Posted 10/11/22

Tennessee families will soon receive state-funded assistance to help battle addiction and keep children out of foster care.

Monday, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse announced a 5-year, $3 million program designed to help families and children affected by opioids and other substance abuse by addressing addiction, improving permanency and enhancing the safety of children in affected households.

Tennessee is among the hardest-hit states by the opioid epidemic, a crisis now known to have been aided by pharmaceutical companies misrepresenting the addictive nature of opioids during the 1990s and encouraging prescriptions.

Because the opioid crisis has primarily affected rural counties, Tennessee and its partners will be focusing on nine counties in Middle Tennessee: Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall and Maury counties.

Families will be provided intensive, in-home crisis intervention and life skills education to help them fight addiction and create better home lives for children.

For more information about the program, contact the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, or the Department of Human Services.