Channel 11 News WJHL covered the exciting launch of Every Child TN, a new state-wide initiative to invite more Tennesseans to supporting children and families impacted by foster care. The goal: more involvement from the community before, during, and after foster care.

Every Child TN is a collaborative effort from Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and The Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community initiative (GFBCI).

Executive Director of GFBCI Lance Villio talked to Channel 11 News about the mission of Every Child TN: “Recruiting new foster families, but also recruiting new volunteers and then retention,” Villio said. “We know that about 50% of foster families often turn over within the first year and so we want to retain those families and make sure that they get really good community support.”

To read about one of Every Child TN’s collaborative partners that is working towards foster family retention, check out our story on Crowded Table.

Every Child TN has four priorities, which WBIR reported. They are as follows:

• Preservation of families to prevent children from coming into state care by addressing the root cause of family instability.
• Recruitment of more families to cultivate a diverse pool of resilient foster families capable of meeting the varied needs of children in state care.
• Retention of foster families to ensure long-term stability and permanency for children in foster care.
• Transition young people as they age out of foster care and provide support as they become independent adults.

You can read more, including the interview with Villio, on Yahoo News. Thanks so much to WBIR for covering Every Child TN!

Interested in getting involved?

We’d love to answer any questions you might have about becoming a foster parent! You can explore some frequently asked questions on our website, or you can begin your journey today by telling us a little about yourself.