Title 37, Juveniles

The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this part. All such rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.

This chapter is known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Foster and Adoptive Parent Protection Act.”

(a) The department of children's services shall not require a current or prospective adoptive or foster parent (“parent”) to affirm, accept, or support any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent's sincerely held religious …

(a) This chapter does not preclude the department from considering the religious or moral beliefs of an adoptive or foster child or the child's family of origin, including in relation to the religious or moral beliefs of a prospective adoptive or foster parent, when determining t…

This chapter is known and may be cited as the “End Childhood Hunger Act.”

(a) There is created the Tennessee task force to end childhood hunger, hereinafter referred to in this section as the “task force.” (b) The purpose of the task force is to develop an action plan for ending childhood hunger. The task force shall recommend a strategic action plan t…

Any municipal corporation, county, town, village, school district or department of this state, or any person, or any religious organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, shall be entitled to recover damages in an action in assumpsit in an amount not to exceed ten thous…

The recovery shall be limited to the actual damages in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), in addition to taxable court costs.

(a) A parent or guardian shall be liable for the tortious activities of a minor child that cause injuries to persons or property where the parent or guardian knows, or should know, of the child's tendency to commit wrongful acts that can be expected to cause injury to persons or …

(a) This part shall be referred to as the “Tennessee Missing Children Recovery Act.” (b) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Child” means any person under twenty-one (21) years of age;(2) “Missing child” means a child who is believed to have been remo…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), whenever a parent knows, learns, or believes that a child under the parent's charge and care is missing, the parent shall report the child as being missing to a law enforcement agency or the Tennessee bureau of investigation. (b) Whenever…

Every law enforcement officer receiving information from a parent or any source that it deems creditable shall prepare a formal missing child report. A law enforcement agency reporting a missing child is further required to enter or cause to be entered the report of the missing c…

(a) The law enforcement agency taking or making a report of a missing child shall submit its report, together with any additional data reduced to writing in the form of statements or notes, to a judge of the juvenile court within a reasonable time. (b) The judge shall review the …

The Tennessee bureau of investigation shall specify a uniform form for the missing child report and data, so that the same may be transmitted by computer or mail. The bureau shall also establish, maintain and manage a file of “missing children” and collect any available relevant …

Parents are authorized to have official fingerprint cards made for their children by taking their children to any law enforcement office or by having the same made by any private or public agency upon signing an authorization therefor. The Tennessee bureau of investigation shall …

The Tennessee bureau of investigation shall maintain a separate fingerprint card file for “Children”, which shall consist of the “children” fingerprint cards submitted to it pursuant to § 37-10-206, together with any latent prints believed to be children's prints that have been s…

Sections 37-10-201 — 37-10-207 are not intended to modify any of the provisions of chapter 4 of this title relating to the Interstate Compact on Juveniles, but the documents herein authorized may be used in aid of proceedings under that chapter.

(a) No organization shall solicit contributions for the purpose of distributing materials containing information relating to missing children unless it complies with all of the following requirements:(1) Such organization has been incorporated under title 48, chapters 51-68, or t…

(a) It is the intent of the general assembly in enacting this parental consent provision to further the important and compelling state interests of:(1) Protecting minors against their own immaturity;(2) Fostering the family structure and preserving it as a viable social unit; and…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Abortion” means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with intent other than to increase the probabili…

(a) (1) No person shall perform an abortion on an unemancipated minor unless such person or such person's agent first obtains the written consent of one (1) parent or the legal guardian of the minor. The consent shall be signed. The person shall obtain some written documentation,…

(a) The requirements and procedures under this part are available and apply to minors, whether or not they are residents of this state. (b) The court shall ensure that the minor's identity is kept anonymous. The minor shall be allowed to proceed under a pseudonym and shall be all…

The requirements of § 37-10-303 shall not apply when, in the best medical judgment of the physician based on the facts of the case before the physician, a medical emergency exists that so complicates the pregnancy as to require an immediate abortion.

Any person who intentionally performs an abortion with knowledge that, or with reckless disregard as to whether the person upon whom the abortion is to be performed is an unemancipated minor, and who intentionally or knowingly fails to conform to any requirement of this part, com…

(a) Failure to obtain consent pursuant to the requirements of this part is prima facie evidence of failure to obtain informed consent and of interference with family relations in appropriate civil actions. The law of this state shall not be construed to preclude the award of exem…

If any one (1) or more provision, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this part or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is found to be unconstitutional, the same is declared to be severable and the balance of this part shall remain effective …

(a) It is the responsibility of each parent or legal guardian to ensure that such person's child or children receive the vaccines as are recommended by guidelines of the Center for Disease Control or the American Academy of Pediatrics to be administered to a child. The parent or …

In the absence of an epidemic or immediate threat thereof, this section does not apply to any child whose parent or guardian files with proper authorities a signed, written statement that such immunization and other preventative measures conflict with the religious tenets and pra…

No parent or legal guardian shall be criminally prosecuted nor civilly liable for failure to comply with this part.

In an effort to inform the citizens of Tennessee of a free resource for families and reduce instances of child abuse, the following measures shall be performed. All public transportation buses within the state are urged to promote the existence of a parental help line organized b…

(a) The department of children's services and the department of human services shall collaborate to provide recommendations to the general assembly on resources and services specific to persons who are eighteen (18) to twenty-four (24) years of age and who have been victims of ch…

The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that the commission of violent crimes by juveniles exacts an unacceptable toll on the fiscal resources of both state and local governments and thereby increases the financial burden upon the taxpayers of this state. It i…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Convicted” and “conviction” means a plea of guilty or a verdict of guilty by a judge or jury, and includes a plea of no contest accepted by the court;(2) “Juvenile” means a person under eighteen (18) years of ag…

(a) Each juvenile who is convicted as an adult of a violent crime shall be required to pay any fine imposed by the court to the clerk of such court, who shall allocate the fine as follows:(1) Five percent (5%) shall be retained by the clerk for administrative costs incurred pursu…