KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tenessee Department of Children's Services launched a new childcare website called "Every Child TN." The new website helps to educate Tennesseans about the foster care system and encourages people to get involved in any way they can.
Every Child TN works to fill the gaps for children and families before, during and after foster care.
"These are gaps and opportunities to where the community is really mobilized and invited into this process that they can, they can really help serve a need," said Lance Villio, Executive Director of the Governor's Faith-Based and Community Initiative in Tennessee.
According to the state, there are more than 8,000 children in foster care in Tennessee with only 5,000 approved foster homes. The new website helps to educate Tennesseans on how they can help.
"It's a great opportunity for people to take their first step in serving this population," said Villio.
Chante Hensley, a foster mom, said she knows firsthand how important foster cases are.
"I was a social worker working in foster care at the time," said Hensley. "And so I really saw the need for foster parents and so I talked to him about it and we were like, 'What could we do to help?' And we decided we'd be foster parents."
Hensley and her husband have adopted nine children all through the foster care system.
"It just kept being there's a sibling here and a sibling there. And so we ended up getting a whole group of children," Hensley said. "It's very important to us, to me, to know that we've made their life a little bit easier in the hardest time of need."
Hensley now runs a nonprofit called "Fostering Hope" to help provide foster families and children with the resources they need.
"Trying to help families and children in our community in East Tennessee and making sure they have their needs met. Because we just saw so many kids going around with trash bags and we just wanted to give them dignity and worth," she said.
The website can be used to connect anyone looking to volunteer for nonprofits like Fostering Hope in their community.