By Julie Ball, Asheville Citizen-Times
ASHEVILLE – Economic indicators around childhood poverty show North Carolina families are still feeling the effects of the economic downturn, according to a new report from Annie E. Casey Foundation.
The Kids Count Data Book ranked North Carolina 34th in the nation when it comes to overall child well-being. The state saw improvements in some health and education areas, but economic well-being for children lagged.
The report looks at 16 indicators including low-birth-weight babies, graduation rates and housing costs. Much of the data is from 2012 and the indicators cover health, education, economic well-being and family and community.
“When we look at the economic indicators, we’re seeing across the board North Carolina families are really struggling,” said Laila Bell, director of research and data for the advocacy group NC Child.
The state ranked 38th in economic well-being of children. According to the report, 21 percent of children lived in poverty in 2005. In 2012, the number was 26 percent. The percent of children “whose parents lacked secure employment” increased from 28 percent in 2008 to 33 percent in 2012.
The findings, Bell said, make policy decisions regarding investments that can reduce the effects of poverty “that much more important as a state because we know more of our children are being exposed to poverty.”
The economic indicators are not a surprise, said Greg Borom, director of advocacy for Children First/Communities In Schools of Buncombe County.
“While we see improvement in a few areas, those economic well-being numbers really could foreshadow a real problem for North Carolina if we don’t begin to invest in ways to address that,” he said.
There were some bright spots in the report.
The percentage of teens who abused alcohol or drugs was down from 8 percent in 2005-06 to 6 percent in 2011-12. The percentage of low-birth-weight babies also decreased from 9.2 percent in 2005 to 8.8 percent in 2012.
“For us, the takeaway is really the impact that investments can make in helping to improve outcomes for children,” Bell said. “For example, the improvement that we saw in the percent of children without health insurance is largely attributable to the investments we’ve made in things like Medicaid and NC Health Choice. …. So we’re seeing that those public policy decisions have very real and measurable consequences for children’s outcomes.”
The percentage of children without health insurance dropped from 10 percent in 2008 to 8 percent in 2012, according to the report.
The report allows the state to see “how well our children are doing relative to their peers across the country,” according to Bell.
“We can track how well our children are doing, our outcomes for kids, with the understanding that our children will ultimately grow up to become entrepreneurs, innovators, the workers and business leaders that will drive our state’s economy,” Bell said.
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