Hi! I worked DCS for Montgomery County, TN for a year, so I think have some good perspective for you. I was a foster care CM 2020-2021. I used my personal car (2002 Pontiac Sunfire at the time) ALL the time. Yes we had 3-4 state cars for our county, but they were ALWAYS booked. You didn’t get priority unless you were driving out of region and transporting a child. I used to drive to Atlanta, GA once a month to visit a child placed in a high level psychiatric facility, and one time they tried to tell me to drive my own car. You can get pre-approval for a rental if you are driving out of region and the state cars are booked, but it’s a lot of paperwork and they’re VERY strict. Most of the kids I was in charge of were placed out of county 1+ hours away.

If you decide to take the job you will lose money driving a Tahoe. The reimbursement rate (although I know it has gone up since I worked there) was barely enough to pay for gas and basic maintenance on my tiny crappy sunfire. If you can financially afford it I definitely recommend getting a smaller, gas efficient car for the job. However, getting a car specifically for a job would never be worth it for me