---
type: "Bill"
title: "Children's Services, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to conduct an assessment of the home to determine whether the child will receive proper care and supervision, including a visit to the home, prior to the department notifying a court in writing of its intention to place a child at home on a trial home visit. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37."
description: "Children's Services, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to conduct an assessment of the home to determine whether the child will receive proper care and supervision, including a visit to the home, prior to the department notifying a court in writing of its intention to place a child at home on a trial home visit. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37."
jurisdiction: "us/states/tn"
legislature: "Tennessee General Assembly"
session: "113"
identifier: "SB 656"
citation: "Tennessee SB 656 (113)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Children's Services", "Dept. of"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jackson"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 24
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-01-26"
last_action: "2023-05-03"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/e7801832-5020-411d-90c1-941cb0037837"
source_url: "http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0656&GA=113"
source_hash: "f9272656b6618535804e8687f2579081edc01aafac199c7e1e7ed4018b2c9835"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-tn"]
---

# Tennessee SB 656 (113) — Children's Services, Dept. of - As enacted, requires the department to conduct an assessment of the home to determine whether the child will receive proper care and supervision, including a visit to the home, prior to the department notifying a court in writing of its intention to place a child at home on a trial home visit. - Amends TCA Title 36 and Title 37.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Amendment HA0309** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Amend/HA0309.pdf)
2. **Amendment SA0350** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Amend/SA0350.pdf)
3. **Current Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/SB0656.pdf)

## Votes

- FLOOR VOTE: as Amended Third Consideration 4/6/2023 Passed (1) — **31–0** (pass) · upper
- FLOOR VOTE: REGULAR CALENDAR PASSAGE ON THIRD CONSIDERATION 4/6/2023 Passed (1) — **88–0** (pass) · lower
- SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0 3/28/2023 — **0–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Jackson — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-01-26** Filed for introduction `filing`
- **2023-01-30** Introduced, Passed on First Consideration `introduction`
- **2023-02-02** Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee `passage`
- **2023-03-15** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/21/2023
- **2023-03-21** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/22/2023
- **2023-03-22** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/28/2023
- **2023-03-22** Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/28/2023
- **2023-03-22** Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/22/2023
- **2023-03-28** Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 9, Nays 0 PNV 0
- **2023-04-04** Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/6/2023
- **2023-04-06** Sponsor(s) Added. `sponsorship`
- **2023-04-06** Passed H., Ayes 88, Nays 0, PNV 0 `passage`
- **2023-04-06** Am. withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - HA0309) `amendment-withdrawal`
- **2023-04-06** Subst. for comp. HB. `substitution`
- **2023-04-06** Engrossed; ready for transmission to House `receipt`
- **2023-04-06** Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 31, Nays 0 `passage`
- **2023-04-06** Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0350)
- **2023-04-10** Signed by Senate Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-10** Enrolled and ready for signatures `enrolled`
- **2023-04-11** Signed by H. Speaker `passage`
- **2023-04-12** Transmitted to Governor for action. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-24** Signed by Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2023-05-03** Effective date(s) 04/24/2023
- **2023-05-03** Pub. Ch. 198

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/e7801832-5020-411d-90c1-941cb0037837`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Tennessee legislature records).