Children in custody/guardianship of the state of Tennessee are in a particularly vulnerable situation. Harmony Adoptions recognizes the legal and emotional needs of this at risk population and works to stand as advocates on behalf of these children.
The mission of the Harmony Attachment Resource Team (HART) is to secure the highest degree of legal and emotional permanency for Tennessee’s children in custody/guardianship of the state and to help these children develop healthy attachment and life-long relationships.
HART partners with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and all members of the child’s support team and family to secure permanency for children in custody/guardianship.
HART provides assessment, consultation, and supportive services to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services in seven regions of the state (Northwest, Southwest, South Central, East, Knox, Smoky Mountain, and Northeast DCS Regions).
What do the activities of programs like HART really mean to these children?
In the words of a HART staff member, here are but a few examples of what HART’s efforts mean.
“It means traveling to a lock-down facility, where 16 year old Andrew was doing time for gang activity, and who didn’t want to be adopted (but really did). We engaged his incredibly committed single resource mother, who didn’t want to adopt him (but really did!). After helping Andrew grieve the death of his father, for which he blamed himself needlessly, and helping the resource parent face her own losses and fears, a turning point was reached. The excited phone call from the resource parent announcing, “I’m gonna adopt him!” was a highlight of our first year. And Andrew just couldn’t stop smiling.
It means helping birth parents make the painful but loving decision to allow their children to be adopted by a family who can offer them permanence, stability, and love. Even for children whose dream of permanence is yet unrealized, we have stood shoulder to shoulder with them, advocating for and supporting them through the challenges of their lives as children ‘in the system’ who know they can count on us.
Most of the time we get there, together.”
For additional information about how to access this DCS funded service, contact Kristi Kulesz, LCSW, at 865.273.4462 or kkulesz@harmonyadoptions.org.
HART – HART partners with DCS in seven regions of the state (Northwest, Southwest, South Central, East, Knox, Smoky Mountain, and Northeast) and with all members of the child’s team to help secure permanency for children in custody/guardianship by providing a variety of services. Read more…
