The Absconder Unit is a team of investigators who continuously work with local and state law enforcement agencies to locate missing children/youth who have ran or absconded from DCS custody or supervision. The investigators spend most of their time in the communities looking for youth by responding to leads, making home/school visits, participating in surveillance […]
Assessment Treatment Homes provide safe and stable transitional housing for children entering state custody who have complex psychiatric and behavioral needs. Specialized evaluations and testing help determine long term placement options.
Child Advocacy Centers provide a safe, child-friendly environment for child victims of severe abuse, in which law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, medical and mental health professionals may share information and develop effective, coordinated strategies sensitive to the needs of each unique case and child.
The Child Health division of DCS works to ensure that the health care needs of the children served by DCS are met through a variety of efforts: 1) Child Health Nurse Consultants monitor and support custodial children, and connect families to health related resources; 2) Safety Nurses provide technical assistance to CPS investigators; 3) The […]
Child Programs: Independent Living implements the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood to include Extension of Foster Care Services for youth aged 14 and older transitioning out of foster care at age 18. Motivational interviewing (MI) is an evidence-based intervention used in this program.
Non-Custodial Services supports the provision of services, resources, and support to non-custodial families to help promote a positive and stable home, free of safety risks and concerns that may threaten a child’s continued stay in their home. Non-custodial services utilizes case management and evidence-based strategies, such as Relative Caregiver Programs, Intercept, Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Parent […]
Child Programs: Permanency Services supports the timely achievement of permanency for children in foster care by safely returning children to their families or building other permanent relationships. This program is dependent upon ensuring an adequate pool of well-supported and well-trained, quality foster homes and an adequate pool of quality residential treatment centers sufficient to meet […]
A forensic interview is a way for specially trained staff to gain details about possible abuse from a child in his or her own words. Sensitive to the child’s emotional and developmental needs, interviewers gather as many facts as possible about allegations in a comfortable and child-focused manner.
Intercept is an integrated, intensive in-home parenting skills program used to safely prevent children from entering custody or to reunify them with family as quickly as possible if a period of out of home care is necessary. Intercept provides intensive in-home services to children and youth (ages 0-18) at risk of entry or re-entry into […]
Juvenile Court Prevention Grants are provided annually to twenty-seven (27) grantee to provide prevention services for youth in danger of coming into state custody due to delinquent behavior. Program areas include intensive probation, intensive aftercare, alternative school programs, and truancy prevention.
Justice-involved youth can be placed into state’s custody for an indeterminate and determinate amount of time to receive rehabilitative services. This includes case management, medical, dental, mental health and educational services. Placement is located based upon treatment needs and level of risk youth pose to the community.
The non-custodial juvenile justice program serves youth who are on probation, intensive probation, diversion or have been released from state custody and are on aftercare. These youth are at imminent risk of coming into or recommitting to state custody, due to delinquent behavior. One evidence-based intervention for these case types is Multisystemic Therapy (MST).
Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is an intensive treatment for troubled youth delivered in multiple settings. This program aims to promote pro-social behavior and reduce criminal activity, mental health symptomology, out-of-home placements, and illicit substance use in 12- to 17-year-old youth. Specifically, the aim is to eliminate or significantly reduce the frequency and severity of the youth’s […]
In Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), parents are coached by a trained therapist in behavior-management and relationship skills. PCIT is a program for two- to seven-year-old children and their parents or caregivers that aims to decrease externalizing child behavior problems, increase positive parenting behaviors, and improve the quality of the parent-child relationship. During weekly sessions, therapists coach […]
Tennessee Safe Baby Courts use a collaborative, multi-disciplinary approach to dependency and neglect cases with the needs of the youngest children (ages 0-3 and their siblings) as the touchstones for decisions in a case. Anchored by the Juvenile Court judge or magistrate, each court team works together to address barriers to permanency and to meet […]
Specialized Treatment Foster Homes are an alternative to residential settings, serving youth who need specialized care due to trauma, behavioral needs, and/or medical needs. These foster homes are led by parents with specific therapeutic and medical skills who are part of the clinical treatment team for youth who may otherwise need residential treatment facilities.
Statewide Drug Teams provide specialized case management to families with drug-exposed newborns (0-12 months). Cases arise through investigations involving drug exposure. Teams consist of licensed clinicians and peer advocates who provide families with tailored support in finding treatment and recovery options and support networks.
The Office of Training and Professional Development for Foster Families offers learning opportunities that support adoptive, foster, and kinship parents in their efforts to provide a safe, nurturing, and loving environment for the children in their care. Examples of training include: TN Key, Preventing Suicide among Foster Care Youth, Creating Normalcy through Prudent Parenting, Child […]
Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is provided to children with a known trauma history who are experiencing significant posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, whether or not they meet full diagnostic criteria. Children with depression, anxiety, and/or shame related to their traumatic exposure, and children experiencing childhood traumatic grief can also benefit from the treatment.
Wilder Youth Development Center in Somerville, TN, is a secure, residential 24-hour facility for male youth who have been adjudicated delinquent for serious felony offenses, with the goal to improve behavior and independence for a successful return to the community. Comprehensive services are provided via case management in the following areas: education, recreation, medical health, […]
