Adoption
Foster Care
Residential

Adoption Services

The Smoky Mountain Children’s Home (SMCH) Adoption Program is operated through the Foster Care Department. The primary philosophy is that every child deserves permanency within a family, and it is our goal to make this an option for as many children as possible. Once a child is in custody of the State of Tennessee, the SMCH Adoption Support Coordinator and team members, along with the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) team members work together to form a selection committee to identify an appropriate family/placement for these children. SMCH can assist with state and private adoptions and many of our DCS children qualify for financial assistance through the adoption subsidy program.

The Adoption Team

If you are interested in becoming an adoptive parent or to request more information on the adoption process, please contact our Adoption Support Coordinator Melody Jones at adoptions@smch.org.

Melody Jones

Adoption Support Coordinator

Foster Care

The Smoky Mountain Children’s Home (SMCH) Foster Care Department is dedicated to achieving excellence and using our knowledge and resources to advocate, enrich, and empower the lives of children and families living out our call to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Beverly Beard

Foster Care Director

Foster Parents

With over 7,000 youth in Foster Care in the state of Tennessee, the need for Foster Homes continues to grow daily. While our Foster Care Department continues to show consistent growth and expansion, with over 100 Foster Homes, we are always in need of more Foster Homes.

In order to become an approved Tennessee Foster Parent, you will need to successfully complete the TN-KEY (Knowledge Empowers You) curriculum. Foster Parents are required to successfully participate in annual continuing education courses.

For more information about becoming a foster parent, contact our Foster Care Recruitment Coordinator at foster@smch.org or use the Become a Foster Parent form below.

The Smoky Mountain Children’s Home (SMCH) residential campus continues to meet the challenge of at-risk children and youth with an evidenced based best practice treatment model, staff training, case management and emphasis on treatment teams. SMCH is ever evolving to meet a wide array of needs in our Level II residential program. This is in conjunction with privately placed children and youth, which is still a significant part of our residential program (see below). Primary funding is through our Department of Children’s Services (DCS) Level II continuum contracts, Church of God congregations and private resources.

Dr. Marvin Amos

Residential Director
& Liaison to Alpha School

Need Private Placement?

The mission of Smoky Mountain Children’s Home (SMCH) is to provide residential care for dependent, neglected and other at-risk children and youth. Our goal is to provide hope and healing for children and their families by helping them cope with the ever-increasing pressures of our society, to help children express their concerns in constructive ways, to work toward reunification of the family and to provide foster care and adoption services when needed.
 
Referrals for services are accepted from a wide variety of sources including parents and relatives, pastors, public and private agencies and juvenile courts.
 
No person is, on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, excluded from participation in, or otherwise denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination in any program or activity of SMCH. Fees for the private placement service are based on a sliding scale, but no child is denied placement or services based solely on an inability to pay.
 
Services provided for the private placement program include the following:
  • Residential group care is provided by well trained Christian childcare workers in modern cottage-type dwellings.
  • Counseling and assessments are provided for children and families by competent professional clinical workers and counselors.
  • Supervised recreational and leisure time activities are available.
  • Level II residential services and intensive day treatment is provided for at-risk youth.
  • Full-time Crisis Intervention and Prevention Team and respite care are provided by agency staff.
  • On-campus classroom is provided for youth needing more intensive instruction for credit recovery, GED and general education.
If you have an interest in finding out more information about our private placement program, contact Linda Loyd at lloyd@smch.org or please submit your request by clicking on the Private Placement Form button below.
A Network Partner of Every Child Tennessee
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