Tennessee Department of Human Services Archives

Some Tennessee Families Qualify for Back-To-School Cash from Department of Human Services

July 14, 2023July 13, 2023 Peter D'Abrosca

Some Tennessee families will qualify for back-t0-school cash benefits from the state government, according to a Thursday release from the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS).

“The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) will provide extra support to more than 13,000 families who receive monthly cash assistance through the state’s Families First program,” according to the release. “The payment will provide extra support to Families First participants as they begin to prepare for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year. Households with an active case in the Families First Program as of July 1, 2023, will receive a one-time payment on their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. This one-time payment will be available around July 15, 2023.”

Tennessee Approves $500 ‘Christmas Bonus’ for TANF Participants

November 29, 2022November 28, 2022 Kaitlin Housler

Participants of Tennessee’s Families First Program will receive ‘extra support’ this holiday season, according to the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS). On Monday, TDHS announced that all households enrolled in the state’s assistance program as of December 1st will receive a one-time additional payment of $500 on their existing Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards beginning on that same day.

Tennessee Department of Human Services Announces $122 Million Investment in ‘Family First Community Grants’

January 25, 2022January 24, 2022 Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) announced Monday that $122 million in taxpayer money will be used to fund “Family First Community Grants.” The grants are available to “public and private organizations dedicated to helping families overcome economic, social and developmental vulnerabilities.”

“We’re here to ensure that all state residents have an opportunity to reach their full potential as contributing members of our community,” said TDHS Commissioner Clarence H. Carter. “For far too long government programs have focused on outputs, rather than the outcomes of the lives of those served. We aim to change the way vulnerable Tennesseans are served by partnering with public and private organizations who recognize public support should be a mile marker in a life’s journey, not a destination unto itself.”

Low Income Tennessee Families to Receive $950 in Aid from COVID Relief Funds

December 6, 2021December 5, 2021 Morgan Nicole Veysey

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) announced that specific low-income families would receive $950 in aid from COVID relief funding. It said that families who are enrolled in the state’s Family First Program and qualified for the money in October will receive a deposit on their Electronic Benefit Transfer debit cards.

The TDHS said that this money was specifically for caregivers who did not receive other aid such as child care assistance, job training, or transportation support. It explained that these were for cases considered to be child-only. This means a home “where no adult receives Families First benefits themselves and the child living in the household is being raised by relatives instead of the child’s parents.”

Tennessee Department of Human Services Sometimes Failed to Follow Policies on Child Welfare Complaints, New Audit Reveals

October 23, 2021October 23, 2021 Chris Butler

Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) employees did not abide by their own policies as they documented and investigated certain complaints, and those lapses could have could endangered the children they were supposed to help. This, according to an audit that Tennessee Comptrollers released this week.

Tennessee Provides Additional Benefits for Child Care Assistance Program

October 5, 2021October 4, 2021 The Center Square

Tennessee residents eligible for the Child Care Certificate Program are getting a 10% increase in benefits.

The program assists those who are in need of help with child care while they work or attend school.

Two Taxpayer-Funded Feeding Sites Not Feeding Children, Tennessee Officials Say

August 5, 2021August 4, 2021 Bradley Vasoli

Open Door, Inc. and Alumni Music, Inc., both based in Shelby County, have been determined to not be using their federal Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) funds to provide meals to children, the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office asserted Wednesday.

A probe was conducted cooperatively by the Comptroller of the Treasury and the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) during summer 2020 to ascertain what nourishment the two companies were providing to minors.

Tennessee State Employees Participate in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Listening Session

May 13, 2021June 9, 2021 Chris Butler

Staff members at the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) earlier this year documented the results of a Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity listening session they held for nearly 300 state employees. DHS officials published their report in January.

Mayor Andy Ogles Tells Tennessee It’s Time to Take a Stand: We Are in a Cultural War, Spiritual War, and Political War

May 12, 2021June 9, 2021 Julie Carr

Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles in studio to weigh in on the recent discovery that the Tennessee Department of Human Resources has quietly implemented state agency diversity and inclusion training among its employees.

Nashville Ministry Spent More Than $100,000 on Forbidden Costs Under State Program

November 6, 2019November 5, 2019 Chris Butler

The Nashville-based Rehoboth Outreach Ministries spent more than $103,000 on unallowable costs under a Tennessee Department of Human Services program meant to help needy children, according to a new audit from state Comptrollers.

Singer Brad Paisley Takes Taxpayer Money to Set Up Nashville Nonprofit

August 23, 2019August 22, 2019 Chris Butler

Country music star Brad Paisley will use $1.5 million of the Tennessee taxpayers’ money to establish a new nonprofit.

Report Lists the Top 10 Tennessee Agencies That Took the Most Federal Taxpayer Money in 2018

May 28, 2019May 27, 2019 Chris Butler

Ten Tennessee government agencies accepted more than $13 billion in federal taxpayer money in 2018, according to a document Tennessee Comptrollers released last week. The report examined how state agencies handled the money that Washington, D.C. bureaucrats bestowed upon Tennessee. Some of those state agencies plan to take less…