2023 Tennessee Code › Title 49 - EDUCATION (§§ 49-1-NEW — 49-50-1703) › Chapter 2 - LOCAL ADMINISTRATION (§§ 49-2-101 — 49-2-2101) › Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 49-2-101 — 49-2-140) › Section 49-2-115 - Family resource centers

(a)
Family resource centers may be established by any LEA in order to coordinate state and community services to help meet the needs of families with children. An LEA may directly operate its own family resource centers or may contract with a locally based nonprofit agency, including a community action agency, to operate one (1) or more such centers on behalf of the LEA. Each center shall be located in or near a school. The local school board shall appoint community service providers and parents to serve on an advisory council for each family resource center. Parents shall comprise a majority of each advisory council.
(b)
Tennessee investment in student achievement formula (TISA) funds may be expended by an LEA to plan and implement a family resource center. The application for such approval shall identify a full-time director and other professional staff from the school or community, or both, which may include psychologists, school counselors, social workers, nurses, instructional assistants and teachers. In establishing family resource centers, the department shall consult with the departments of health, mental health and substance abuse services, disability and aging, and children's services.
(c)
[Deleted by 2022 amendment.]
(d)
LEAs with state approved family resource centers may be given priority in receiving additional state funding for:
(1)
Formal parent involvement programs in elementary schools;
(2)
Early childhood programs for children at-risk;
(3)
Programs for parents with preschool at-risk children;
(4)
Learning centers in urban housing projects;
(5)
Programs in high schools for pregnant teenagers; and
(6)
"Jobs for Tennessee Graduates" in high schools.
(e)
(1)
Family resource centers shall provide interagency services/resources information on issues such as parent training, crisis intervention, respite care and counseling needs for families of children with behavioral/emotional disorders.
(2)
Family resource centers shall serve the function of being the center of information sharing and resource facilitation for such families.
(3)
Family resource centers shall also serve the function of helping families answer questions regarding funding for the options of service their child or family requires.
(f)
The purpose of each family resource center shall be to maximize the potential learning capacity of the child by ensuring that school environments and neighborhoods are safe and socially enriching, that families are strong and able to protect children and meet their basic needs and that children are physically healthy, emotionally stable, socially well-adjusted and able to connect with enriching opportunities and experiences in their schools and communities. In order to enable children to attain the most benefit possible from the time they spend in educational settings, the family resource centers shall focus on providing information to families about resources, support and benefits available in the community and on developing a coordinated system of care for children in the community in order to effectuate this purpose.
(g)
The department of education and the department of children's services shall jointly develop guidelines for the operation of family resource centers, focusing on the requirements of this section, including the stated purpose of family resource centers in subsection (f). The guidelines shall be used by all family resource centers established pursuant to this section.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 688,s 135, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 966, s 43, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2022 Tenn. Acts, ch. 966, s 42, eff. 7/1/2023.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 248, Secs.s 20, s 21 eff. 5/2/2019.
Acts 1992, ch. 535, § 85; 1994, ch. 974, § 5; 1994, ch. 985, § 2; 1995, ch. 538, § 2; 1996, ch. 1079, §§ 140, 142; 1999, ch. 367, § 5; 2005, ch. 192, § 1; 2011 , ch. 158, § 24; 2012 , ch. 575, § 1.