Funded Partners FY25-26

 

Guiding Parents to Services (GPS) supports children and their families as they navigate the evaluation process provided by CMS for a potential developmental delay.  Families get connected to GPS via referral, empowering families to get the early interventions services their child needs.  Services include education, referrals, navigation, and emotional support during this pivotal time.  GPS also supports community child care and preschool teachers through targeted presentations and trainings, aimed at increasing professional capacity in supporting children with challenging developmental issues.

 

Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center provides no cost screenings for over 2,000 young children in Mecklenburg, and connection to evaluation services for those children who need further assessment. Additionally, CSHC delivers evidence-based, early language intervention services for high risk preschool enrolled children, that builds their skills in early communication, emerging receptive and expressive language - skills critical for early literacy success.

 

Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE) is a agency wide adaptation of Parent Child Interaction Therapy, designed to model the skills taught to enhance the adult-child relationship. CARE is to be used by non-clinical professionals working with traumatized children and their adult caregivers to foster a trauma-informed environment. Skills are taught via live coaching, and caregivers practice the skills in pairs and small groups while trainers observe and coach.

 

Safe Journey uses the evidenced based Parents as Teachers (PAT) model to provide teen parents with child development knowledge and parenting support so that they can successfully stay in school. Case Managers provide one-on-one home visits, monthly group meetings, developmental screenings, and a resource network. Safe Journey may serve families from pregnancy to kindergarten entry, or until parent graduation, whichever comes first.

 

The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is designed for low-income mothers and their children. It includes one-on-one home visits by a trained public health registered nurse to participating clients. The visits begin early in the woman's pregnancy and conclude when the woman's child turns 2 years old. During visits, nurses work to reinforce maternal behaviors that are consistent with program goals and that encourage positive behaviors and accomplishments. Topics of the visits include prenatal care; caring for an infant; and encouraging the emotional, physical, and cognitive development of young children.

 

The goal of the YMCA Parents as Teachers (PAT) program is to provide Hispanic parents with child development knowledge and parenting support. The PAT model includes one-on-one home visits, monthly group meetings, developmental screenings, and a resource network for families. PAT may serve families from pregnancy to kindergarten entry.

 

The Basics is a public education campaign built on five evidence based parenting and caregiving principles important for healthy brain development for children from birth to age three. Eighty percent of brain growth happens in the first three years of life, and every child from every background can benefit from routinely engaging in these fun, simple, and powerful learning experiences. The Basics brain development campaign is working through a variety of local partners to ensure that every parent and caregiver is fully supported by family, friends, and the community to use 'The Basics' practices in everyday life. 

 

Freedom Communities' Moms Moving Forward Program uses the evidenced based EMPath model to take a holistic and community based approach to drive upward mobility and family stability for single mothers and their children in the 28208 zip code. During the 12 month, paid program, mothers build a network of support with other program participants and make connections to resources to address their area(s) of need, as identified on the Bridge to Self Sufficiency.

HOME VISITING

 

Smart Start of Mecklenburg County is pleased to present the Home Visiting Expansion Plan in Mecklenburg County. The purpose of this project is to develop a sustainable plan that coordinates, enhances, expands and advocates for high-quality home visiting programs to serve expectant and parenting families so that children are safe, healthy and ready to learn.

 

A 5-star program that provides high-quality, tuition-free preschool education to low-income, at-risk Hispanic/Latino children. Charlotte Bilingual Preschool prepares students for a successful transition to kindergarten and offers parent training and engagement.

 

The Mecklenburg County Health Department employs highly trained nurses and health educators to work with child care facilities to ensure the health and safety of all children in their care. These professionals provide training, ongoing coaching and technical assistance on a wide variety of topics related to health and safety, including safe sleeping, sound nutrition, disease prevention, supporting a child with special health care needs, and much more. 

 

Young children are learning how to deal with strong emotions in themselves and others and often need help in learning regulation skills; and yet preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students. Social Emotional Teacher Coaching (SETC) recognizes this as gap in early care providers' capacity to meet this need and strives to: 1) improve Mecklenburg licensed child care professionals' knowledge and skills to provide consistent pro-social environments that foster children's social-emotional development, and 2) nurture teacher practices that appropriately and constructively address children's behaviors and maintain their child care placements.

 

Serves preschool children from at-risk families through a 5 star, tuition-free program with literacy-rich activities that address their educational and social needs. A Family Support Specialist builds and nurtures relationships with parents to lay the foundation for ongoing involvement in their child's education.

 

Helps directors and teachers improve each child's experience in the classroom through supportive adult-child interactions and high-quality learning environments. Specialists deliver in-depth training on various topics and on-site coaching to help achieve identified goals. Various tools guide the coaching process, including Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development, Environment Rating Scales, Program Administration Scale, and Business Administration Scale. QED partners with Central Piedmont Community College to deliver a 2-credit course on making the most of classroom interactions and also engages local wellness experts to support staff resilience. 3-, 4- and 5-star child care centers, family child care homes, and new operating programs with a temporary license in Mecklenburg County are eligible.

 

MECK Pre-K is a Mecklenburg County-funded program that offers a high-quality Pre-K experience to ensure children are academically and developmentally prepared for kindergarten. Classrooms are located in 4 and 5 star child care centers and children attend a 6.5 hour school day program.

 

Offers a high-quality pre-k option for at-risk children and prepares them for success in school. Children attend a 6.5 hour school day program following the CMS schedule. Classrooms are located in 4 and 5 star child care centers and Head Start programs.

 

This new project recruits individuals who are interested in becoming childcare teachers in Mecklenburg County, provides them access to the required training, and gives them on the job experience by placing them in participating member centers as substitute teachers.

 

The Child Care WAGE$® Program provides education-based salary supplements to qualifying teachers, directors and family child care providers working with children between the ages of birth to five. The program is designed to provide preschool children more stable relationships with better-educated teachers by rewarding teacher education and continuity of care.

 

The Charlotte Bilingual Preschool Workforce Development Program is building knowledge and skills for teachers by giving them support to higher education, certificate programs, and access to ESL courses. The goal is to assist 100 interested Professionals, with a portion finishing their degrees and becoming employed/remaining employed in Mecklenburg County.

 

Provides books, free of charge, to children living in Mecklenburg County until their 5th birthday. Enrolled children receive one age-appropriate book in the mail each month until their 5th birthday.

 

Promotes literacy between parents and children by sending home weekly, rotating bags of high quality books to children enrolled in targeted child care centers and by offering onsite early literacy workshops, to enhance the shared reading skills of parents and teachers.

 

A research-based, free, text-messaging program for parents with young children, aged birth to five. Each week, parents receive age-appropriate facts, tips and easy to use suggestions to boost their child's learning by building on existing family routines.