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Children's Services
The Tennessee Catholic Public Policy Commission supports the
on-going restructuring of the Department of Children's Service to
strengthen the system to build a child care system which effectively
protects those most in need. The department should emphasize
prevention and early intervention for children in at risk situation,
seek ways to keep families intact if possible, and act swiftly to
establish permanent solutions to those cases where it is not possible
for children to remain at home. The department should explore the
feasibility of private agencies receiving legal custody of minor
children and should increase funding for existing service by moving
toward the payment of the actual cost of care for contracted services.
Let the children come to me. This is what Jesus said in response to
those who wanted to discard children who needed his care and love. The
Catholic Church in Tennessee has tried to follow these words in our
implementation of various child care programs and services. The
Catholic Charities agencies of the three diocese of our state provide
a wide range of services including group home care, foster care, day
care, supervised visitations, and feeding programs for any child in
need regardless of religious belief or ethnic origin with a preference
for the low income and most vulnerable.
The Catholic Public Policy Commission of Tennessee supports the many
developments made in the Department of Children's Services in our
state and calls for further support for the safety and well-being of
vulnerable children. Child abuse and neglect are complex issues and
can not be addressed without consideration of other concerns in our
state such as income maintenance, alcohol and drug abuse, and domestic
violence. This complex issue must be addressed on many levels.
Child Abuse Prevention: The family of origin can be the
preferred location in which a child should be raised and that any
treatment or intervention should be family focused not just focused
on the child. The Catholic Public Policy Commission endorses
the belief that child abuse prevention programs must remain strongly
supported by our state. This is an important component of a
comprehensive approach to dealing with child welfare. We
consider parenting education, family counseling, in-home services and
the availability of affordable drug treatment are essential aspects of
an abuse prevention program.
Foster Care: The Catholic Public Policy Commission
stance on foster care is based on the premise that Child Protective
Services should act swiftly and efficiently if it is determined that a
child can not remain at home due to abuse and neglect. Once a child is
placed in foster care disruptions should remain at a minimum and
permanent placement should be the ultimate goal.
Public/Private Partnerships: The Catholic Public Policy
Commission endorses the use of contractual relationships with private
social service agencies as an approach to dealing with prevention and
foster care. We endorse the expansion of resources available
to the state Department of Children Services for partnerships in
achieving permanent solutions for the overall problem of child abuse
and for each child in custody.
Rev. 01/06
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