(a) The department of children’s services shall develop, coordinate and implement a program to provide family services to each family with a child at imminent risk of placement; provided, that delivery of family preservation services shall be limited to those families and situations in which the services may be reasonably expected to avoid out-of-home placement of the child and to also afford effective protection of the child, the family, and the community.

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 37-3-603

  • Imminent risk of placement: means circumstances or behavior likely to produce, within a relatively short period of time, a reasonably strong probability that the child will be placed in state custody as a result of being adjudicated dependent and neglected, delinquent and unruly, or in need of mental health services under §. See Tennessee Code 37-3-602
  • Time-limited family reunification services: means the services and activities described below that are provided to a child that is removed from the child's home and placed in a foster family home or a child care institution and to the parents or primary caregiver of such a child, in order to facilitate the reunification of the child safely and appropriately within a timely fashion, but only during the fifteen-month period that begins on the date that the child, pursuant to §. See Tennessee Code 37-3-602
(b) The department shall develop, coordinate and implement a program to provide time-limited family reunification services to each family with a child in foster care; provided, that delivery of time-limited family reunification services shall be limited to those foster children or parents or primary caregiver and shall be limited to the fifteen-month period that begins on the date that the child, pursuant to § 37-2-402, is considered to have entered foster care.