During its second year of service, NEXT Memphis partnered with 22 childcare centers and 15 family childcare centers. Through its intensive educational support and full family wraparound services, NEXT Memphis served over 1,592 children and over 1,392
families. NEXT Memphis staff also saved childcare partners time and money through business, finance, and maintenance support. With NEXT Memphis partners reporting a range of cost savings from $45,000 to $108,000 over the past year.
In addition to providing cost-saving back office support and professional development for partners the initiative provides NEXT Memphis partner families with wraparound support. This support pairs each family with a family liaison and connection to NEXT Memphis Care Coordination for families experiencing economic barriers to self-sufficiency like homelessness, unemployment, transportation, lack of food, financial insecurity, or domestic violence. Care Coordinators are experienced social workers that partner with parents or caregivers to establish short and long-term goals towards family stability and success. The Coordinators support the achievement of families’ goals through coordinated referrals and connection to community resources.
One example of care coordination is Berneshia, a single parent of three young children. Berneshia became homeless after chronic domestic violence incidents. Upon leaving the unsafe environment with her children, she moved into a shelter until she was able to access housing. Since being with Care Coordination, Berneshia has obtained stable, subsidized transitional housing for her family. With help from her Coordinator, Berneshia enrolled in the EXCEL center and completed her high school diploma and her certified nursing assistant diploma. She just began on the job training in healthcare and is more confident about the safety and security of her family.
For more information about NEXT Memphis, contact Alicia Norman, NEXT Memphis Director at anorman@porterleath.org or visit nextmemphis.org.