Action for Children North Carolina was founded in 1983 as the NC Child Advocacy Institute, to ensure that North Carolina’s children were healthy, safe, well-educated, and had every opportunity for success in life.
Action for Children used research, data analysis, advocacy, and education to influence a broad cross-section of people and policymakers across the state.
Action for Children played a prominent role in successful campaigns leading to the establishment of high-impact, legacy programs and initiatives. Those initiatives include the likes of Smart Start, created in 1993. Over the last 20 years, Smart Start’s efforts have nearly doubled the number of young children attending high-quality child care programs in our state.
The organization also campaigned for the establishment of the Child Fatality Task Force in 1991. The results are more than 20,000 children’s lives saved through policies ranging from safe infant surrender laws, to improved driver education.