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Allocation of Funding
Partner Powered Conference
For over 27 years Smart Start of Mecklenburg
County has worked as a network of agencies across North
Carolina allocating funding for programs that positively
influence early childhood development and adult
opportunity. Today, Start of Mecklenburg County allocates
$33 million in state, county and private funds to 18 local
agencies providing 26 activities to families and children
ages birth to five. Our four-tiered strategy includes:
1
Positively impact policy, practice and investments
for all children birth to five and their families
2
Supportive home environment and communities
for children ages birth to five
3
Children are healthy and developmentally ready
for kindergarten
4
Children have access to high quality, nurturing
early learning environments
Program Support includes:
Innovation Grants
In the Spring of 2021, Smart Start of Mecklenburg
County launched the Partner Powered Conference to
engage, connect and inform funded service providers
during a day-long conference. The conference directly
reflects Smart Start of Mecklenburg County as a Partner
Powered Organization. Collaboration is the vehicle to
achieve the common goal: to support and empower the
families and young children served. Over the course of
the day, 62 partners from across Mecklenburg County
learned to identify best practice in implementation of
support for children ages birth to five. The Partner
Powered Conference will continue as an annual event to
provide ongoing essential skills and connect
organizations to improve cross-organizational
communication and better serve the community.
Family Supports
a. Nurse-Family Partnership
Safe Alliance
b. Safe Journey's Parents as
Teachers
c. The Basics Mecklenburg
d. YMCA - Parents as
Teachers Program
Health
a. Charlotte Speech &
Hearing
b. Child Care Health
Consultants
c. Guiding Parents
to Services
d. Healthy Futures Starting
in the Kitchen
e. Novant Health
Presbyterian Medical
Center Early Childhood
Intervention
f. Polliwog Project
Early Education
a. Charlotte Bilingual
Preschool
b. Charlotte Mecklenburg
NC Pre-K
c. Early Childhood Teacher
Education
d. Lakewood Preschool
Cooperative
e. MECK-Pre K
f. Quality Every Day
g. Resource and Referral
h. The Learning
Collaborative
i. Thompson Child
Development Center-
TANF/CCDF
Non-TANF/CCDF
j. WAGE$
Literacy
a. Dolly Parton’s
Imagination Library
b. Raising A Reader
Smart Start of Mecklenburg County is known for its
allocation of state, county and private funds to local
early childhood serving agencies. In order to increase
impact and innovation, in the Spring of 2021, Smart Start
of Mecklenburg County granted over $115,000 in one
time funding for innovative projects addressing gaps in
services for families and children ages birth to five.
The grants focused on rapid cycle, evidence-based or
evidence-informed projects that will lead to identification
of outcome disparities for vulnerable families and the
fall-out of pandemic response on preschool aged
children. Of the four announced grants, three are new
partnerships for Smart Start of Mecklenburg County. The
2021 grant recipients include: Atrium Health Foundation,
Bridging Healthcare and Community Settings for Infant
Health; Charlotte Bilingual Preschool, Reading Bridge;
Myers Park Pediatrics, At-risk Newborn Intervention; and
National Black Child Development Institute; Addressing
Exclusionary Practices in Early Childhood Education
Using a Systems Change Approach.

Taming the Octopus
In Mecklenburg County, an estimated 7,000 to 12,000
children under the age of 5 are at increased risk for a
chronic, physical, developmental, behavioral or
emotional condition that requires care or services
beyond that generally required by children. The
organizations and systems in place to meet those
needs are various, complex and sometimes expensive,
which unintentionally leaves caregivers and children
falling through the cracks. In the fall of 2020, the board
of Smart Start of Mecklenburg County commissioned a
study to outline the complex systems of care for
children with special health care needs (CSHCN). As a
result, “Taming the Octopus: An Overview of the
Systems of Care for Children Under Age 5 with Special
Health Care Needs in Mecklenburg County,” was published. The study identified
gaps in services, barriers to access and suggestions for ways in which Smart Start
of Mecklenburg County can improve the system of care for CSHCN.
Meet Abi & Demayne - From Taming the Octopus
Rachelle Lawrie is mom to two children with special needs: Demayne, 7, and Abi, 4. Abi likes to put together
Legos, ride her bike or drive her electric car, and watch “Little Baby Bum” nursery rhymes on her tablet. Demayne is
fascinated with trains and has an extensive collection of Thomas & Friends railroad cars. The train enthusiast is also a
budding ventriloquist.
Rachelle’s journey as a super-mom began immediately upon Demayne’s birth. From the moment he was born, she
suspected something was wrong.
“He was so blue, he was almost gray,” she recalled. “They told me they were going to take him to do some tests
and they would bring him back.” As the hours passed, however, Rachelle grew more and more concerned. “Finally, a
pediatrician came in and explained that he had a very severe heart murmur,” she said.
That wasn’t all. Some of his organs were in the wrong place, or absent altogether. “It was very chaotic. It was
traumatic. It was scary. And I didn’t feel like I was getting any information from the hospital. They just told me he had
to be taken away,” she said.
Eventually Demayne would be diagnosed with VACTERL association, a group of birth defects which tend to
co-occur. By his first birthday, he’d spent four months in the hospital and had endured five surgeries.
“The first year was the most uncertain,” Rachel said, adding that Demayne has had 10 surgeries in all, including
three open-heart surgeries.
“I’m extremely proud of him because he’s worked exceptionally hard to get where he is,” she said. “He’s a
remarkable little boy.” In fact, he’s always the top reader in his class and earns all A’s in math.
When Demayne was about to turn 3, Rachelle was introduced to her future fiancé, Naji Lee. Within a few months,
Naji and Rachelle decided to have a child together. Being pregnant again made Rachelle relive the trauma of
Demayne’s birth.
“With Abi, I wasn’t kept in the dark about anything. So everything went really well during her birth—even though I
was terrified,” Rachelle said.
Abi’s first year was “very smooth. She crawled on time, she walked on time. She only crawled for about two weeks
and then she figured out walking was way better.” By her 18-month pediatric appointment, however, Abi was still
nonverbal. The pediatrician referred her to a speech therapist, and over the next year Abi made progress.
But by age 2, Rachelle noticed Abi’s temper tantrums were much worse than the typically developing 2-year-old.
Rachelle talked with her pediatrician again and received a referral for an evaluation. It would take four-and-a-half
months to get an appointment with a child psychiatrist. The diagnosis was Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Abi’s psychiatrist referred her to a specialist in applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy. It would be another four
months before she could start therapy due to the long wait list. The wait was worth it, though, as Abi is now going to
ABA for 35 hours a week and has made so much progress she doesn’t need services through the school system.
Demayne is also thriving, especially taking into account all he’s been through in his short life.
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