Helping All North Carolina Children Thrive

As the executive director of NC Child, Erica Palmer Smith focuses on the organization’s aspirations for children across North Carolina. “We are working toward a vision of a North Carolina where every child has the opportunity to reach their full potential. We can help all three million of them by focusing on creating a state where they all have the opportunity to thrive,” she says.

With support from The Duke Endowment, NC Child was created in 2014 as a non-partisan organization focused on advancing public policies that reduce barriers to opportunities and address key issues facing the state’s children, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or place of birth.

Sobering facts from a range of key indicators highlight tough challenges today and in the years ahead for many of the state’s three million children, especially non-white and poor youngsters. Data released in the 2023 Child Health Report Card from the North Carolina Institute of Medicine showed:

• Over 40 percent of third grade children in NC are not reading at grade level.
• Among children ages 10-14, suicide is the leading cause of death.
• Over 15 percent of children across the state go hungry on a regular basis.

Undaunted by stark statistics, NC Child works with experts, grassroots community groups and leaders, legislative partners and supporters like The Duke Endowment to develop and advocate for public policy solutions that can change trends and childrens’ lives for the better.

One example of NC Child’s effective approach is N.C. House Bill 272, passed in 2021. This bill updated lead exposure standards and created critical new safeguards to protect children and pregnant women from lead exposure, which damages brain tissue and hinders healthy development, even in small amounts.

Efforts to reduce lead exposure from old plumbing pipes, household paint, and other common sources had been ongoing for two decades, with positive progress made to reduce exposure for many children and pregnant women. But in many low-income areas, where homes and facilities may be older, exposure to lead remained a stubborn hazard.

“There is no safe level of exposure to lead for children without very negative developmental and health impacts for children. Yet, the N.C. state statute defining exposure to lead for children had not been updated in twenty years,” says Tiffany Gladney, senior director of policy & government relations.

With the support of local community leaders, resources from The Duke Endowment, and expertise from key partners including the Duke University Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, NC Child shared data, convened stakeholders, and worked with state legislators to enact updated standards for lead exposure with bipartisan support in 2021. “It took awhile, but we got there,” Gladney concludes.

“We focus our efforts where we see the greatest needs in the state,” says Smith. This focus is driven by careful review and assessment of available data. NC Child is now focused on improving the mental health and well-being of children across the state.

“Between 2016 and 2020, the number of kids suffering from anxiety or depression in North Carolina increased by about 50 percent, more than double the increase at the national level. Even more alarming, rates of suicide among school-age children have skyrocketed,” says Neil Harrington, research director.

NC Child and The Duke Endowment have again partnered to respond.

“The three-year NC Child mental health mapping project will identify what is working in schools to help meet students’ mental health needs, and where schools and school districts need more support,” shares Harrington.

The optimism projected by NC Child leaders is palpable, even in the midst of discussing weighty obstacles to the futures of children today and in the future. “The sky is the limit,” says Gladney, “we’re excited to see what we can do next.”

Learn more about NC Child.