Tennessee's Aging Out of Foster Care Initiative

HUD Knoxville Field Office Director Ed Ellis in discussions with local community leaders.

On March 17, 2016, HUD Knoxville Field Policy Management and Community Planning Development staff, headed up by Field Office Director Ed Ellis, joined state of Tennessee representatives and local affordable housing providers at a meeting of the Tennessee Affordable Housing Coalition (TAHC) and HomeSource (formerly Knox Housing Partnership), a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, to discuss aging out of the foster care program. Other attendees included including housing authority directors, Habitat for Humanity, housing developers and community development bankers.

Over the last few decades, researchers have learned a great deal about the experiences of youth aging out of foster care. Literature suggests that these young people experience high rates of homelessness and housing instability while pointing to several barriers that contribute to such outcomes. Less is known about the effectiveness of federal and state policies and programs aimed at addressing their housing needs.

Hosted by Maria Catron of the Kingsport Housing Authority, speakers were from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) and the Department of Children's Services. Breakout sessions included topics such as the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund, which provides funding for affordable housing projects, and the THDA/MDHA Voucher Set Aside Pilot Program.

The Tennessee Affordable Housing Coalition is a group of individuals interested and involved in improving the availability and quality of affordable housing in Tennessee. The group includes not-for-profit housing providers, public housing agencies, builders, REALTORS®, lenders and agencies from various governmental levels.

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