Tennessee has decided to close the CSA (Community Service Agencies) and give their duties to the DCS (Department of Children’s Services). I know people who now or in the past have worked for both agencies and they are sincere, caring individuals who try their best and I apologize for any hurt feelings this post may cause. If I called CSA to get help for a family, that family got the help they needed. CSA had an ability to dance through the complicated government system and get things done to help keep families intact and children out of state custody. If I tried to work with DCS I got mired in bureaucratic muck and many times the family ended up worse because of how DCS intervened. Even when I called to report abuse or neglect the results were non-existent. Where DCS saw rules to follow and forms to file, CSA saw creative solutions based on each family’s unique needs. Getting rid of the CSA is a huge mistake and the unfortunate consequences will once again, fall upon Tennessee’s children.