CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Governor Bill Lee signed the Forever Homes Act into law on Monday as he was surrounded by adoptive and foster parents.
The Forever Homes Act, which passed with bipartisan support, will provide support for foster and adoptive families as well as speed up child placement.
According to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, the law would allow for a judicial waiver to speed adoption finalization from six to three months if a court sees fit, providing foster parents with a respite period of up to six months without losing their standing as a foster home and extending care services for expectant mothers.
The Adoption Project, an organization focused on adoption-friendly public policy, said it "praised the final passage of legislation by the Tennessee General Assembly that will make meaningful improvements to the adoption and foster care systems in Tennessee."
According to the Adoption Project, three bills headed to the governor's desk include 22 policy recommendations made by the organization to strengthen stability, permanency, efficiency and support of children and families:
Gov. Bill Lee’s adoption and foster care reforms - SB270 / HB 318 (Sen. Jack Johnson & Sen. Ferrell Haile/Rep. William Lamberth & Rep. Iris Rudder)
Adoption and foster care omnibus - SB528 / HB551 (Sen. Ferrell Haile/Rep. Mary Littleton)
Protecting Tennesseans from illegal adoption facilitators - SB542 / HB606 (Sen. Page Walley/Rep. David Hawk)
SB542/HB606 was approved unanimously by both the Senate and House.
“This legislation makes transformational changes and positions Tennessee as a leader in building strong families through adoption and foster care,” Jeremy Harrell, founder, president and CEO of The Adoption Project said. “This package advances our goal of making Tennessee the most adoption-friendly state in the country.”
These new laws are a win for foster parents like Erin King who closed her home blaming problems with the state system. She is an adopted mother of three children but decided to stop fostering kids, in part, because they couldn't get enough mental and behavioral health services. There were also no breaks allowed for foster parents. The most important factor to her was that she said she had no voice in the courtroom.
"I don't know how she ended up back with her biological dad. After what I said, I felt there was no way it could have happened," she said.
Back in October, 12-year-old Angel Ahearn's father shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself. Before that, Angel was put into foster care after domestic and sexual violence reports, according to Monroe County Sheriff's Office. That's when she met a foster mom, Erin King.
"In the eyes of the law, I think things could have been a lot different for Angel," King said. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her and what a special girl she was."
King said she reported all of Angel's accounts of violence to DCS. King said Angel was so afraid of her father, she slept under her bed for four months blaming fear her father would come grab her in the night.
"Angel had this long beautiful hair and she told me stories about how, you know, she had been dragged by her hair by her biological dad. All of that was documented. All of that was reported and it really fell on deaf ears," King said.
King said Angel lived in her Knoxville home for two years before being placed in another foster home. Children's Services later awarded custody back to her dad. King said she spoke about the abuse Angel reported to her but was never notified where Angel ended up. It was later, watching the news, when she found out Angel had been living with her father in Georgia and was murdered by him.
"I'm so angry about what happened to her but I am so thankful I got that time with her because she was really special," King said.
"Right now a parent has a right to attend a court hearing," Harrell said. "They only have a right to speak if they're invited."
The new law says after a child has been in a foster family for nine months, that foster parent has the right to speak in the child's best interest. It's partly thanks to the "Adoption Project" who did it by going out and giving parents a voice.
"It reduces the time to permanency to families and for kids. It provides more support for birth parents including counseling services that they need. There's actually a specific bill that says the focus of the Department of Children's Services will be on the best interest of the child," Harrell said.
DCS said it offers an incentive to families who adopt children from foster care by providing financial assistance for childcare through 12 years old. This assistance includes current and recent adoptions. You can learn more about the program and how to apply here.