Title 71, Welfare

The chief administrative and executive officer of the department shall be appointed by the governor solely on a basis of merit as measured by education, ability, and experience in the administration of public welfare activities and without regard to residence or political affilia…

As chief executive officer of the department, the commissioner shall be charged with the supervision and administration of all welfare activities subject to its jurisdiction. The commissioner at all times has the power, which the commissioner may also delegate to officers and emp…

The commissioner has the power, having regard to the efficient performance of the department's functions, to create positions in the department and in any division, region, agency, institution or service of the department for the accomplishment of the purposes of this part and to…

The attorney general and reporter shall, when requested, advise the department on matters of law. The department may acquire, hold, and alienate property necessary or desirable for the performance of the functions vested in it by law. It shall have all powers necessary and proper…

(a) The commissioner has the authority to appoint, with the consent and approval of the governor, a committee or committees of citizens to act in an advisory capacity on any matter within the jurisdiction of the department, and to reimburse such members for their actual expenses …

The commissioner has the power to conduct or cause to be conducted hearings relating to the fact determination that the department is authorized or required to make; provided, that the commissioner, and any officer or employee of the department upon written authorization from the…

(a) For the efficient and economical performance of the powers and functions vested in the department:(1) The commissioner may establish within the department such divisions as may be necessary for the effective administration of the department. These divisions shall be charged w…

The department shall administer and expend funds appropriated to it by the general assembly or available from allotments by the federal government to the state or from contributions from the counties, cities, or other local units of government, or from other sources, in carrying …

In the event that the federal government increases the percentages of funds to be furnished by it that may be matched by the state and used in connection with chapters 2-4 of this title, providing assistance to aged persons, aid to dependent children, or any successor program, an…

(1) Whenever the department has discretion to expend funds appropriated for the purposes either through the officers and employees of the department or in the form of grants-in-aid to local governmental authorities, it shall decide with reference to the use of grants-in-aid accor…

(a) (1) If a person, firm, or corporation subpoenaed pursuant to authority granted pursuant to § 71-1-105(a)(17)(A) fails to comply with the subpoena, after reasonable notice to the person, firm, or corporation, the department may seek judicial enforcement of the subpoena by fili…

The commissioner is authorized and instructed to make public to any citizen of Tennessee through the office of the commissioner or county human services offices the names of all recipients of public welfare grants and the amount of each grant per month, each list to be broken dow…

(a) The welfare lists referred to in § 71-1-117 cannot be used for political or commercial purposes and no one will be permitted to copy such a list. (b) A violation of this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

The department may establish a program utilizing senior citizens as volunteers and, to the extent funds are available, as employees in programs that provide services for children, persons with disabilities and other senior citizens. The department may utilize such federal funds a…

This section shall be construed, insofar as is practicable, so as to be consistent with Title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 1397 et seq.), and regulations issued under the authority of that act. The commissioner shall take reasonable steps to assure that the cost of…

Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the department shall grant access to all public assistance records, reports, documents, case files or other similar documents about a person who has applied for or is receiving or has received public assistance, including, but not li…

The human services advisory committees appointed by the commissioner shall periodically be subject to review pursuant to the governmental entity review law, compiled in title 4, chapter 29, simultaneously with, and as an adjunct to, the department.

(a) (1) Any benefits paid to, or on behalf of, any recipient cannot be recovered from such a beneficiary unless such assistance has been incorrectly paid, or unless the recipient or beneficiary recovers or is entitled to recover from a third-party reimbursement for all or part of…

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commissioner shall submit a report quarterly to the persons identified in subsection (c) detailing the department's access to and use of federal funds. The report may be submitted electronically. (b) The report must include informa…

(a) Notwithstanding a law to the contrary, the commissioner shall include in the annual block grant report submitted pursuant to § 9-4-5404, information detailing the department's access to the use of federal TANF funds as described in subsection (b). (b) The report described in …

The commissioner of finance and administration is hereby directed to begin the process of reviewing, for the purposes of reforming, the state's medicaid program. Such review shall include reviewing managed care programs and applying for needed federal waivers as well as the devel…

The department shall work with a nonprofit charitable organization that focuses on human trafficking advocacy and education to provide mandatory annual training to appropriate department personnel in the identification, intervention, prevention, and treatment of human trafficking…

Acting in consultation with the departments of education, health, mental health and substance abuse services, and disability and aging, through a system of competitive grants and technical assistance, the department of human services shall establish and implement “parents as firs…

(a) The department shall perform a market rate study of day care rates annually. (b) In compliance with federal law and regulations and from the market rate study or utilizing an alternative methodology, the department shall annually determine an amount to be paid as reimbursemen…

(a) (1) (A) The records of the department, its contractors or agents concerning the provision of Title IV-D child or spousal support services shall be confidential and information in such records shall not be subject to public inspection by any person or entity and the records sh…

(a) (1) The department shall have rulemaking authority to establish any rules necessary for the administration of the child support program operated pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.), and shall have rulemaking authority to establish any r…

(a) (1) Whoever knowingly obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person or entity to obtain or attempt to obtain, by means of a willfully false statement or representation or by impersonation, or by any fraudulent scheme, any child care services, or payments for chi…

(a) The department and each board, commission, agency or other governmental entity created pursuant to this title shall notify each applicant for a professional or occupational license, certification or registration from the department, board, commission, agency or other governme…

(a) The commissioner of human services shall establish a plan for the delivery of services to victims of human trafficking after consultation with the following departments:(1) Department of children's services;(2) Department of health;(3) Department of disability and aging;(4) D…

Organizations, businesses, or institutions engaged in contracts with the state to provide social services to third parties, including Title XX (42 U.S.C. §§ 1397 et seq.), weatherization, low income energy assistance and other community services administered or funded by the depa…

Organizations or businesses having state contracts to provide services may make application to the state agency or department having jurisdiction over the contractor for advance payment. No funds shall be released to the contractor until the third party contractor has demonstrate…

Upon approving an application for funds, the state agency or department with jurisdiction over the contractor shall forward the application to the director of accounts for payment.

Funds provided under this part shall only be used to cover costs incurred by third party social service contractors to cover necessary capital expenditures, to provide cash flow, or for other proper purposes where payment is required in cash and cost reimbursement is unacceptable…

(a) The commissioner of finance and administration is directed to establish procedures to provide for the advance payments authorized in § 71-1-201. At the termination of the contract or upon termination of provision of contracted social service by the agency, the department of h…

This part is known and may be cited as the “Promising Futures Act.”

(a) The general assembly finds that:(1) Access to affordable, reliable child care is essential to workforce participation, economic stability for working families, and the long-term well-being of children;(2) Employers across multiple sectors in this state report that the lack of…

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Department” means the department of human services;(2) “Eligible child care provider” means a child care provider licensed by the department of human services or certified by the department of education to provi…

(a) There is created in the state treasury a special fund to be known as the promising futures fund, hereinafter referred to as the fund. The fund created by this subsection (a) is the same fund described in § 67-6-205(d)(4)(C). (b) The fund consists of:(1) Any amounts credited t…

(a) Moneys in the fund must be used to establish and operate the following programs, in the following order:(1) The child care workforce scholarship pilot program created in § 71-1-306 to provide categorical eligibility for free child care for children of eligible child care work…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Categorical eligibility” means eligibility for child care assistance based solely on an individual's employment in the child care workforce, without regard to the individual's household income;(2) “Child care workforce” means individuals employed …

(a) The department shall establish a CareShare Tennessee pilot program within the department to provide employer-supported child care assistance through shared contributions by participating employers, participating employees, and the state. (b) As used in this section:(1) “Contr…

(a) There is established the Smart Steps Plus program to provide child care scholarships to eligible working families whose household income exceeds eligibility thresholds for existing child care assistance programs. (b) As used in this section:(1) “Eligible working family” means…

(a) The department shall submit an annual report for evaluating each of the programs created in this part. Each report must be submitted to the governor, the speaker of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the chair of the finance, ways and means committee of …

This part may be cited as the “Old-Age Assistance Law.”

(1) As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) “Assistance” means either money payments made to or in behalf of aged persons in need, or medical care and treatment, nursing home care, drugs including hospitalization, and outpatient care or any other type of r…