Title 37, Juveniles

The department shall establish minimum standards for runaway houses and shall not issue registration to any runaway house that does not comply with this part or does not meet or exceed the minimum standards established by the department. This part applies to all runaway houses wi…

(1) The standards established by the department shall include, but not be limited to, the following:(1) Separate quarters for males and females;(2) Supervision of both sexes;(3) Complete and accurate records of all runaways housed;(4) Minimum health and safety requirements as est…

(a) Any runaway seeking sanctuary may be given shelter for seventy-two (72) hours; provided, that:(1) The runaway is not known to have committed, nor is under investigation for the commission of, a delinquent or criminal act;(2) A good faith attempt is made to notify the juvenile…

The owner, operator or agent of any house or facility that operates without registering or otherwise willfully violates this part commits a Class C misdemeanor. If, in the discretion of the trial court, a second or subsequent offense indicates continued or regular noncompliance w…

(a) (1) The executive director of the Tennessee commission on children and youth shall establish a non-funded, voluntary, extension of foster care services advisory council, which shall be responsible for:(A) Identifying strategies to assess and track effectiveness of extension o…

(a) All state agencies that administer cash or in-kind assistance, or both, to youth eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) years of age within the course of normal business shall make reasonable efforts to determine if an applicant for assistance has ever been in the custody of the s…

(a) The private, nonprofit community is urged to establish a network to provide information, assistance, services and supports to persons from sixteen (16) to twenty-four (24) years of age who were in foster care on the person's eighteenth birthday and persons from sixteen (16) t…

(a) In preparing a foster child for independent living prior to the child reaching eighteen (18) years of age, the department shall provide information on the resource centers established pursuant to this part to all children over sixteen (16) years of age in foster care. The inf…

Nothing in this part shall be construed to require a person to have maintained continuous contact with the resource centers or the department in order to be eligible to receive services from the resource centers or the department.

(1) As used in this part:(1) “Adoptive placement” means the permanent placement of an Indian child for adoption, including any action resulting in a final decree of adoption, but does not include a placement based upon an act which, if committed by an adult, would be deemed a cri…

The general assembly declares that it is the policy of this state to protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum standards for the removal of Indian children from their famil…

(a) An Indian tribe has exclusive jurisdiction over any child custody proceeding involving an Indian child who resides or is domiciled within the reservation of such tribe, except where such jurisdiction is otherwise vested in the state by existing federal law. Where an Indian ch…

(a) In any involuntary proceeding, where the court knows or has reason to know that an Indian child is involved, the party seeking the foster care placement of, or termination of parental rights to, an Indian child shall notify the parent or Indian custodian and the Indian child'…

(a) Where any parent or Indian custodian voluntarily consents to a foster care placement or to termination of parental rights, such consent is not valid unless executed in writing and recorded before a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction and accompanied by the presiding ju…

Any Indian child who is the subject of any action for foster care placement or termination of parental rights, any parent or Indian custodian from whose custody such child was removed, and the Indian child's tribe may petition any court of competent jurisdiction to invalidate suc…

(a) In any adoptive placement of an Indian child, a preference must be given, in the absence of good cause to the contrary, to a placement with:(1) A member of the child's extended family;(2) Other members of the Indian child's tribe; or(3) Other Indian families. (1) A member of …

(a) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, whenever a final decree of adoption of an Indian child has been vacated or set aside or the adoptive parents voluntarily consent to the termination of their parental rights to the child, a biological parent or prior Indian custodia…

Upon application by an Indian individual who has reached eighteen (18) years of age and who was the subject of an adoptive placement, the court that entered the final decree shall inform such individual of the tribal affiliation, if any, of the individual's biological parents and…

(a) This state and Indian tribes are authorized to enter into agreements with each other respecting care and custody of Indian children and jurisdiction over child custody proceedings, including agreements that may provide for orderly transfer of jurisdiction on a case-by-case ba…

Where any petitioner in an Indian child custody proceeding has improperly removed the child from custody of the parent or Indian custodian or has improperly retained custody after a visit or other temporary relinquishment of custody, the court shall decline jurisdiction over such…

This part does not prevent the emergency removal of an Indian child who is a resident of or is domiciled on a reservation, but temporarily located off the reservation, from the child's parent or Indian custodian or the emergency placement of such child in a foster home or institu…

(a) Any state court entering a final decree or order in any Indian child adoptive placement after the effective date of public chapter 682 of the Public Acts of 2026 shall provide the commissioner with a copy of such decree or order together with such other information as may be …

The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this part. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

If any provision of this part or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the part that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions …