The Department investigates allegations of child abuse and neglect. We also administer the state’s foster-care system and we work especially hard to find permanency for the children and youth who come into our care, whether that is through reunification or adoption. 

Our Juvenile Justice division serves the youth who have been adjudicated delinquent and we work closely with scores of private providers and community partners across the state of Tennessee.

Advancing racial equity has been at the center of HighScope’s mission since HighScope’s landmark Perry Preschool Study, developed by educational psychologist David P. Weikart in 1962 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which followed 123 Black children born in poverty and placed at high risk of school failure. Conducted in partnership with Ypsilanti principal Charles E. Beatty, Sr., the first Black principal in the state of Michigan, the Perry Preschool Study first established the lasting human and financial value of early childhood education by demonstrating the positive long-term effects of high-quality preschool on young children.

If you are having difficulty obtaining child support for your child(ren) or wish to establish paternity of your child(ren), the Department of Human Services can help. The Child Support Program provides services that promote parental responsibility to meet the financial needs of children and their families.