Main Street Nashville: Inspired by own families, pair launch nonprofit aimed at streamlining adoptions

When Jeremy Harrell and his wife, Michelle, first considered adopting a child, Harrell worked in former Gov. Bill Haslam’s office.

Jeremy Harrell poses for a photo with his wife, Michelle Harrell, and their three children, Wesley, Ruby and Rosie. Photo Courtesy of Main Street Nashville, Larry McCormack, photographer

From his desk at the state Capitol, Harrell called the Department of Children’s Services to learn more about how adoption through foster care works in Tennessee.

“I called the commissioner’s office directly and said, ‘Hey, my wife and I are interested in adopting’ and that we thought about foster care and maybe foster-to-adopt — and how does that work?” Harrell recalls. “The very first thing they said to me was, ‘Well, if you want to adopt, you probably don’t want to do foster care because our primary goal is reunification.’ … It was kind of jarring when you hear that.”

Jeremy Harrell, founder & CEO of The Adoption Project, plays with his 20-month-old daughter, Ruby, in their yard. Photo Courtesy of Main Street Nashville, Larry McCormack, photographer

So, after the birth of their biological son, Wesley, Harrell and his wife turned to a private agency seeking to adopt. After a three-year process, the adoption of their daughter Ruby was finalized. Five weeks ago, they welcomed home Ruby’s biological sister, Rosie.

Compared with other states, Tennessee is among the easiest for families to adopt a child, even through the foster system, but Harrell says there’s much work to be done to make the process more streamlined for adoptive families.

Last month, alongside former DCS chief Jennifer Donnals — also an adoptive parent and an alum of the Haslam administration — Harrell founded The Adoption Project, a policy group aimed at making Tennessee the most adoption-friendly state in the U.S. It’s the first organization of its kind in the state.

The Adoption Project will focus on crafting policy reforms for adoption and foster care that streamline the process of placing a child with a family and offer more options to birth parents interested in placing their child for adoption. Current policy places hurdles that make it complicated and, in many cases, out of reach for families who would otherwise be willing to adopt…. Keep reading from Main Street Nashville >