Media organizations in Tennessee are balking at the amount the Department of Children’s Services is charging for copies of records related to DCS cases.
The media outlets have for months been seeking records for children with prior DCS contact who died or nearly died in the months leading up to July, 2012. After a judge ordered copies of 50 such cases to be handed over to journalists, the DCS tried to charge $9,000 for the records.
The Tennessean newspaper reports its attorney, Robb Harvey, has filed a complaint with the judge point out that the amount the DCS is seeking is nearly nine times what the judge had previously said was reasonable.
DCS attorneys say the extra costs are necessary so that paralegals can be hired and trained to review the case records that are being released to media.