Press Release ~ North Carolina Ranks 38th in Child Well-Being​: Full Impacts of Recession Still to Come

Press Release ~ North Carolina Ranks 38th in Child Well-Being​: Full Impacts of Recession Still to Come

MEDIA RELEASE

August 17, 2011

For immediate release

CONTACT:

Laila Bell
Director of Research & Data
Action for Children North Carolina
Office: 919-834-6623 x225
Email: laila@ncchild.org


Latest Kids Count Data Book Ranks North Carolina 38th in Child Well-Being
Picture of the Recession's Impact on N.C. Children Still Evolving

(Raleigh, N.C.) -- North Carolina ranks 38th in key indicators of child health and well-being, according to data released by the Annie E Casey Foundation in its 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book. The state fell from 37th in 2010.

The 2011 Data Book paints a picture of mixed progress for North Carolina children. In a state that consistently receives high marks as business-friendly, more children and families now face greater risk of economic insecurity as a result the recession. Indicators of well-being, which typically lag behind economic indicators, have yet to capture the full impact of the recession, and may not do so for a number of years.

Teen birth rate declines.

The number of births to teens ages 15 to 19 declined 17 percent since 2000. In 2008, there were 49 births per 1,000 teens in North Carolina.

Share of teens not in school and not high school graduates improves.

Just five years ago, North Carolina ranked 37th in the nation for the number of teens ages 16 to 19 who are not in school and not high school graduates, today that rank has improved to 29th. The share of teens not in school and not high school graduates has declined by more than half-from 16 to 7 percent-between 2000 and 2009.

Rate of low birthweight births continues to stall.

The percent of newborns weighing less than 2,500 grams (about 5.5 pounds) has been largely unchanged for much of the past decade. In 2008, low birthweight infants accounted for 9.1 percent of North Carolina births.

Child poverty reaches highest level in a decade.
The number of children living in families earning less than the federal poverty line, $22,050 for a family of four in 2009, grew 21 percent since 2000 to 505,000 in 2009.

"While important gains have been made for North Carolina's children, clear challenges still exist," said Laila Bell, Director of Research and Data at Action for Children North Carolina, home of the North Carolina KIDS COUNT project. "In 2009, half a million children in North Carolina lived in poverty-a particularly sobering statistic since we know that poverty affects children's academic, health and future labor market outcomes."

According to data in the 22nd annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, the economic and social gains for children that occurred across the 1990s stalled, even before the economic downturn began. This year's Data Book reports an eighteen percent increase in the U.S. child poverty rate between 2000 and 2009. This increase means that 2.5 million more American children are living below the federal poverty line ($21,756 for a family of two adults and two children), effectively wiping out the gains made on this important measure in the late 1990's.

In an ongoing effort to track the impact of the recession, there are two new indicators in this year's data set -- the number of children impacted by foreclosure and households with at least one unemployed parent. In North Carolina 90,000, or two percent, of the state's children were impacted by foreclosure since 2007. In 2010, an estimated 253,000, or 12 percent, of children in this state lived in households where there was at least one parent who was eligible for and or seeking employment, but was unemployed at the time the data were collected.

"Foreclosure and parental unemployment threaten the well-being of our children," said Bell. "Evidence shows that stable, economically secure homes are critical components of child development, and are essential to children's life success."

Community-Level Data Available

In addition to the 10 key measures tracked in the Data Book, the KIDS COUNT Data Center

(http://datacenter.kidscount.org) provides easy, online access to the latest child well-being data on hundreds of indicators by state, county, city, and school district. It serves as a comprehensive source of information for policymakers, advocates, members of the media, and others concerned with addressing the needs of North Carolina children, families, and communities.

Visit the Data Center to download the complete Data Book, and create interactive maps and graphs, or view from your smartphone, such as the Droid, BlackBerry, or iPhone using the new mobile site launched in conjunction with this year's Data Book.

Action for Children North Carolina is a leading statewide, nonpartisan, nonprofit policy research and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that North Carolina children are healthy, safe, well-educated and have every opportunity for success. Action for Children is home to the North Carolina KIDS COUNT project and the state affiliate for the Voices for America's Children network. Visit http://www.ncchild.org for more information.



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THANKS FOR MAKING IT EASY byJudi Marie on Wednesday, July 20, 2011

THANKS FOR TELLING ME HOW HORRIBLE I AM
THANKS FOR LOOKING AT ME AS IF I DISGUST YOU
THANKS FOR ALL THE NIGHTS I CRIED THINKING
I WASN'T THE BEST
THANKS FOR THE NIGHTS YOU STOLE MY REST
AND KEPT ME UP
MY MIND RACING
THE PEOPLE IN MY HEAD PACING THE FLOOR OF MY HEART
THANKS FOR THROWING DARTS
AND USING ME FOR THE TARGET
THANKS FOR THE SCARS
I ALWAYS THOUGHT THIS WOULD BE SO DAMN HARD
BUT THANK YOU
THANKS FOR MAKING ME FEEL SMALLER
THAN A THOUGHT
YOU WISHED NEVER CROSSED YOUR MIND
THANKS FOR HELPING ME WASTE MY TIME
DISLIKING MYSELF
HIDING MYSELF ON YOUR GLASS SHELF
BEHIND WHAT YOU WANTED
FOR ME
THANKS FOR HELPING ME SEE
WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO SEE
THROUGH A TWISTED WINDOW
THANKS FOR MAKING ME BELIEVE
I WAS A SHADOW
THANKS YOU JUST DON'T KNOW
HOW MUCH I APPRECIATE THE LIES YOU TOLD ME
OR THE WAY YOU WOULD HOLD ME
AGAINST MY WILL
THANKS FOR ALMOST LETTING ME
KILL MY DREAMS
FOR YOURS
YEAH THANKS FOR KEEPING SCORE
OF MY MISTAKES
THANKS FOR TELLING ME I DIDN'T HAVE
WHAT IT'D TAKE TO PLEASE YOU
THANKS FOR HATING ME
DEGRADING ME
THANKS FOR ALMOST
MAKING ME BELIEVE
I WAS NEEDY
BECAUSE YOU JUST DON'T KNOW
NO, YOU NEVER WILL,
THANKS FOR TELLING ME YOU'D
LEAVE ME,
BECAUSE IN THE END
YOU JUST MADE ME LEAVING YOU
EASY.



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Open Your Eyes and Listen is a tribute and jouney of multiple voices

Open Your Eyes and Listen is a tribute and jouney of multiple voices The section Family highlights some of the joys and sorrows of my life as a Harrell man and the power love, patience and determination to push forward knowing life is filled with more beauty than ugliness. For the example the poem The Outer Limits pays tribute our family andthe African-American family and the poem Black Queen honors African-American women I've known and the spirit they manifest in a country and society than often under values thier worth.


The section Spirituality delves into issues of faith that we sometimes struggle with by means of the poem Live In Fear...Die In Silence and the love GOD has for us all is highlighted in the poem You Cared About Me as a collaboration with Tangil Smith.

Finally the last section Social Issues closes out with the title poem Open Your Eyes and Listen written about socially disturbing events that I observed in downtown Greensboro but happens in small towns and cities around the world, problems truly that deserving of our concern as human being.

Also in this the Purple edition is meditative page.

This is truly a book that speaks in multiple many of whom are tagged below either because I've been in one of their workshops, converse with and grown in wisdom because of our conversations or I been honored by their friendship.

Alfred Harrell, Author Open Your Eyes and Listen Copyright 2009