RALEIGH (AP) — An annual report finds North Carolina isn’t seeing a big improvement on the overall wellbeing of its children compared to other states.
The report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Monday says North Carolina ranks 35th in child wellbeing and one in four children in the state live in poverty. Both are little changed from last year’s study.
The report used 2011 data and found one in three children lived in families where adults lacked full-time employment. The group says families could slip further because Republican legislators and GOP Gov. Pat McCrory cut unemployment benefits and set the state’s earned income tax credit to expire next year.
The report says since 2005 the percentage of children without health insurance fell, while fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores improved.