Image Credit: tncourts.gov & Google Earth
Tennessee Conservative News Staff –
The Knox County Juvenile Services Board voted unanimously Tuesday to advance a proposal that would place oversight of the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Detention Center in the hands of a juvenile court judge.
All five board members voted in favor of the proposal which would put Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Irwin in charge of the facility. The proposal will still need to be approved by the Knox County Commission before that change can go into effect.
According to Commissioner Larsen Jay, Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs has also expressed his support of the change.
The need for a new head at the Bean Center comes after the center’s namesake, Richard Bean, was asked to step down from leading the center in mid-2025. His resignation was requested following accusations that Bean fired two center employees for reporting concerns about conditions and practices at the facility.
Brian Bivens, interim director of the facility, resigned in November 2025.
Discussion initially focused on the possibility of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office taking over the facility, but with a new sheriff coming in this year, none of the potential candidates have shown interest in taking on that task.
Irwin will be tasked with managing day-to-day operations of the center, but the Department of Children’s Services and the Commission on Children and Youth will ensure that everything is up to code.
County officials plan to leave an advisory board in place to help Irwin with the center’s oversight. That board will have an appointee from the Mayor, one person from the Knox County Health Department, one county commissioner, and four representatives with backgrounds in juvenile mental health, legal, or social services.
The Knox County Commission is expected to consider the proposal in the next few weeks. If approved, Judge Irwin would assume control of the Bean Center beginning April 1.
While Judge Erwin would oversee day-to-day leadership, compliance and operational standards would be monitored by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and the Commission on Children and Youth, according to the proposal.
Since then, county leaders have weighed multiple options for restructuring the center’s management. One proposal would have transferred control to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, but that idea has lost momentum as the county prepares to seat a new sheriff this year. Jay noted that none of the sheriff candidates have expressed support for a KCSO takeover of the detention center.
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