Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-116 (2026)

• (a) A child alleged to be delinquent or unruly may be detained only in:
  • (1) A licensed foster home or a home approved by the court;
  • (2) A facility operated by a licensed child care agency;
  • (3) A detention home or center for delinquent children that is under the direction or supervision of the court or other public authority or of a private agency approved by the court; or
  • (4) Subject to subsection (e), any other suitable place or facility designated or operated by the court. The child may be detained in a jail or other facility for the detention of adults only if:
    • (A) Other facilities in subdivision (a)(3) are not available;
    • (B) The detention is in a room separate and removed from those for adults; and
    • (C) It appears to the satisfaction of the court that public safety and protection reasonably require detention, and it so orders.

• (b) The official in charge of a jail or other facility for the detention of adult offenders or persons charged with crime shall inform the court immediately if a person who is or appears to be under eighteen (18) years of age is received at the facility, and shall bring such person before the court upon request or deliver such person to a detention or shelter care facility designated by the court.

• (c) If a case is transferred to another court for criminal prosecution, the child may be transferred to the appropriate officer or detention facility in accordance with the law governing the detention of persons charged with crime.

• (d) A child alleged to be dependent or neglected may be detained or placed in shelter care only in the facilities stated in subdivisions (a)(1), (2) and (4), and shall not be detained in a jail or other facility intended or used for the detention of adults charged with criminal offenses or of children alleged to be delinquent.

• (e) No child may be detained or otherwise placed in any jail or other facility for the detention of adults, except as provided in subsections (c) and (h).

• (f) A county may contract with juvenile courts in other counties, other public authorities, or private agencies to place children in any of the facilities listed in subdivisions (a)(1)-(3) and in the first sentence of subdivision (a)(4). The payment for such placements shall be according to per diem allowances established jointly by the department of children's services and the comptroller of the treasury, or as agreed upon between the county and the juvenile court or other authority or agency operating the facility. The cost allowances established jointly by the department and the comptroller of the treasury shall take into account the actual operating costs of the facility, the costs of any special programs offered by the facility, and the cost of any transportation provided by the facility. Any and all such costs of placement and transportation may be assessed against the parents or other persons legally obligated to care for and support the child as provided in § 37-1-150(d).

• (g) To the extent necessary to comply with subsection (e), counties may expend funds received from the state for the purpose of improving juvenile court services or providing community alternatives to detention to pay for the alternative placement and transportation services described in subsection (f), and to develop other alternatives to jail for children, including emergency foster homes, runaway/emergency shelters, juvenile summons, crisis intervention, home detention, attendant care and other programs.

• (h) A juvenile may be temporarily detained for as short a time as feasible, not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours, in an adult jail or lockup, if:
  • (1) The juvenile is accused of a serious crime against persons, including criminal homicide, forcible rape, mayhem, kidnapping, aggravated assault, robbery and extortion accompanied by threats of violence;
  • (2) The county has a low population density not to exceed thirty-five (35) persons per square mile;
  • (3) The facility and program have received prior certification by the Tennessee corrections institute as providing detention and treatment with total sight and sound separation from adult detainees and prisoners, including no access by trustees;
  • (4) There is no juvenile court or other public authority, or private agency as provided in subsection (f), able and willing to contract for the placement of the juvenile; and
  • (5) A determination is made that there is no existing acceptable alternative placement available for the juvenile.

• (i)
  • (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, in any facility that meets the following requisites of separateness, juveniles who meet the detention criteria of § 37-1-114(c) may be held in a juvenile detention facility that is in the same building or on the same grounds as an adult jail or lockup; provided, that no juvenile facility constructed or developed after January 1, 1995, may be located in the same building or directly connected to any adult jail or lockup facility complex:
    • (A) Total separation between juvenile and adult facility spatial areas such that there could be no haphazard or accidental contact between juvenile and adult residents in the respective facilities;
    • (B) Total separation in all juvenile and adult program activities within the facilities, including recreation, education, counseling, health care, dining, sleeping and general living activities;
    • (C) Separate juvenile and adult staff, including management, security staff and direct care staff, such as recreational, educational and counseling. Specialized services staff, such as cooks, bookkeepers and medical professionals who are not normally in contact with detainees or whose infrequent contacts occur under conditions of separation of juveniles and adults, can serve both; and
    • (D) In the event that state standards or licensing requirements for secure juvenile detention facilities are established, the juvenile facility must meet the standards and be licensed or approved as appropriate.
  • (2) In determining whether the criteria set out in this subsection (i) are met, the following factors will serve to enhance the separateness of juvenile and adult facilities:
    • (A) Juvenile staff are employees of or volunteers for a juvenile service agency or the juvenile court with responsibility only for the conduct of the youth serving operations. Juvenile staff are specially trained in the handling of juveniles and the special problems associated with this group;
    • (B) A separate juvenile operations manual, with written procedures for staff and agency reference, specifies the function and operation of the juvenile program;
    • (C) There is minimal sharing between the facilities of public lobbies or office/support space for staff;
    • (D) Juveniles do not share direct service or access space with adult offenders within the facilities, including entrance to and exits from the facilities. All juvenile facility intake, booking and admission processes take place in a separate area and are under the direction of juvenile facility staff. Secure juvenile entrances (sally ports, waiting areas) are independently controlled by juvenile staff and separated from adult entrances. Public entrances, lobbies and waiting areas for the juvenile detention program are also controlled by juvenile staff and separated from similar adult areas. Adult and juvenile residents do not make use of common passageways between intake areas, residential spaces and program/service spaces;
    • (E) The space available for juvenile living, sleeping and the conduct of juvenile programs conforms to the requirements for secure juvenile detention specified by prevailing case law, prevailing professional standards of care, and by state code; and
    • (F) The facility is formally recognized as a juvenile detention center by the state agency responsible for monitoring, review or certification of juvenile detention facilities.

• (j)
  • (1) Any juvenile who:
    • (A) Is alleged or adjudicated to be delinquent;
    • (B) Is confined to a secure detention or correctional facility designated, operated or approved by the court; and
    • (C) Absconds or attempts to abscond from such facility;

      may be charged with the offense of escape or attempted escape and a petition alleging such offense may be filed with the juvenile court of the county in which the alleged offense occurred. If the allegations of the petition are sustained, then the court may make any order of disposition authorized by § 37-1-131.

  • (2) Any juvenile who:
    • (A) Is alleged or adjudicated to be delinquent;
    • (B) Has been placed by the court in a secure detention or correctional facility designated, operated or approved by the court;
    • (C) Is being transported to or from such facility; and
    • (D) Absconds or attempts to abscond from the custody of the person responsible for such transportation;

      may be charged with the offense of escape or attempted escape and a petition alleging such offense may be filed with the juvenile court of the county in which the alleged offense occurred. If the allegations of the petition are sustained, then the court may make any order of disposition authorized by § 37-1-131.

  • (3)
    • (A) Any juvenile may be charged with the offense of escape or attempted escape and a petition alleging the offense may be filed with the juvenile court of the county in which the alleged offense occurred who:
      • (i) Is adjudicated to be delinquent;
      • (ii) Is placed in a place of detention other than a secure detention facility, as specified in subsection (a); and
      • (iii) Absconds or attempts to abscond from such facility.
    • (B) Escape or attempted escape from a facility listed in subdivisions (a)(1)-(3) constitutes an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a misdemeanor. If the allegations of the petition are sustained, then the court may make any order of disposition authorized by § 37-1-131.
  • (4) Upon an escape by a juvenile who is alleged or adjudicated to be delinquent by virtue of an act which is a felony if committed by an adult and who is confined to a secure detention or correctional facility designated, operated, or approved by the court, a youth development center, or other hardware secure facility that contracts with the department, the on-site facility supervisor-in-charge shall immediately report the escape to the department of children's services and chief law enforcement officer of the county in which the facility is located. The report must include the facts of the escape, the time when the escape occurred and the circumstances under which the escape occurred, together with the particular description of the escapee, the escapee's age, size, complexion, race, color of hair and eyes, and from what county the escapee was committed, for what offense, and when the offense occurred. An on-site facility supervisor-in-charge who intentionally fails to comply with the reporting requirement of this subdivision (j)(4) may be charged with the offense of permitting or facilitating escape under § 39-16-607.
  • (5) Upon a security breach at a secure detention or correctional facility designated, operated, or approved by the court for confinement of juveniles; a youth development center; or other hardware secure facility that contracts with the department, the on-site facility supervisor-in-charge shall immediately report the security breach to the department of children's services and the chief law enforcement officer of the county in which the facility is located. The report must include the facts of the security breach, the time when the breach occurred, and the circumstances under which the breach occurred, together with the particular description of any person involved in the breach, including the person's age, size, complexion, race, and color of hair and eyes. As used in this subdivision (j)(5), "security breach" means entry into a secure detention or correctional facility, youth development center, or other hardware secure facility that contracts with the department by an adult or child who is not authorized to do so. An on-site facility supervisor-in-charge who intentionally fails to comply with the reporting requirement of this subdivision (j)(5) may be charged with the offense of permitting or facilitating escape under § 39-16-607.

• (k)
  • (1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no child alleged to be delinquent and meeting any of the criteria under this subsection (k) nor any child committed to the department of children's services as a delinquent child and meeting any of the criteria under this subsection (k) shall be held in shelter care authorized by this section with a child alleged to be dependent or neglected unless the following are satisfied:
    • (A) There is total separation between facility spatial areas such that there could be no haphazard or accidental contact between a child alleged to be delinquent, or committed as delinquent, who meets the criteria of this subsection (k) and a child alleged to be dependent or neglected; and
    • (B) There is total separation in all program activities between children alleged to be delinquent, or committed as delinquent, who meet the criteria of this subsection (k) and children alleged to be dependent or neglected, including all program activities listed in subdivision (i)(1)(B) and total separation of any staff for such children as listed in subdivision (i)(1)(C).
  • (2) The criteria to be used under this subsection (k), together with an allegation of delinquency or commitment to the department as delinquent, are:
    • (A) The child has been found to be delinquent or is alleged to be delinquent based upon a felony offense constituting a crime against a person or persons;
    • (B) The child has prior commitments to the department as a result of having committed a felony offense or offenses that constitute a crime against a person or persons;
    • (C) The child has been found to be delinquent or is alleged to be delinquent based upon a felony drug offense;
    • (D) The child has prior commitments to the department as a result of having committed a felony drug offense; or
    • (E) The child has a history of prior convictions for felony offenses that constitute crimes against persons or felony drug offenses, even though the child has never been committed to the department.

• (l) Seclusion must not be used for discipline, punishment, administrative convenience, retaliation, staffing shortages, or any reason other than a temporary response to behavior that threatens immediate harm to a youth or others. This subsection (l) applies to any child detained in any facility pursuant to § 37-1-114, either pre-adjudication or post-adjudication. Following a period of seclusion, the facility administrator may review the seclusion and authorize an additional two-hour period of seclusion if appropriate. The facility administrator shall not authorize more than two (2) subsequent, consecutive periods of seclusion or more than six (6) total hours of seclusion within a twenty-four-hour period. The department may, by rule or policy, provide alternative options for a child who cannot safely rejoin the rest of the resident population following the maximum period of seclusion authorized by this subsection (l).

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 252, s 2, eff. 7/1/2021.

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 492, s 3, eff. 5/25/2021.

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 252, s 1, eff. 7/1/2021.

Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052, s 13, eff. 7/1/2018.

Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 16; 1983, ch. 408, §§ 1, 2; T.C.A., § 37-216; Acts 1984, ch. 995, § 1; 1989, ch. 278, § 38; 1989, ch. 329, § 1; 1994, ch. 817, § 1; 1996, ch. 1079, § 73; 1999, ch. 508, § 6; 2000, ch. 981, § 51; 2008 , ch. 1083, § 1; 2010 , ch. 803, § 1.