHEREAS, an effective quality assurance program should not only examine and assess the
components of best-case practice, but also confirm strengths, identify successful strategies, and
recommend ways in which effective practice or system performance may be replicated or improved;
and

          WHEREAS, an effective quality assurance program should recommend corrective actions
that are necessary to improve services, capacity, outcomes, and conformity with federal, state, and
departmental program requirements, help identify and provide necessary training, consultation, and
technical assistance to department staff and technical providers, and also provide a system of
review for the implementation and effects of such corrective actions, when needed, as a necessary
part of the program's feedback loop; and

          WHEREAS, implementing such a quality assurance program at the county level, with a full-
time staff member of the county department designated as the quality assurance coordinator, would
enable the creation of county-level quality assurance feedback loops and allow the department to be
more responsive to unique service delivery needs within each county while also enabling statewide
sharing of best practices; and

          WHEREAS, a statewide, outcomes-based, county-level quality assurance program should be
implemented in this State in an effort to provide the best possible service delivery to the children and
families of this State; now, therefore,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SB 1622

          SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 37, Chapter 5, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:

          (a) The commIssIoner of children's services shall develop a statewide quality
assurance program. The purpose of the quality assurance program is to ensure quality
control through monitoring, evaluation, and feedback on the performance of the best
practices in the service delivery system and utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data in
outcomes-based approaches at the regional level.

         (b) The statewide quality assurance program shall include, at a minimum:

         .... (1) A state quality assurance committee; and

                   (2) Quality assurance systems in each region, including regional quality
         assurance coordinators.

         (c) The statewide quality assurance program shall:

                   (1) Provide a permanent structure for independent, objective evaluation of the
         quality of services and outcomes for children and families served by the department;

                   (2) Review programs for consistency with applicable federal, state, and
         departmental policy;

                  (3) Review outcomes experienced by children and families, particularly the
         outcome areas of safety, permanency, and child well-being;

                   (4) Provide information on system and outcome areas needing improvement
         and identifying barriers to system delivery; and

                   (5) Engage existing regional or county level advisory entities, such as the local
         advisory boards established under § 37-5-607 or citizen review panels required by 42
         U.S.C. § 5106a to provide feedback, when appropriate, on departmental practices.

         (d) The statewide quality assurance program may also create and engage new

regional ,or county leveladvisory entities in addition to those under subdivision (c)(5) in order

to- J:)rovi~:fe feedback, when appropriate, on departmental practices. :          •

SECTION 2._ This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.

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         2
         SENATE BILL NO. 1622

PASSED:  April 22, 2026

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                         ...._.\ - - "   RAND~McNALLY

                         SPEAKER OF THE SENATE

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                           CAMERONSEXTON,SPEAKER
                          HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APPROVED this ').:;}."'rJ...day of ~ ,   2026
                         I

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                     BILL LEE, GOVERNOR