National study ranks NC 33rd in child well-being
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Every parent wants the best for their child. A new study released Tuesday placed North Carolina in the bottom half of the United States for overall child well-being.
“We certainly would want all of our children to have everything that they possible could have,” Jane Morrow, Smart Start New Hanover County executive director, said.
From cradle to career, the experiences kids are exposed to between that time sets the stage for their life ahead.
“Just give your child the best start as possible,” mother Lakeasha Glaspie said.
Glaspie, like most parents, works to give her kids healthy lives physically and mentally.
A new report by the Kids Count Data Center shows North Carolina is ranked 33rd in child well being. The organization looked at health, education, economic well-being, and family and community.
“We’ve gone up in the amount of health insurance our children have,” Morrow said.
According to the report, North Carolina’s high rank in health insurance coverage is largely due to expansions in coverage created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medicaid, and NC Health Choice.
“The economic circumstances in which children grow and learn have a lifelong impact on their health, education, and future economic success,” said Laila A. Bell, director of research and data at NC Child. “North Carolina policymakers can and should do more to improve economic well-being for children and families. Increasing public investments in early childhood education, health care, and public schools will create opportunity for children, families and communities across the state.”
The state ranked 22nd in education, 31st in health, 36th in family and community and 37th in economic well-being.
“When parents have good jobs and economic security they can pass that on to their children and provide for those children better so certainly looking at jobs and poverty is an important thing when we think about the well-being of our children,” Morrow said.
The study identified three policies that could improve the well-being of children in North Carolina including an increase in health insurance access for low-income adults of reproductive age, invest in early childhood education program and in programs that reduce or mitigate the negative effects of poverty on child health and development.
“We all can do better when our children can flourish and our children can flourish when they have the kinds of resources they need,” Morrow said.
Leave a Reply