Screening Tools
Ohio State University TBI Identification Method screening tool for Brain Injury
HELPS Brain Injury Screening Tool
Crisis Intervention Tools
To Report Child Abuse or Neglect, call the Child Abuse Hotline: 877-237-0004
Reports also can be made online on our secure site.
Child Abuse and Tracking direct link https://apps.tn.gov/carat/
Department of Children’s Services website https://www.tn.gov/dcs.html
How to Report Child Abuse
https://www.tn.gov/dcs/program-areas/child-safety/reporting/child-abuse.html
Reporting Abuse FAQ and Training
https://www.tn.gov/dcs/program-areas/child-safety/reporting/faqs.html
National Resources
Brain Injury and Child Welfare Best Practice Guide: Information and Tools for State Agencies
Darkness to Light End Child Sexual Abuse
“Darkness to Light empowers adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse through awareness, education, and the reduction of stigma.”
Child Advocacy Centers in Tennessee A children’s advocacy center is the ONE place that provides a safe, child-friendly environment where law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, medical and mental health professionals may share information and develop effective, coordinated strategies sensitive to the needs of each unique case and child. Find a local CAC: cactn.org
Centers of Excellence for Children in State Custody “focused on improving comprehensive well-being of children in or at risk of state custody. Centers of Excellence assist in providing science-based guidance to improve children’s health, behavioral outcomes, and improve systems serving children by providing clinical consultations, evaluations, and limited direct services to children with complex needs. There are five locations across the state to serve children in or at risk of state custody.” https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/tenncare-kids/centers-of-excellence.html
TN Voices “TN Voices utilizes evidence-based practices and approaches to promote social-emotional competence in young children. TNV collaborates with families to provide training, support, and resources to strengthen the family unit.” https://tnvoices.org/children/
Team TN mission “Team Tennessee, using the Pyramid Model framework, facilitates public-private collaborations to strengthen the social-emotional development of all infants and young children.” https://tnvoices.org/teamtn/
TN Commission on Children and Youth “The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY) is an independent, nonpartisan agency created to ensure the state’s policies and programs effectively promote and protect the health, well-being and development of children and youth.
Established by the Tennessee General Assembly as a permanent commission, TCCY is the state’s centralized informational resource and advocacy agency for timely, fact-based information to aid policymaking and coordination of resources.” https://www.tn.gov/tccy.html
TCCY’s data dashboard FUTURE, provides Tennessee County Profiles of Child Well-Being that offers valuable insights into the well-being of children & youth in communities across the state.
Resilient TN Collaborative “Fosters connections to promote positive childhood experiences for infants, children and youth across all communities in TN.”
Community Health Access and Navigation in TN (CHANT) “CHANT is an integrated model of care coordination provided through the local health departments. The program provides enhanced patient-centered engagement, assistance with navigating complex systems, and care coordination of medical and social service needs. Families and individuals are connected to available resources which may include reimbursement for medical services and assistance with co-pays, deductibles, and co-insurance for children and youth with physical disabilities.” https://www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/fhw/chant/about-chant.html
Individuals eligible for CHANT include:
Pregnant and postpartum adolescents and women
Children (Birth – 21 years)
Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (Birth – 21 years)
Model Programs
Handle with Care “Handle with Care” provides the school or childcare agency with a “heads up” when a child has been identified at the scene of a traumatic event. It could be a meth lab explosion, a domestic violence situation, a shooting in the neighborhood, witnessing a malicious wounding, a drug raid at the home, etc. Police are trained to identify children at the scene, find out where they go to school or daycare and send the school/agency a confidential email or fax that simply says . . . “Handle Johnny with care”. That’s it. No other details. https://tnhandlewithcare.org/
Partners in Care Program a collaboration between the Metro Nashville Police Department, Mental Health Cooperative, and other metro government agencies created to better serve individuals in the community who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis. The Partners in Care program strives to improve access to care for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis, divert consumers from the criminal justice system and into the health care system, all while improving the communication and coordination across all systems of care, and increasing the safety of all involved in these crisis interactions. https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police/investigative-services/major-crimes/alternative-policing-strategies/partners-care
Department of Children’s Services Download an information poster with the hotline number you can display in your school, business, or church. Spanish version: Information Poster
Infographics – Building Strong Brains TN – What are ACEs? https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tccy/documents/resilienttn/aces/ACEs-Handout.pdf
Steward of Children training “Darkness to Light’s flagship training, Stewards of Children®,” teaches adults practical actions they can take to reduce instances of child sexual abuse in their organizations, families, and communities. Through interviews with a very diverse group of people with lived experience, experts, and treatment providers, Stewards of Children® is one of the only award-winning, evidence-informed, adult-focused child sexual abuse prevention trainings in the United States proven to increase knowledge and change behavior.” https://www.d2l.org/training-catalog/stewards-of-children/
Support
KidCentralTN A one-stop shop for Tennessee families with links to valuable support programs, including basic needs, child support, life skills and more. https://www.kidcentraltn.com/support.html