National Assessment Center Association
Three days in Memphis on what it takes to build, sustain, and scale youth assessment centers.
Overview
Memphis and Shelby County have spent years building the Youth and Family Resource Center and Youth Connect into a genuine alternative to justice system involvement. The 2026 Symposium opens that work up — the political will, the funding structure, the interagency relationships — and then turns to the practical question every attendee brings: what does this look like where I work?
Day 1 builds the foundation around the Shelby County model. Day 2 moves to shared power and scaling — partnership, policy, and sustaining the work. Breakouts run across three tracks so you can follow one pathway or move between them.
Venue
Everything on the program happens in the hotel, apart from the Arrival Day museum tour and reception and the Day 1 site tour. Room names appear on every session below.
Thematic Tracks
Every breakout block offers concurrent sessions across the three tracks. Follow a single track for a curated, conflict-free pathway aligned to your role, or mix and match by block.
Speakers
Practitioners, researchers, court and law enforcement leaders, funders, and young people with lived experience of the system.
Explore Memphis
The Westin sits at Beale and 2nd, across from FedExForum — which means the blues clubs, the barbecue, the riverfront, and the National Civil Rights Museum are all on foot. Lunch is on your own on Day 2, so this is a shortlist of what is genuinely close, and what is worth an evening.
Memphis Tourism offers a savings pass with discounts at participating restaurants and attractions, including Graceland and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Check the page for the current list of offers and how to claim them before you travel.
Admission prices are approximate and were checked in August 2026 — confirm before making a special trip. Note the closed days: the National Civil Rights Museum closes Tuesdays, Stax closes Mondays, and the Blues Hall of Fame closes Sunday and Monday.
Lunch is provided on Day 1. On Day 2 you are on your own from 11:30 AM–1:00 PM, so anything marked Quick lunch will get you back in time. A few places are dinner-only or closed early in the week — those are flagged.
Sponsors & Partners
The 2026 Symposium is co-hosted with the Shelby County Youth & Family Resource Center and supported by partners across Shelby County and the city of Memphis — local government, tourism, and youth services. Their support keeps registration affordable for the practitioners who need to be in the room.
Sponsorship puts your organization in front of assessment center leaders, court and law enforcement partners, funders, and youth advocates from across the country — and directly underwrites attendance for the practitioners doing this work.