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Committee approves two‑year Family Empowerment Initiative TANF grant to expand post‑crisis family supports
Summary
The committee approved an interdepartmental Families First grant — $8,528,866 over two years — to fund the Family Empowerment Initiative, which will provide wraparound family support after child crises through four mobile crisis providers and is expected to serve roughly 1,300 children and 1,800 caregivers annually.
The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee approved an expansion request to fund the Family Empowerment Initiative, an interdepartmental grant run by the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services using Families First (TANF) dollars.
Deputy Commissioner Matt Yancey explained the initiative: "This grant will support what we're calling the Family Empowerment Initiative, which will provide 2 generation community based support for families and their Children ages 0 to 18 after they engage with a mental health crisis service." The two‑year grant totals $8,528,866, with $4,264,400 budgeted in year one. The department said it expects contract subawards to four existing youth mobile crisis providers (Youth Villages, Mental Health Cooperative, McNabb Center, and Frontier Health) and anticipates serving more than 1,300 children and 1,800 adult caregivers annually.
Members asked about monitoring and sustainability; Matt Yancey said the program will use standardized evaluation tools, monitoring (including site visits and subrecipient oversight), and that TennCare and managed‑care organizations are potential partners to help sustain successful services after the federal grant period. The committee voted to approve the expansion; the clerk announced 10 ayes and 1 no.
