State Representative Cameron Sexton, (R – Crossville) along with Representative’s Paul Bailey (R – Sparta) and Ron Travis (R- Dayton) have sent a letter to Jim Henry, Commissioner of the Department of Children Services, asking that he consider reopening Taft Youth Center.  The Center was closed in 2012 as a ‘cost savings’ measure by then Commissioner Kathryn  O’day.  Representative Sexton, who drafted the letter to the Commissioner,  writes:

We felt strongly that the other [youth center] facilities would not be able to handle the more violent and

troubled youth. This was one of our primary concerns with the 2012 decision. However,

Commissioner O’Day assured us that DCS would be able to handle and manage the re-

population of the Taft youth to the other facilities. We were not so optimistic.

Recent news reports of suicides, assaults, escapes and now we have half of the teenagers

from Woodland Hills Youth Development Center escaping overnight. These reports are all very

disturbing; especially when reports indicate that most of the youth had three or more felonies on

their record.

Representative Sexton strongly objected to the closing of Taft  two years and has since been rallying support to get it reopened.