Knox County board recommends transferring juvenile detention operations to juvenile court judge

The Knox County Juvenile Service Center Board of Directors voted Jan. 13 to recommend that facility operations be placed under the supervision of the juvenile court judge, proposing an effective date of April 1, 2026, and asking the law department to draft a county ordinance for county commission consideration in February and March.

Chair (unnamed in the transcript) told the board the recommendation follows consultations with judges and other counties and aims to align facility management with the juvenile justice mission rather than a sheriff-run model. "I am proposing now that we do not go in that direction... and that we shift to putting this under a juvenile court judge model," the chair said, describing the judicial administrative team as "closest to the mission." The proposal calls for the juvenile court judge to have authority over staffing decisions, to enter custody contracts with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and other East Tennessee counties, and for the facility’s FY26 budget to transfer to the juvenile court on the effective date.

Administration voiced support. David Myers, speaking for the mayor’s office, said the mayor is "110% behind it," and emphasized that the authority to detain delinquent youth rests with the court, not the mayor or commission. A judge present expressed support for the model but asked for certainty about the start date and "some insurance" to limit personal exposure before taking on management responsibilities.

Some board members urged caution. One member argued it was procedurally improper to take significant action without more notice and recommended waiting for a pending state draft report on juvenile detention facilities; the chair replied that the board’s vote was only a recommendation and that the commission would have 60 days and two readings to review and amend any ordinance.

The recommendation includes creating a publicly noticed advisory board beginning July 1. The chair described the advisory body’s intended composition in broad terms — a county executive-branch appointee, a health department representative, expertise in juvenile mental health and juvenile social services, a juvenile-legal expert, an ordinary citizen, and one county commissioner on a rotated term — and said most noncommission seats would be appointed by the juvenile court judge and confirmed by the county commission. The chair also said bylaws and governance documents would be finalized before the transition and that the current board would use February and March meetings to develop candidate recommendations.

After discussion, the board voted in favor. The chair said the motion and direction would be forwarded to the law department for drafting and to the county commission for February and March readings.

Next steps: the law department will draft the ordinance for first and second readings at county commission; the board scheduled two remaining meetings (Feb. 10 and March 17) to finalize bylaws and candidate lists for the advisory board. The board emphasized that DCS and the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) would continue to play licensing and oversight roles.