The skills and abilities children develop in their earliest years lay the foundation for their future well-being. Likewise, early negative experiences can undermine them in later life. Parents play a central role in shaping their children's development, so helping them overcome their own sources of stress is a powerful way to improve how families…

State boards of education are routinely placed in the challenging position of reacting to emerging problems or responding to policy proposals generated by other actors in the policy arena. This policy briefing paper was written to help members of the North Carolina Board of Education identify educational policy issues they are likely to confront…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 16 indicators of well-being: (1) infant mortality rate; (2) infants born with low birth weight; (3) births to single teens; (4) children without insurance; (5) ninth graders who graduate; (6) high school dropout…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 20 key indicators of child well-being: (1) infant mortality; (2) low birth weight infants; (3) births to teens; (4) births to mothers with early prenatal care; (5) child deaths; (6) regulated child care enrollment;…

This report is the inaugural edition of a triennial profile of the condition of North Carolina's youngest population (age birth through 5 years), the target population for the state's "Smart Start" program. Part 1 of the report details the needs of young children in the state by means of state and county-by-county data. Part 2 presents…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 16 indicators of well-being: (1) infant mortality rate; (2) infants born with low birth weight; (3) births to single teens; (4) children without insurance; (5) high school dropout rate; (6) SAT scores; (7) high…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 22 selected key indicators representing background demographics, economic, educational, health, and social well-being: (1) children poverty rate; (2) TANF recipients; (3) children in families receiving food stamps;…

This report outlines the national and state environmental context for the SECCS Initiative in supporting MCH strategic planning in early childhood systems building. This strategic context has implications for roles, relationships, and activities within a planning process and ultimately an implementation process. It summarizes the opportunities and…

This Kids Count report examines county and statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children from the 1970s through the 1990s. The statistical portrait is based on 40 indicators of well-being in five categories: (1) demographics; (2) physical well-being, including infant mortality rate and percent low birth weight; (3) intellectual…