How We Coordinate for Change
The Shelby County Delegation of State Legislators met for a two-day retreat to hear from local governmental entities, businesses, and nonprofits about their requests for the upcoming session of the General Assembly. Our main takeaway was that the lack of alignment between all of these groups is a major hindrance to creating high quality of life and economic mobility for Memphians.
But this retreat also highlighted a massive opportunity. See the full update to learn more!
Memphis Again #1 in Child Poverty
The Memphis 2025 Poverty Fact Sheet shows that Memphis still has the highest poverty rate for children in the nation. More than four in 10 children in this city live below the federal poverty line—nearly double the nation rate. This is unacceptable. We must do better by our youth.
But how do we do that? Through long-term structural change, not short-term charity or isolated programs. We need more early investment for children 0-8 years old, better cradle-to-career pipelines, more economic stability for families, affordable housing, and public-private accountability.
Shutdown Impact Coming to Memphis
The federal government has been shut down for over one month and could become the longest shut-down in history if it continues through Wednesday, Nov. 5th. Memphis and Shelby County are being hit particularly hard as low-income households have not received expected November funds through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). SNAP helps 20 million low-income households across the United States purchase food.
Nearly 20% of Shelby County households will struggle to afford food until the shut-down ends or emergency funding is provided in the meantime. In this update, we discuss the impact of the government shutdown on federal employee pay, SNAP benefits, and healthcare premiums in Memphis and Shelby County.
Where are the Kids?
Recent reporting shows that an additional 3,400 students in the county received vouchers to attend private school this year, and a large portion of this year’s funds went to students from municipalities surrounding Memphis, like Germantown and Collierville.
Additionally, data from early October shows that chronic absenteeism is declining at Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Rates have dropped from 31.1% last year to 24.2%, which could potentially lead to better outcomes for students. However, at least one school board member has speculated that attendance may have fallen since the deployment of the Memphis Safe Task Force.
You can learn more about the effort to reduce chronic absenteeism in the full policy update.
All the Money in Shelby County
The Tennessee comptroller rejected Shelby County’s budget for the first time due to what he claimed were unmet requirements. This means Shelby County cannot access bonds or take on debt in fiscal year 2026, but major projects, like new schools and the Regional One rebuild, should stay on track.
In this update, we show you what public funding we have locally and where it comes from. We also highlight what Memphis and Shelby County officials can focus on in budgeting for the upcoming fiscal year to support children and families.