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“I want your heart,” exclaimed Viola Miller, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children Services. “I want you to be committed to making sure youth in foster care have families. It is their birthright!”

The commissioner addressed 200 participants at an April 27 mini-convening on youth permanence, one of three in Tennessee aimed at bringing a new urgency to the need for families for teens in foster care.

Miller told her audience, “Every child should grow up in a family; every child deserves a table with their feet under it during the holidays.”

So your head will follow
How can a meeting help connect youth with lifelong families? Miller insists the mini-convenings – with their focus on hearing about the need for family directly from youth themselves – are effective. “We want you to experience the power” of teens’ need for family, Miller told assembled social workers, lawyers, judges, families and youth. “We want you to get this into your heart so your head will follow.”

The convening’s most compelling moments came from interactions with youth, who articulated their powerful desire for family connections. “You need to know us, and not judge us before you know us,” one foster youth urged. “I’ve never had anyone say, ‘I love you,’ ” shared another.

A third youth participant noted, “It took me a long time to build this wall. It’s going to take a long time to tear it down, block by block, issue by issue. Be patient with me but be with me.”

Youth voices essential
Youth were crucial contributors to the convening, serving on panels, reporting on recommendations from the four previously held community meetings, and participating in planning next steps with convening participants.

As she moderated a court and legal panel, the Honorable Rachel Anthony, president of the Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, noted it was not until the National Convening on Youth Permanence, held in Washington D.C. in September 2006, that she understood how courts can be more inclusive of and attentive to youth and their needs for family. She shared with Tennessee participants a list of questions developed for state attorneys, social workers, and judges who want to better prepare youth for permanency court hearings.

Powerful public-private partnerships
What made this first Tennessee convening unique? Early on, the state agency decided that permanence had to be a community-wide goal. A public-private coalition was important in expanding beyond the child welfare agency an understanding of how critical family is to the development of all young people.

The convening team and Nashville Public Television joined forces, working on four community meetings—or “screenings”—that addressed issues related to youth in foster care. Youth, birth parents, and foster parents helped plan the screenings, which included youth-led discussions.

Planning next steps
Commissioner Miller requested of her regional teams three detailed steps they would take in the next week to create lasting momentum for youth permanence. The steps, with timelines and accountability measures attached, developed from a planning process that identified local permanency statistics, gaps in service, and permanence-focused strategies already in use. The purpose of these goals, according to Miller: To continue to create momentum for permanence in Tennessee and to show that finding families for teens is possible, powerful, and a priority.

Related Resources:
Questions for Teens in Foster Care
Agenda for state convening
Your Rights in Juvenile Court Guide