The 23rd annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, indicates that while North Carolina has significant progress left to make in overall child well-being, the state’s investments of the last years in health and education for children have delivered results. The 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book offers a view of child well-being through an analysis of 16 indicators, grouped into four overall categories: Health, Economic Well-Being, Education, and Family and Community. The report shows that North Carolina ranks 34th of the 50 states in overall child well-being, with low rankings in Economic Well-Being (35) and Family and Community (36) and mid-range rankings in Health (26) and Education (25).
Changes in the data reporting for the book prevent comparison of the state’s various rankings to previous years, but a close look at the indicators do reveal changes over time and indicate some challenges and opportunities for coming years. The report reveals that the number of children without health insurance has declined 20 percent since the start of the recession. Children’s access to health insurance has been increased by Medicaid and NC Health Choice, the state’s children’s health insurance program. In education, North Carolina ranks 20th in the U.S. in two important indicators: fourth grade reading proficiency and eighth grade math proficiency. The investments North Carolina has made in these wellness areas have made measurable impact, but the report points out that their continued impact could be compromised by slipping indicators in other wellness areas. Economic well-being is the area of greatest concern for North Carolina’s children and reaches across all areas of wellness. The state trends in all four indicator areas have worsened over the last years. One in four children in North Carolina are living in poverty, and the number of children in high-poverty neighborhoods has doubled in the last decade, increasing from 76,000 in 2000 to 212,000 in the current data year. Visit the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s website to view an interactive infographic of state level data.