Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth approves awards slate in special virtual meeting

Judge Phil, chair of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, called a special virtual meeting to order March 3, 2025, to consider and approve the commission’s recommended awards recipients so the awards could be presented at the annual Children’s Advocacy Days event.

Craig (staff member) read a statement of necessity into the record, citing Tennessee Code Annotated § 8-44-108 and saying “a quorum is electronically present pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, title 8-44-108,” and explaining the commission scheduled the special meeting after a regularly scheduled February meeting was disrupted by inclement weather.

The commission’s awards committee had previously vetted nominees at the February meeting; the committee brought a slate of recommended recipients to the full commission. A commissioner moved “we do it as a slate,” and the commission conducted a roll-call vote because the meeting was virtual. The slate was approved by an affirmative roll-call vote of the commissioners present.

Richard (staff member) used the meeting to give commissioners an update on the commission’s budget situation. He said the agency’s most critical improvement request — an operational increase of $70,000 and an additional finance position — was not included in the governor’s budget and that, on top of that, the commission must implement a 1% reduction plan. “We’re gonna have to do an additional reduction of $57,000,” Richard said, and he explained that following advice taken during the budget hearing the commission protected CASA funding from cuts, which shifted roughly $27,000 of reduction pressure back onto the commission’s own operational budget. Richard said staff will leave one vacancy unfilled and reimagine another vacant position to achieve savings.

Craig reminded commissioners that the meeting was being recorded and that the recording would be posted on the commission’s website: “I will remind folks that if you have comments or thoughts that this is being recorded, and that recording is gonna be on our website for public consumption.”

With no further business, the commission adjourned the special called meeting.

The commission did not take any additional formal action on budget requests, nor did it change funding to CASA during the meeting; the discussion about budget reductions was informational and described planned staff actions to absorb the required reductions.