Lawmakers recently passed legislation making extended foster care available to more youth in Tennessee. This means that more young adults who ‘age out’ of the foster care system, usually at the age of 18, are now eligible for an extension of foster care services until they turn 21.
Plans can change in a variety of ways. That was the case for Amy Abbott. Amy was looking for an opportunity to give back to the community, and she found that in fostering.
Several years ago, Mia Flowers felt moved to research fostering kids, but it wasn’t until she was reading the Bible with her husband, Ben, that the idea solidified for them both.
A Mt. Juliet family adopted their teenage son after several years of fostering children. Haynes and his wife Lacie explained their first foster children came through their doors in 2016 right as they were starting their own family.
Officials announced Tennessee was in need of thousands of foster homes as the number of foster children has grown. There was about 9,000 children in the system and about 4,000 foster homes as of Monday, according to Youth Villages.
According to Youth Villages, a non-profit for children and families in Tennessee, there are almost 8,000 children in foster care in the state and the number continues to rise.
Youth Villages celebrates an adoption story on National Foster Care Day. Even the best laid plans don’t go as planned, and that also goes for foster care and adoption. However, for Chinishe Ray, her plans to adopt have gone as expected not only once but twice.
May is Foster Care Awareness month and Youth Villages uses this month to not only bring awareness to the kids in need but recognize the work done by foster parents, including a single dad from Cleveland winning foster care parent of the year.
May is celebrated as National Foster Care Awareness Month to bring awareness to the need for more foster care families. In Tennessee, approximately 8,000 children are in foster care at any given time.
Governor Bill Lee made a statement saying Tennessee’s adoption and foster care system is strong in regard to how Tennessee will support families if Roe v. Wade is overturned.