Environment and Conservation
Evidence Step:
Strong Evidence
Program Demographic:
Adolescents / Young Adults, Adults, Aging Adults, Children, Rural Focus
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (EERLF) Capitalization Grant Program, funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), provides funding to states to establish revolving loan funds to support energy efficiency audits, upgrades, and retrofits to improve the efficiency, performance, and comfort of buildings. The Tennessee program funds audits of and energy efficiency upgrades to county-owned, commercial buildings with multi-use purpose that support community resilience or that are deemed critical facilities, which may also function as emergency shelters or staging areas during emergency response and recovery efforts (e.g., K-12 schools, hospitals, emergency management facilities, community centers). The Tennessee program will also support the Energy Efficient Schools Initiative Revolving Loan Fund to support low-interest financing for the design, engineering, and construction of capital improvements that improve energy efficiency in Tennessee’s public K-12 schools.
Evidence Step:
Strong Evidence
Program Demographic:
Children, Communities, Rural Focus
The Energy Efficient Schools Initiative (EESI) provides low-interest loans to Tennessee public K-12 school districts for projects that reduce energy consumption and operating costs. The program supports a wide range of efficiency measures, including lighting upgrades, HVAC improvements, insulation, energy management controls, and building retro-commissioning. Loan terms are based on the project’s projected energy savings, with a maximum term of 16 years and interest rates typically around 0.5%.
Evidence Step:
Outputs
Program Demographic:
Aging Adults, Persons with Disability
Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities is a grant program to improve the mobility of and expand the transportation options available to seniors and individuals with disabilities. Eligible applicants include local governmental authorities and private non-profits. Projects must be designed and carried out to enhance the mobility of seniors and individuals with disabilities in rural and small urban areas. Eligible activities include mobility management and the procurement of new, accessible vehicles which will be used to transport seniors and/or individuals with disabilities.
Evidence Step:
Outputs
Priority Area:
Rural Development and Conservation
Program Demographic:
Adolescents / Young Adults, Adults, Aging Adults, Children, Communities, Families, Infancy / Early Childhood, Justice-involved, Persons with Disability
Environmental Epidemiology Program (EEP) protects people who live, work, play, and study in Tennessee from harmful chemicals and pollutants. EEP conducts health risk assessments in all 95 counties to make sure harmful chemicals—including at spills, dumps, and waste sites—are properly cleaned up to protect people. EEP leads public education efforts through public meetings, fact sheets, websites, and presentations. EEP works with local, regional, and metropolitan health departments, and with TDEC and other state agencies.
Environment and Conservation
Evidence Step:
Strong Evidence
Priority Area:
Rural Development and Conservation
Program Demographic:
Adults, Businesses / Entrepreneurs, Children, Rural Focus
Reducing Diesel Emissions for a Healthier Tennessee provides funding to replace older, diesel vehicles, including school buses and work trucks, with new alternative fuel or diesel vehicles. Funding can also be requested for efforts towards replacing engines in older diesel vehicles with new alternative-fueled or diesel engines, converting OEM diesel vehicles to run on alternative fuels, and the addition of Truck Stop Electrification equipment at Tennessee-based Travel Centers. The program is funded by the EPA Diesel Emissions Reductions Act (DERA) to reduce diesel emissions. TDEC oversees Tennessee’s state allotment and is partnering with the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition to manage the program.
Evidence Step:
Strong Evidence
Program Demographic:
Adolescents / Young Adults, Adults, Children, Infancy / Early Childhood
Episodes of Care is a state-wide value-based payment program incentivizing high-quality, cost-effective care for specific acute or specialized services over a specific time period, which is called an “episode”. The program includes 48 episodes. The program assigns a single principal accountable provider who has the most impact on the overall cost and quality of a patient’s relevant services within an episode and measures the quality and cost performance. Episodes of Care is primarily a cost-focused program, with a strong quality component.
Finance and Administration
Evidence Step:
Evidence
Priority Area:
Workforce Development and Employment
Program Demographic:
Adults
Evidence Based Programming (EBP) provides educational, therapeutic, and vocational training to inmates in local jails to support their successful transition back into their communities upon release. The program emphasizes the use of training, backed by research and found to be effective, to help reduce the chances of reincarceration.
Evidence Step:
Strong Evidence
Priority Area:
Strong Families and Communities
Program Demographic:
Families, Infancy / Early Childhood
Evidence-Based Home Visiting (EBHV) programs can be an effective early-intervention strategy to improve the health and well-being of children and parents. EBHV provides support and resources to improve family functioning and parenting skills, link families with appropriate social service agencies, promote early learning, and ultimately help new parents provide safe, nurturing environments with greater self-sufficiency. This is done through evidence-based models like Healthy Families America, Parents As Teachers, Nurse Family Partnership, and Maternal Infant Health Outreach Worker (MIHOW) EBHV modalities.
Evidence Step:
Strong Evidence
Priority Area:
Strong Families and Communities
Program Demographic:
Adolescents / Young Adults, Adults, Aging Adults, Businesses / Entrepreneurs, Children, Communities, Families
Faith-Based and Community Engagement provides enhanced patient-centered engagement, assistance with navigating complex systems, and care coordination of medical and social service needs for minority, rural and vulnerable populations. It does this through outreach workers who attend community events and work with community health partners to connect individuals to services through referrals to community providers and to other resources such as mobile health or dental vans.
Evidence Step:
Outcomes
Priority Area:
Strong Families and Communities
Program Demographic:
Adults, Aging Adults, Communities, Families, Justice-involved, Persons with Disability
The Families First Community Grant program was created as an additional method to invest TANF funds in ways to provide long-term benefits to low-income families and help them move towards economic stability.
Evidence Step:
Outcomes
Priority Area:
Strong Families and Communities, Workforce Development and Employment
Program Demographic:
Adults, Aging Adults, Families, Justice-involved, Persons with Disability, Veterans
Families First, the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, is a workforce development and employment program. The Families First program emphasizes work, training, and personal responsibility. Benefits are temporary and have a primary focus on gaining self-sufficiency through employment. The Families First program helps participants reach this goal by providing temporary cash assistance, transportation, child care assistance, educational supports, job training, employment activities, and other support services.
Evidence Step:
Outcomes
Priority Area:
Education Quality and Access
Program Demographic:
Adolescents / Young Adults, Adults, Children, Infancy / Early Childhood
Tennessee Family Resource Centers (FRCs) serve as a resource and support hub within school districts. FRCs help connect families to resources in the community and ensure students have the supports they need to come to school ready to learn. In particular, FRCs help families learn to resolve problems through the collaborative efforts of many disciplines within the community: educational, mental and physical health, business, and social services. Focus areas of support include attendance and truancy, behavioral health, and academic support, as well as other areas.
