Hawkins County is getting closer to helping change the way foster care begins for children in both Hancock and Hawkins counties.

After delays in construction, the Hawkins/Hancock County Isaiah 117 House is a couple of months from completion with possible occupancy after the first of the year 2026.

Isaiah 117 house exists to reduce trauma for children on their hardest days, to ease the workload of the case workers and to also relieve for foster families to be able to say “yes” to taking in a child.

Former County Commissioner Keith Gibson, who still serves on the Church Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen, sponsored a resolution donating $300,000 of the county’s “Baby Doe” opioid settlement to the project in 2022. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Hawkins County Mayor Mark DeWitte also express

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