Publications

The Harmful Effects of Lead on Children’s Health

March 2019

Ensuring children’s healthy growth and development should be a priority for all North Carolinians. Ending childhood lead exposure is one way to protect their long-term health. In North Carolina, public health officials have been working for more than 30 years to eliminate childhood lead poisoning – and have come very close to doing so. Child blood lead levels have dropped dramatically population-wide.

Unfortunately, some pockets of high exposure still remain – often in lower-income neighborhoods where older housing and buildings mean that old lead paint and lead pipes are still in use. Timely interventions that protect kids from exposure can help us eliminate childhood lead poisoning once and for all.

2019 Legislative Agenda

February 2019

2019 Legislative Agenda

The Statewide Implications of Undercounting Latino Children

February 2019

A new report from NC Child and NALEO Educational Fund, “The Statewide Implications of Undercounting Latino Children,” explores one of the major factors that could thwart a complete and accurate count of North Carolina residents and the distribution of critical funding for the state.

Child Health Report Card 2019

February 2019

North Carolina’s latest child health report card gives the state high marks for children’s health coverage, but also points out some troubling trends. The rate of youth suicide in the state has nearly doubled over the previous decade. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10-17 in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Child Health Report Card, issued annually by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and NC Child, tracks key indicators of child health and well-being in four areas: Healthy Births, Access to Care, Secure Homes and Neighborhoods, and Health Risk Factors. The report provides data on such health concerns and risk factors as asthma, teen births, infant mortality, poverty, and child deaths.

Child Poverty in North Carolina: Investing in What Works

January 2019

Nearly 1 million children in North Carolina live in poor or low-income homes.1 The state is ranked among the lowest in the nation for the ability of a child from the bottom 20% of the income bracket to reach the top 20% in adulthood.2 Family financial security is one of the strongest determinants of children’s success in life. Fortunately, there is a great deal of evidence about policies and practices that can move families from poverty to economic opportunity. Promoting what works to break the cycle of family poverty is critical to expanding opportunity for every child in North Carolina.

Child Poverty in North Carolina: Barriers to Economic Mobility

January 2019

Parents work hard so that their children’s futures will offer more opportunity than their own did. Those efforts are increasingly futile in North Carolina, where children born into poverty are more likely than children in other states to remain in poverty as adults. Promoting family economic mobility is critical to ensuring opportunity for every child in North Carolina.

Child Poverty in North Carolina: The Scope of the Problem

January 2019

Children living in financially secure families are more likely to succeed in school, stay healthy, and to become economically self- sufficient as adults. Unfortunately, nearly half of North Carolina’s children (43%) live in poor or low-income homes. Growing up in poverty increases the likelihood that a child will be exposed to factors that can harm brain development, making success in school and life harder to achieve. Promoting financial health is critical to making sure every child in North Carolina has the opportunity to succeed.

2017 NC Child Annual Impact Report

July 2018

Download our 2017 Impact Report to celebrate the big policy wins we achieved for kids in North Carolina. Thanks for being a voice for children!

2018 Legislative Session Recap

July 2018

The 2018 session might have been short, but it was highly consequential for children—both in terms of what happened and what didn’t happen. Legislators missed big opportunities on early education funding and school safety, stopped short of making some harmful decisions on health care, and approved six constitutional amendments that will be on the ballot this fall, including one to cap the state income tax rate. Below is a summary of the most important decisions for kids from the 2018 legislative session.