Faculty Profile: Cheri Stewart

Cheri Stewart serves the TN Department of Children’s Services as Director of Centralized Permanency Services and Deputy Compact Administrator for the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children for the State of TN. Ms. Stewart is a 43 year career employee with TN State Government. As Director of Centralized Permanency Services, Ms. Stewart is responsible to direct and manage four statutory Department Programs: the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the Adoption Registry, Access and Services to Sealed Records and the Putative Father Registry. She supervises 10 staff persons in the unit. Ms. Stewart has served as Deputy Compact Administrator for the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children for the Department since 1987 and continues to serve in that role. As such, she has provided leadership and collaboration through the Department and with other internal and external partnerships at the national and state level to develop strategies to improve efficiency and effectiveness of inter-jurisdictional placements of children through the IPCP program and serves as a catalyst for improvement in practice and service to children and families. Ms. Stewart holds a B.S. in Speech Pathology/Audiology and M.S. in Student Personnel Administration and Educational Counseling from Miami University, Oxford, OH. She has continuing education hours in Vocational Rehabilitation Administration from Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA and Family Law from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN.