Protecting Our Children: The 114th General Assembly's Strongest Wins for Kids

There is nothing more important to me than making sure the children of District 38 grow up safe. This session, the 114th General Assembly passed some of the most meaningful child protection legislation in Tennessee history, and I want to make sure every family in our community knows what we did and why it matters.

The Tennessee Anti-Grooming Act is one of the most significant pieces of legislation we passed this session. For the first time, Tennessee law now specifically targets the early behaviors that predators use before they ever commit direct abuse. Grooming, which includes isolating a child from their parents, cultivating secrecy, and encouraging sexual contact, is now a criminal offense in Tennessee. Law enforcement can now intervene before abuse occurs, not just after. For every parent who has worried about what their child might encounter online or in their community, this law provides a new layer of protection.

We also created stronger protections for children against being returned to abusive situations. Too many children have been removed from dangerous homes only to be sent back before they were truly safe. These new guardrails ensure that child welfare decisions are made with the child's safety as the first and only priority.

We developed new guardrails specifically for minor content creators. Young people are increasingly building audiences online, and that creates real risks. This legislation ensures protections are in place for children who are creating content on digital platforms.

We expanded resources for children with disabilities who are in state custody, ensuring that the most vulnerable kids in our system get the specialized support they need.

We invested $34.5 million in the Tennessee Department of Children's Services to reduce caseloads for caseworkers, because we know that when a caseworker is overwhelmed with too many cases, children fall through the cracks. This investment means more attention, more oversight, and better outcomes for the kids who need it most.

We also invested $10.7 million to enhance staff safety at DCS facilities that house delinquent youth. The men and women who work in these facilities deserve to be safe, and this investment demonstrates our commitment to them.

We created the Children's Digital Protection Fund, which will receive money recovered from legal claims against social media companies and direct it specifically toward children's mental health services, suicide prevention, and digital safety programs. Social media companies have profited while contributing to a mental health crisis among our young people. This fund ensures they help pay for the damage they have done.

We passed legislation to limit unnecessary screen time in elementary school classrooms, protecting young, developing minds from overexposure to digital devices during their most critical learning years.

And we required all public schools to implement annual substance abuse and violence prevention programming in grades 3 through 12, giving children real education about the dangers of drugs, alcohol, and violence before they encounter them.

The children of District 38 deserve every protection we can give them. I am proud of the work we did this session on their behalf.