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The Youth OPEN project serves East Tennessee youth, ages 12 and older, in the
custody of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services. This project focuses on serving youth
who have been in state custody more than 12 months without achieving
permanency; youth whose adoptive or pre-adoptive placements have disrupted;
youth in residential treatment centers and congregate care; youth for whom
the state is having difficulty finding an adoptive or other permanent
placement; and especially those youth who articulate resistance to adoption.
The goals of the Youth OPEN project are:
To introduce a range of permanency options to youth,
including adoption, open adoption, and permanent
guardianship
To empower and support youth to be active advocates in
their own permanency planning process
To provide permanency interventions, including mediation
and youth peer mentorship
To increase foster youth leadership
To create communities of support for youth permanency
To train youth and adults in permanency preparation in order
to increase the number of youth exiting state custody with a
permanent family connection.
The vision of the Youth OPEN project is that every youth and older child in
foster care in East Tennessee leaves with a permanent connection to a caring
family.
The mission of Youth OPEN project is fourfold:
To provide youth, families, courts, communities, and child
welfare professionals in East Tennessee with information on
an array of permanency options and experiences which
facilitate a belief and passion for permanency for youth
To provide assistance and support in the selection and
achievement of a permanency option, including permanency
interventions and mediation
To empower youth and provide them with advocacy in the
permanency process
To evaluate the effectiveness of the project and share
information with others
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