Shelby County has no way to enforce an ordinance passed in August to curb the use of solitary confinement in the Youth Justice and Education Center, experts say.
The legislation prohibits isolating children for more than two continuous hours, or more than six hours in one day. But a 2021 state law set identical standards for the use of seclusion — a synonym for solitary confinement — on Tennessee children. Between 2023 and 2025, youth incarcerated in the center were regularly held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day or more, an MLK50: Justice Through Journalism investigation found.
Laws tell institutions what to do, but cannot compel them to act, said Jasmine Miller, a Nashville-based attorney at Youth Law Center. An independent review board composed of justice-impacted youth and their families is still needed so the facility doesn’t fall back into old habits, she said.
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“How are we gonna make this real? Who’s responsible for doing what?” she said. “Any law passed, there’s [got to] be somebody who has to do something to make that real.”
Shelby County has an advisory board, the Countywide Juvenile Justice Consortium, but it doesn’t conduct inspections of the detention center. Its members are nominated by the mayor and approved by county commissioners, which means it’s not an independent body, said Shirley Bonden, executive director of the Black Clergy Collaborative Memphis.
“[Independent organizations] don’t owe anyone anything. We don’t have any allegiance to [the government],” she said. “Our allegiance is to the young people.”
Commissioner Erika Sugarmon, who sponsored the ordinance, said it “codifies” more rehabilitative measures for children staying in the detention center, which include enrolling them in school within four days of arrival, unlimited access to electronic devices to communicate with family and legal counsel and more access to health services.
The ordinance also requires correctional officers to conduct in-person check-ins with children in confinement every 15 minutes. Children must have access to regular school programming, unless they are a threat to those around them.
The ordinance permits the use of seclusion in response to children damaging property, even though state law says seclusion cannot be used as punishment.
The Shelby County Mayor’s Office took over daily operation of YJEC from the sheriff’s office in October 2025. While the previous administration argued against independent oversight, Mayor Mickell Lowery has committed to establishing an independent review board.
Reese Walker, YJEC’s executive director, said the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, which licenses and monitors the facility, provides sufficient oversight and an independent review board is not necessary.
“We’re transparent. We don’t hide anything,” he told MLK50 in an interview. “We are mandatory reporters, so we don’t hide anything.”
DCS regulations contain a loophole that may allow facilities to hold children in seclusion without violating the department’s rules. A DCS spokesperson said it is in the process of amending its language around seclusion, and “follows current applicable state law.”
DCS enforcement could involve filing a civil suit against YJEC, but that rarely happens, said Zoë Jamail, policy and advocacy director at Raphah Institute. DCS doesn’t have the power to shut down the facility if its requests to comply with state law are ignored, she said.
“At the state [and local] level, if your inspection agency or oversight entity has a vested interest in keeping beds open, you’re likely not going to see them taking action that jeopardizes the availability of those beds,” Jamail said.
The county’s new ordinance “does not give DCS additional authority beyond what is provided by state law,” DCS said in a statement.
Lee Ann Anderson is a recent graduate of the University of Florida. She is a fall 2026 intern at MLK50: Justice Through Journalism with support from the Nonprofit Newsroom Internship Program created by The Scripps Howard Fund and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
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