Tennessee Foster Care
and Adoption Guidelines

Thank you so much for considering adoption or fostering as an option for your family!

Things You Should Know

• Foster Care and Adoption Licensing Requirements
• Costs to Foster and Adopt
• Parent Support Groups
• Agency Contact and Orientation Information
• Information on Tennesee's Waiting Children

Licensing Requirements for Foster or Adoption

To be approved as an adoptive parent in Tennesee you:

• Can be married, single or divorced
• May or may not have other children
• Can own or rent where you live
• May be employed or not employed, but must be able to meet your own financial needs
• Must be at least 18 years old
• Must be a resident of the State of Tennessee

Foster Parents can:

• Be single or married
• May or may not have other children
• Can own or rent where you live
• May be employed or not employed, but must be able to meet your own financial needs
• Must be in sufficient good health
• Must be 21 years of age
• Must be a resident of the State of Tennessee

Should you decide to become a foster or adoptive parent through the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, you will need to complete a parent preparation process called PATH (Parents as Tender Healers). PATH is a 30-hour education and self-assessment process. It explores communication styles. It helps families to understand the feelings of grief and the loss that children can experience. It helps identify family strengths and in what situations you can most successfully parent.

It is necessary to have a homestudy from a licensed child placing agency if you are going to foster or adopt. The exact process will be outlined by the agency you choose. In general, the homestudy process is a combination of education for you about the realities of foster and adoption and information about yourself and your family which you will share. The final written home study will include a description of your family, verifications, medical, and financial statements and references. You will also be asked to identify and describe the type of child you feel that you can successfully parent.

State of Tennessee’s toll free number for more information:
877-DCS-Kids (1-877-327-5437).

View the PATH training schedule for parents.

Costs to Foster and Adopt

It is free to foster.

The legal fees at the very end of the process are the only fees that you will pay if you work with your local department office to complete the adoption process and if the child is waiting in the State.

If you work with your local department office to complete the adoption process and the child is waiting in foster care in another State, it may be possible for the child’s State to purchase the services of your department office. Or, there may be fees. If you work with a nonprofit or private agency instead of the department, the nonprofit or private agency may charge additional fees.

However, when families adopt children who are in foster care and eligible for subsidy, the families may be eligible for reimbursement of limited nonrecurring adoption-related costs, such as attorney’s fees and court fees, through the child’s State or Federal options. Adopting does not have to be expensive. In fact, many families choose low-cost options every year. Please call us if you have questions.

Parent Support Groups

• The Resource Parent Support Group in Chattanooga meets every fourth Tuesday of the month. The address is 503 N. Market Street, Chattanooga, TN 37405. Call (423) 267-4992.
• Visit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption website to learn more.

Agency Contact and Orientation Information

• Orientations
  Please talk to individual agencies and offices to learn when their next orientation is.
• Agencies
  You can work with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Find a DCS office near you.

Or, you can work with a private agency. To find a private agency, please see the list below. View agency fees.

• Chattanooga Resource Center
  Address: 7155 Lee Hwy., Suite 300, Chattanooga, TN 37421
  Phone: 423-499-6206
  Fax: 423-894-7838
   
• Nashville Resource Center
  Address: 301 S Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 202, Nashville, TN 37211
  Phone: 615-324-7980
  Fax: 615-324-7989
   
• Adoption Place, Inc.
  Phone: (615) 365-7020
   

Information on Children

Children enter foster care because their birth families cannot care for them safely.

There are 9,017 children in foster care in Tennessee; 1,717 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.