N.C. Doing a Bit Better by Its Children

North Carolina is moving up in the national ranking in child well-being.

Posted 5:41 p.m. Jul 25, 2007 — Updated 2:38 a.m. Jul 26, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina is moving up in the national ranking in child well-being.

According to a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore, Md., North Carolina is ranked 39th, moving up two spots from last year.

“It is encouraging that North Carolina is inching up in the rankings," said Barbara Bradley, President and CEO of Action for Children North Carolina. "But it is also crystal clear that more work remains to be done. More of our babies die before their first birthday than infants in almost any other state.

"Our child poverty rate is getting worse. As private employers have dropped health insurance, North Carolina has worsened in the percentage of children lacking health care coverage. Looking at some of our most vulnerable children, in 2004, almost 400 children left foster care with no permanent family to help them make the transition to adulthood,” Bradley said.

The report states that children in North Carolina are less likely to be removed from their homes than their peers in other states. It also states older children and African-American children are among the most likely to be removed from homes and spend the most time in out-of-home care.

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