News
February is Family Support Awareness Month
February is Family Support Awareness Month. This time of year highlights the critical work done by specific Smart Start-funded programs, home visiting and parenting education (HVPE). Early childhood home visiting and parenting education programs strengthen the...
Smart Start of Mecklenburg County Awards New Innovation Grants
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, Smart Start of Mecklenburg County granted over $313,000 in one-time funding for...
Join Us For Our Annual Bidders’ Workshop
Smart Start is accepting program applications for the FY22-23 funding cycle. You are invited to attend our upcoming workshop to learn more! About this event Smart Start of Mecklenburg County (SSMC) helps children turn five ready to thrive. SSMC is an innovator,...
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Celebrates 5 Years in Charlotte
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is available to children in over 2,000 communities across the world, including Mecklenburg County.Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become an internationally recognized early childhood book-gifting...
Your End-Of-Year Gift Can Help Children Turn Five Ready to Thrive
Greetings from Smart Start of Mecklenburg County! I know we all entered 2021, hoping that this year would be much different from 2020. Unfortunately, the change hasn’t been as fast or drastic as expected. From our organization’s perspective, we’ve continued to see a...
Smart Start Annual Bidders’ Conference | FY22-23
Smart Start is accepting program applications for the FY22-23 funding cycle. You are invited to attend our upcoming workshop to learn more! When Wednesday, January 19, 2022 9:00am – 11:00am Where: Children & Family Services Center 601 E. 5th Street Charlotte, NC...
Meck Pre-K Removes Income Eligibility for Free Program
By Estephany Escobar | Charlotte Published 4:18 PM ET DEC. 09, 2021More children in Mecklenburg County will be eligible to enroll in free pre-kindergarten next school year. In the past, children in the program had to come from families with a household income at or...
#GivingTuesday 2021
Dear Community Members, Today we would like to invite you to join us in celebrating Giving Tuesday. This particular day provides an opportunity for our community to unite through the power of generosity. On behalf of the Smart Start of Mecklenburg County team, we are...
The FY21Child Care WAGE$® Report in Mecklenburg County Has Been Published!
The numbers are in! We are proud to announce that a total of 684 Mecklenburg County child care professionals received bi-annual bonuses through the Child Care WAGE$® Program in FY21. These participants worked in 243 different child care programs serving approximately...
Smart Start of Mecklenburg Partners with Center for Child & Family Health
We are proud to announce our partnership with the Center for Child & Family Health (CCFH) to bring a special training opportunity in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to Mecklenburg County clinicians. We are seeking twelve licensed, Mecklenburg mental health...
The Junior League of Charlotte & Smart Start of Mecklenburg County Partner to Provide Local Families with Diapers
We are proud to announce our partnership with the Junior League of Charlotte (JLC) for this year’s Done in a Day (DIAD) project. The JLC’s signature DIAD project partners with local nonprofits to help execute community initiatives that have a significant impact in...
Stabilization Grant Applications for Child Care Programs are Now Open!
We are excited to share that the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) has announced that the application for child care stabilization grants is now open! All licensed child care programs, including private for- or not-for-profit community-based...
Join Us in Celebration | International Day of Charity
We invite you to join us in the observation of the International Day of Charity on September 5. This special day is dedicated to recognizing the positive impact that organizations have on local communities, and Smart Start of Mecklenburg County is proud to take part....
Jake House, CEO, Discusses Innovations for Children with Special Health Care Needs | Spectrum News
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. A myriad of...
Prevent and Protect Against COVID-19: The Latest Child Care Related News
Scientific research shows that preventative measures such as hand washing and wearing cloth coverings over the nose and mouth are effective ways to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities by lowering the risk of exposure to COVID-19. That’s why on...
Grant Impact Stories | Innovations in Early Childhood
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...
Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
Turn Five Ready to Thrive
Smart Start of Mecklenburg County
(704) 377-6588
601 E. 5th Street, Suite 500
Charlotte, NC 28202