Foster Care Placements

Foster homes provide a stable, caring environment for children. Foster children come in all shapes, sizes, and ages, and have individual needs. The Tennessee Department of Children's Services provides a variety of homes and environments that address these individual needs for several thousand children in state custody.

Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings are excellent resources to care for minor relatives who enter the foster care system. Relative/Kinship homes are provided with the same support as non-relative caregivers and must meet the same criteria to become approved for a foster home.

In Tennessee, there are also private agencies that train and support families to care for children in foster care. These agencies must meet the guidelines and criteria outlined by the Department of Children's Services. 

Foster homes that serve children with special healthcare needs require additional training and support.