The Office of Training and Professional Development (OTPD) provides learning opportunities to equip DCS staff, foster parents, and provider partners with the skills needed to serve the needs of children and families.​

    Tennessee Child Welfare Practice Model

    Download the Practice Model

    The Department of Children’s Services (DCS) promotes excellence in child welfare. The Practice Model is a set of guidelines that capture the organizational values, structures, mechanisms, tools, and skills needed to successfully implement the mission of the Department. It is driven by the Department of Children’s Services’ (DCS) overarching mission, vision, values, and professional ethics. The Practice Model represents DCS’s expectations for best practices in serving children and families, internal and external partners, and the general public in Tennessee.

    The purpose of the Practice Model is to articulate the tenets of best practice across all areas of child welfare practice in Tennessee, including:

    • Daily practices that promote the safety, permanency, and well-being of Tennessee’s children, families, and communities through in-home and out-of-home services;
    • Effective support and professional development of child welfare staff;
    • Promotion of teamwork across all child and family serving agencies;
    • Use of data to track outcomes and influence innovations in practice, and;
    • Transparent communication with all Tennesseans.

    Click the appropriate link below to complete the introduction training and receive 30 minutes of training credit:
    DCS Staff | Foster Parents, Provider Staff, and other partners