The Arc of the Mid-South
Empowering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to achieve their full potential
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Family Support Services
Our trained providers help people in their homes with bathing, dressing, feeding and other activities of daily living. Our adult learning center provides supervised care and activities during the day. These include life skills training, arts and crafts, music, recreation, therapy, and community outings. We provide respite care – a service that helps a family take a break from the daily routine and stress of care-giving. It can be provided in the home or in out-of-home settings. The primary objective of respite care is for families to avoid the need to institutionalize their loved one. Mini-camps are available on weekends for children and adults capable of participating in group activities. Our residential summer camp serves individuals with intellectual or development disabilities or delays and their siblings. We also work with seniors 65 years and older in Shelby, Fayette, Tipton, and Lauderdale counties. Our services are an alternative to nursing home placement; we help seniors live independently for as long as possible
Career Development and Job Placement
Our Career Development and Job Placement department enables many people with disabilities to become productive members of the workforce. Resume writing, job searching, and interviewing techniques are taught in a weekly Job Readiness class. After a suitable placement is found, a job coach helps each client to understand what exactly is expected of him/her. The job coach also ensures that any necessary modifications are in place and that each employee has what he or she needs to succeed in the job. In addition, GED test preparation and life skills classes are offered. We provide literacy education for adult students as a foundation for lifelong learning.
Advocacy
The Arc Mid-South advocates for the rights of all people with all disabilities, including developmental and intellectual disabilities. We offer assistance through information and referral, parent meetings, community education, and early childhood developmental screenings. We work with other service agencies, public schools, colleges, and libraries to offer resources to our clients. We assist parents with understanding laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We support families as they secure special education services for their children and resolve disputes with local schools.We host workshops and training events to help individuals with disabilities and their families maneuver through the vast array of programs and services needed for proper care giving and fulfilled living. These include financial-planning seminars, job-readiness workshops for high school students, advocacy training, and our annual disability-awareness summit.We increase understanding of the needs and potentials of persons with disabilities through our newsletter, seminars, training sessions, workshops, public presentations, and support groups for parents and caregivers.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
The ARC of Tennessee 1952
The ARC of the United States 1953
External reviews
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Arc Mid-South wants to increase literacy levels among individuals w/intellectual and developmental disabilities, which would ideally decrease the number of Shelby County families living in poverty and reduce dependence on government welfare dollars. Increased literacy leading to employment would give people w/disabilities a better quality of life, make them more independent and help them to see themselves as more "similar to" rather than "different from" their peers without disabilities.We also want to provide more family support services to elderly people and individuals w/the most severe disabilities, and increase public awareness to promote a better understanding of the needs and potentials of individuals w/disabilities. To do all of this, The Arc Mid-South obviously wants to increase its revenue as well!Another goal is to connect more families with the services/resources needed so that any potential neglect or abuse can be prevented. As our Community Advocate assists families with their children's individualized education plans and issues pertaining to school suspensions, we hope to see a decrease in the number of suspensions among special-needs students.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We will continue to develop relationships w/Aging Commission officials and those of other government entities who can refer us to provide in-home services for elderly people. Increased publicity, perhaps in such publications as Best Times, will aid expansion of those services as would implementation of private-pay mechanisms for more affluent clients.Increased corporate engagement would be expect to result in increased giving.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Arc Mid-South's 125 trained, dedicated employees are its most integral resource. Our part-time marketing coordinator generates publicity whenever possible so that the general public as well as potential donors are (hopefully) aware of The Arc Mid-South and its services. External strengths include collaboration with such organizations as Literacy Mid-South, which refers potential clients; and Shelby County Schools, with whom we hold a Job Readiness workshop each March for high school juniors and seniors with special needs.Regarding our Career Development/Job Placement Dept. physical facilities: The Arc Mid-South's Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES) Lab is an 856-square-foot carpeted space that contains individual computer desks and two large conference-type tables w/chairs. It also is used for our Life Skills Program. We use 10 computers that still use Windows XP, which Microsoft no longer supports.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Accomplishments; We are offering affordable respite care and summer camp, which gives families a break from the daily routine and stress of care giving while helping increase their loved ones' social skills. More of our LETS students are showing increases in their reading and math grade levels, which helps them get closer to receiving a GED and/or finding employment. And families of those with disabilities tell us they feel supported by being connected to the appropriate resources and having a Community Advocate who will accompany them to school meetings.There is more to do: The Arc Mid-South is not serving the number of people who need its support services, partly because we are not able to provide adequate salaries to Direct Support Professionals, (Most earn $8 or $9 per hour.) There also is a waiting list of families who need/want our services, but are waiting for a state waiver to pay for them.
Financials
Unlock nonprofit financial insights that will help you make more informed decisions. Try our monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights?
Learn more
about GuideStar Pro.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The Arc of the Mid-South
Board of directorsas of 01/03/2020
Ms. Connie Booker
Owner, LegalShield
Term: 2018 - 2021
Merle Smith
Retired, BellSouth
Corey Young
Nationwide Insurance - Tax Professional
Connie Booker
Retired, Kraft Inc.
Andrea Goodman
The Hershey Company
Shirley Cobbins
Universal Commercial Real Estate
Kathleen Gomes
Shelby County Probate Court
Terrence Green
Brown Missionary Baptist Church
Florence Howard
SSCOMM, Inc. - Event Planning, Public Relations
Diane Anderson
Christian Counseling Center
Sharon Webb
senior pastor of the Life Changing Word Ministries
Claudia Espinoza de Posada
Community volunteer
Bennie Cobb
Community Volunteer