By Crystal Garrett, Sun Journal Staff
A new report card for North Carolina has been issued and some of its grades are extremely troublesome.
The N.C. Institute of Medicine along with NC Child recently issued its 2014 Child Health Report Card. While some of the grades show the state is moving in the right direction, others are disturbing.
“By many measures, North Carolina’s 2.2 million children are safer and healthier than they were a generation ago …” the report states.
But the obstacles children have to face — especially considering that one in four under the age of 18 lives at or below the poverty level — are sobering.
The state earned a D because of the number of impoverished children. The poverty rate increases from 25 to 28 percent for children under the age of 8. The grades reflect the 2013 rate, which was defined by the federal government as $23,550 for a family of four.
While Craven County’s children fell in line with the state’s average, those in Jones and Pamlico counties didn’t fare as well.
In Jones County, one in three children lives at or below the poverty level. Pamlico’s rate was close to Jones with 31.8 percent in poverty. Those numbers put Jones as the 24th highest in the state and Pamlico at No. 34.
Northeastern Camden County had the lowest rate at 14.5 percent, while Northhampton County along the Virginia border was given the distinction as the highest, with nearly half of its children living in poverty, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The effects of economic hardship on children are profound and long-lasting.
“Low family income can impede children’s cognitive development and their ability to learn. It can contribute to behavioral, social and emotional problems,” according to a report by the National Center for Poverty. “And it can cause and exacerbate poor child health as well.”
And it’s not just the amount of income that influences child well-being: It’s the instability and unpredictability of low-wage work that can lead to fluctuating family incomes, the report states.
The correlation was made between childhood poverty and later success in life. Early childhood poverty has been associated with dropping out of school, poor adolescent and adult health, and poor employment outcomes, as reported by the National Center for Poverty.
Other grades
Along with receiving a D for child poverty, the state also was given the same for childhood obesity, tobacco use, mental health, alcohol and substance abuse and school health.
At least one of three children ages 10 to 17 ranked as overweight or obese. In addition, only 13.7 percent in the same age group met the recommended guidelines of less than two hours of screen time every day.
As for mental health issues, 10 percent of the state’s middle school students have attempted suicide.
One in three high school youth admitted to drinking alcohol within the last 30 days of the survey, and 23 percent had smoked marijuana in the same amount of time, according to the report.
School health received a D because of its ratio of having one nurse assigned to more than 1,000 students.
The good news
More children in the state have access to health insurance. In 2013, the percentage of uninsured children declined to 6.2 percent.
Dental and environmental health both received A’s, as the percentage of children with untreated tooth decay declined as did the number of hospital visits.
Teen pregnancies continued to decrease as did child fatalities.
While achievements throughout the state were outlined in the report card, such as health insurance coverage reaching a historic high, there are still major areas of improvement needed.
“Tackling the next generation of child health and safety challenges will require both a continued commitment to investing in safe, stable families and communities, as well as new strategies to address emerging threats to children’s health and well-being,” the report states.
The purpose of the report card is to influence those who evaluate policies and practices to improve child health.
Contact Crystal Garrett at 635-5671 or crystal.garrett@newbernsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @CGarrettNBSJ.
2014 Child Health Report Card
Grade – Health Indicator
■ B – Insurance coverage
■ D – School health
■ B – Breastfeeding
■ C – Immunization rates
■ A – Environmental health
■ A – Dental health
■ B – High school graduation
■ B – Teen pregnancy
■ D – Child poverty
■ D – Weight and physical activity
■ D – Tobacco use
■ D – Mental health, alcohol and substance abuse
■ B – Birth outcomes
■ C – Maternal risk factors
■ B – Child fatality
■ C – Child abuse and neglect
Source:
Study has troubling findings about state of child health in N.C.