SMRYNA, Tenn. (WTVF) — A partnership between the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center and Little Blossoms is providing hands-on job training in childcare for adults with disabilities.
The program, launched by Allied Behavioral Health Solutions, blends childcare with trauma-informed support for children and families while giving adults with disabilities a sense of belonging and professional experience.
In the middle of a bright classroom at Little Blossoms Early Learning & Development Center, 21-year-old Lucia Yeager is right where she wants to be — surrounded by children, helping them learn and grow.
“I want to work in a childcare center,” she said with a smile. It’s a dream shaped by her own childhood in an orphanage, where she bonded with kids of all ages.
Yeager lives with a disability that affects her speech and her hands, but it hasn’t slowed her drive to work with children.
That opportunity exists because of a unique partnership between Little Blossoms and the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center in Smyrna — a collaboration that blends job training for adults with disabilities with quality care for children.
“My job is focusing on training individuals to work in childcare, whether that’s in birth through five age, preschool, or an elementary school as an assistant teacher,” TRC instructor Jacob Kirby said. “Some of the students are judged before they even get started … but then they get in here, and there’s never any difficulty.”
Launched by Allied Behavioral Health Solutions, Little Blossoms offers traditional childcare alongside trauma-informed support for children and families. CEO Allison Peak says the center was built with a higher purpose.
“We really worked to build Little Blossoms as a program, as a service to the state, as a service to the community,” Peak said. “One of the things that’s great about our partnership with Tennessee Rehab is that it allows us to extend that community out into the community.”
Inside the classrooms, the lessons run deeper than ABCs and 123s.
“All children need a place that is filled with people who love them, in a place that makes them feel safe,” Education Director Melanie Anderson said. “It’s a lesson they can teach at home — about acceptance, about kindness, about relationships.”
Assistant Director Latoya Freeman said those lessons apply to everyone.
“Nobody wants to be left on the sidelines,” Freeman said. “Everybody wants to be able to share their abilities, to share their life and show others that they’re capable.”
For Yeager, the experience has been transformative. She’s set to graduate from TRC in May and already has applications to work in childcare. Little Blossoms has offered her a position if she wants it.
“It has been a wonderful experience,” she said.
Little Blossoms Early Learning & Development Center is currently enrolling students ages 2 and up.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Kelsey Gibbs and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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