News

Throughout the Spring, three Smart Start of Mecklenburg County (SSMC) team members working within our MECK Pre-K program garnered recognition for their work extended work with mental health and systems building.

As a result of two years of training and supervised work with families, Child and Family Support Services Director, Brittany Smith, earned the NCIMHA Endorsement for Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health® as an Early Childhood Family Specialist. Smith developed expertise in understanding how early relationships, family experiences, culture, stress, and environmental factors influence children's emotional development and overall well-being. This endorsement reflects the ability to support families through a relationship-based approach that recognizes caregivers as essential partners in promoting children's emotional health, resilience, and development.

This expertise strengthens MECK Pre-K classrooms by supporting a deeper understanding of the connection between children's behaviors, emotions, relationships, and experiences. It helps teams identify when children may need additional social-emotional support, understand the impact of stress and adversity on development, and implement responsive strategies that promote safety, connection, and emotional regulation. This knowledge can also support families by providing guidance, strengthening caregiver-child relationships, connecting families to resources, and partnering with caregivers to address challenges that may impact a child's well-being. By bringing an infant and early childhood mental health lens into classrooms, we can better support the whole child and family while creating environments where children feel understood, supported, and able to thrive.

MECK Pre-K's Lead Success Coach, Africa Hakeem, was selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of Mental Health America of Central Carolinas' Mental Health Champion Honors. She was recognized as a 2026 Mental Health Champion in the Access Pillar --an acknowledgment of her leadership, her impact, and her commitment to advancing mental health in meaningful and lasting ways across our community.

MECK Pre-K's Curriculum and Teacher Support Director, Shakekia Moss, built a formative assessment system for MECK Pre-K, which allows them to gather data that guides planning throughout the school year, and it provided amazing outcomes.

Her system received recognition from the NC Depart of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Child Care Commission, and will appear on a list of approved assessments that centers across the state seeking a high-quality rating can access and implement.

SSMC is grateful for the extensive work and care our team members put into the mission that every child in Mecklenburg County turns five ready to thrive!