Thu. Nov 14th, 2024

Foster kids in housing units downtown out of control, neighbors say

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. —  Just months after the Church of God In Christ partnered with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services to provide transitional housing for foster kids at its apartments downtown, residents living in the same complex say the teens are causing so many problems they’re moving out.

A tenant at the 20-unit COGIC apartment complex didn’t want to be identified but said police are called there daily. He said, on average, 10 to 15 boys and girls have been living in two one-bedroom apartments with little supervision.

“Most of the time, when I see the children, no adult is in sight. You know, there’s no adult in sight. So, they are either inside just hanging out, but they’re not supervising or monitoring the children,” he said.

The resident said cars on the fenced-in lot had been broken into, and the property had been vandalized. He said he was concerned not only about his safety but also about the DCS children, who were already in a vulnerable situation.

“I heard firsthand from a police officer and a caseworker that there are children literally sleeping in a closet on a pile of clothes because there is nowhere for them to go. And when children can’t get along, they have kids on the stairwell, said the tenant. “There is a caseworker who said she got written up because she left to go get food for the kids. She said there’s no food in there, and the living conditions inside are pretty bad.”

Memphis police said over the last three months, they have handled nearly 40 calls at the apartment complex. Many are for runaways, simple assaults, or drugs.

According to police reports obtained by WREG, the teens in DCS custody were accused of assaulting DCS caseworkers, DCS sitters, security guards, and each other. The teens were issued juvenile summons or transported to the Juvenile Detention Center.

Police report involving a teen in DCS care
Police reports involving DCS kids living downtown apartments

On September 12, a DCS-hired security officer said a juvenile in DCS custody became aggressive when he told him it was past his curfew and he needed to go to bed. The security guard said the teen headbutted him, leaving a small cut on his head.

“I do believe that COGIC meant well, but the problem is they partnered with the state, which has dropped the ball,” said the tenant. “I’m afraid that the situation the state put them in can’t be any better than what they’re taking them out of.”

This all comes a year after the new head of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services said children in state care were sleeping on office floors because they had no place else to put them.

In May, Governor Bill Lee toured the COGIC apartments furnished with bunk beds and desks. The governor said his office recognized that children were not being served in the way that they should and commended the partnership between the DCS and the COGIC Church.

WREG reached out to DCS and representatives for COGIC to find out what was being done to address the alleged problems but has not heard back from anyone.

The tenant we spoke to said he had called the state’s abuse hotline to report what he believes is negligence, and he has also talked to DCS and COGIC about what has been happening at his apartment complex.

“I’m reporting the state to the state,” he said. “The message I relate to COGIC is you might want to pull out of this because it’s going to sully the reputation of the Church of God in Christ.”

He said he understands there are not enough foster homes for kids in Memphis and across Tennessee but said the state is not managing the problem well. He said that at some point, the kids also need to be held accountable for their actions.

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