Let’s coordinate, share ideas, and learn from our individual customer groups on how we can work together to better serve Tennessee’s low-income families.

Welcome to the new DHS Direction Newsletter. As the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS), I am delighted to see the relaunch of this newsletter as we strive to strengthen our communication with you. Over the years, we have built strong community partnerships because we understand that every entity has a role in providing support to Tennesseans that increase their quality of life and economic stability. At TDHS, we know that we cannot do this alone and we are committed to ensuring that all we serve receive the programs and services they need to successfully move from crisis to self-sufficiency.

I believe, “we rise, by lifting others up.” As we continue to put this motto into practice through our daily work at TDHS, we have witnessed the positive outcomes that yield great success when we all work together. We want to continue to share our ideas and successes, grow our impact, develop new partnerships, build stronger connections with our audiences, and we need your help to achieve these goals.

We must continue to work together to transform the safety net for how Tennessee supports the needs and challenges of individuals and families. By leveraging our collective assets and knowledge, we can all serve as a catalyst for producing innovative solutions to rebuild a fragmented system. Let’s make a difference and take advantage of this opportunity to better serve our community.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) is here to ensure every Tennessean has the tools they need to become financially stable. Many of our programs provide benefits based on documented need and some programs utilize Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards to deliver food or cash benefits. Unfortunately, some criminals are willing to steal benefits meant to help families on their way to financial stability. 

Please Complete a Quick TDHS Communications Survey

Let us Know How You Prefer for Us to Communicate with You

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) is interested in learning how you prefer to receive information from us, in pursuit of fulfilling our mission to build strong families by connecting Tennesseans to employment, education and support services. We cannot do this vital work alone and recognize the significant impact that organizations like yours have on Tennesseans. We’d like to engage you more in the future, on a collective journey to transform the state’s safety net into one that serves as a springboard to success for families of low-income. Please take a moment to complete this brief survey regarding your communication preferences. Survey Deadline: April 7, 2023

Open Application for Tennessee Summer Food Service Program

Once school is out, the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) begins. The SFSP is a partnership between the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, TDHS and community-based organizations to provide free meals to children in their communities throughout the summer.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) is announcing its participation in the 2023 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the opening of this year’s application period. The goal of the Summer Food Service Program is to ensure children 18 and younger, who benefit from meal programs at school, continue to have that same access to nutritious meals when school is out for the summer.

Each year TDHS partners with sponsors across the state to provide summer meals. The program traditionally runs from the end of May to August when the next school semester begins.

In 2022, by partnering with 45 program sponsors across about 1,200 meal sites, approximately 1.8 million meals were served through the Summer Food Service Program.

This need is especially important in rural counties in Tennessee and those designated as distressed. TDHS is striving to recruit more sponsors willing to serve rural counties and additional sponsors for every county in the state to help their communities.

Organizations, governmental institutions, schools, and religious entities interested in learning more about becoming SFSP sponsors are encouraged to visit the TDHS website to learn more about the program. Applications are currently available, and technical support is provided by TDHS staff. Sponsor applications will be accepted until May 1, 2023.  If your organization is interested in becoming a SFSP sponsor or becoming a feeding site under an existing sponsor, please contact the department by e-mail at TNSFSP.DHS@tn.gov.

In addition to children of school age, adults 19 and older with a mental or physical disability are eligible to receive free meals if they participate in a school program established for individuals with disabilities during the prior school year.

As summer nears, parents interested in finding a Summer Food Service Program feeding location near them are encouraged to contact the TDHS Summer Food Service Program main line at 615-313-4749, their local school, or visit https://www.fns.usda.gov/meals4kids. Additional information also is available on TDHS’s website.

As a part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Opportunity Act, bi-partisan legislation which was passed and signed by Governor Bill Lee in May 2021 in effort to actively spend a surplus of TANF funding, The Tennessee Department of Human Services has made significant progress in redesigning how TANF funds are distributed in the State. In 2022, TDHS announced that the department allotted $175 million in grants from the state's TANF reserve funding to launch seven pilot programs which are now in progress among the following organizations: Families Matter in West Tennessee, The University of Memphis, Family & Children's Service in Middle Tennessee, Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency, First Tennessee Development District Foundation in East Tennessee, United Way of Greater Knoxville, and the Martha O'Bryan Center in Middle Tennessee.

In addition, the Department will also soon announce the recipients of the TANF Opportunity Act’s Families First Community Grant Program (FFCG). The Families First Community Grant program was created as an additional method to invest TANF funds in ways to provide long-term benefits to low-income families and help them move towards economic stability. The grants will support programs designed to address at least one of the following four purposes of the TANF program. Up to $115 million is expected to be obligated through this grant program. The next application cycle for FFCG program will be announced soon and shared in the DHS Direction Newsletter and TDHS website.

Currently, TDHS is proud to say that all the federal reserve funding has been obligated and expenditures will reflect this as all the community grant contracts are executed and in progress over the next three to five years. For more information on the TANF Opportunity Act, please review information here.

TDHS strives to provide a seamless network of essential services to Tennesseans every day. A large part of this is the continued pursuit of providing more simplified and customer-centric support to those we serve.

We are excited to announce the launch of the One DHS Omnichannel Customer Support Model – including the new One DHS Contact Center which is now live.

As a part of this launch, TDHS will offer customers a streamlined point of entry through which to engage the Department. The new One DHS Contact Center phone number is (833) 772-TDHS (8347), and replaces the former general phone number, (615) 313-4700.

 

Family Assistance

DHS Program Director 4

New Davidson County - 44453 (Closing Date 4/5/2023)

Eligibility Counselor 1*

New Bradley County - 44257 (Closing Date 4/12/2023)

New Sumner County - 44430 (Closing Date 4/12/2023)

 

Child Care and Community Services

DHS Child Care Specialist 1*

New Shelby County - 44316 (Closing Date 4/5/2023)

 

Operations

DHS Program Coordinator

New Davidson County - 44333 (Closing Date 4/5/2023)

 

Detailed listings on all open positions (Preferred and Executive Service) can be found at https://www.tn.gov/careers/apply-here.html.

Everyone can be a recruiter! Please help us by tapping into your network of talented friends, family and associates.

NOTE: You may now find TDHS jobs also posted on the TDHS LinkedIn page

Tennessee Department of Human Services: Overview | LinkedIn

Please encourage your friends and colleagues to visit our site for opportunities at TDHS.

This Newsletter will be distributed on the last Wednesday of each month, and we kindly ask that all news be approved by leadership and submitted at least three weeks in advance.

Let’s coordinate, share ideas, and learn from our individual customer groups on how we can work together to better serve Tennessee’s low-income families.

You are receiving this email because you are a partner of a TDHS administered program, communications partner, state agency partner, or have signed up to receive our emails through our website or by contacting one of our staff members.