More than 1.5 million North Carolinians today live in poverty. More than one in five are children. Behind these sobering statistics are the faces of our fellow citizens. This book tells their stories. Since 2012, Gene R. Nichol has traveled the length of North Carolina, conducting hundreds of interviews with poor people and those working to alleviate the worst of their circumstances. In an afterword to this new edition, Nichol draws on fresh data and interviews with those whose voices challenge all of us to see what is too often invisible, to look past partisan divides and preconceived notions, and to seek change. Only with a full commitment as a society, Nichol argues, will we succeed in truly ending poverty, which he calls our greatest challenge.

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 well-being, including dropout rate and children in subsidized child care; (4) social well-being, including divorce rate and teen birth rate; and (5) economic well-being, including median family income and child poverty rate. Multiple comparisons are provided to allow examination of state and county data from several perspectives. The state-level mean, median, highest, and lowest numbers are also provided for each indicator for the latest year available. Following a section on using this data guide, the bulk of the report is comprised of data tables for each county, delineating indicator information for the 1970s, 1980s, 1990, and the latest available. Additional county data are provided for seven indicators for which trend information is not available. State- and national-level trend information is provided in tabular and graphic format. State-level findings indicate that infant mortality has decreased by 68 percent over the last 25 years. Teen suicide has increased 150 percent over the last 25 years. There have been substantial increases in the child abuse and neglect rate and foster care placement. The percent of children in poverty is currently 20 percent. The report concludes with data definitions and sources as well as a county index. (KB)

Economic, social, and health indicators show that as many as one-quarter of rural children face problems usually attributed only to inner cities. Rural children are poorer than other American children and are less likely to have access to health insurance, health services, child care, government aid, or adequate housing. This book provides abundant statistical data (in text and tables) on various aspects of poverty in rural America as it affects children. It contains the following chapters: (1) Rural Children and Families: Who They Are; (2) The Rural Economic Landscape; (3) Child Poverty in Rural America; (4) Public Cash and Food Assistance for the Rural Poor; (5) the Health of Rural Children; (6) Rural Child Care and Early Childhood Education; (7) Rural Education; and (8) Rural Housing. Each chapter highlights problems faced in rural areas and makes frequent comparisons with urban data. The chapter on education discusses higher costs and limited curricula of rural schools, teacher experience and turnover, achievement scores, dropouts, youth outmigration, educational attainment, and college enrollment. Most chapters contain specific suggestions for national, state, and local governments and private entities to improve the plight of rural children. Sidebars highlight successful programs benefitting poor rural children. The appendix contains 13 additional tables that provide key state facts about children and the issues covered. (KS)

A clarion call to address this most unjust blight upon the American landscape. Madrick has provided a valuable service in presenting a highly readable and cogent argument for change.--Mark R. Rank, The Washington Post By official count, more than one out of every six American children live beneath the poverty line. But statistics alone tell little of the story. In Invisible Americans, Jeff Madrick brings to light the often invisible reality and irreparable damage of child poverty in America. Keeping his focus on the children, he examines the roots of the problem, including the toothless remnants of our social welfare system, entrenched racism, and a government unmotivated to help the most voiceless citizens. Backed by new and unambiguous research, he makes clear the devastating consequences of growing up poor: living in poverty, even temporarily, is detrimental to cognitive abilities, emotional control, and the overall health of children. The cost to society is incalculable. The inaction of politicians is unacceptable. Still, Madrick argues, there may be more reason to hope now than ever before. Rather than attempting to treat the symptoms of poverty, we might be able to ameliorate its worst effects through a single, simple, and politically feasible policy that he lays out in this impassioned and urgent call to arms.

Child care has become a fact of life for many American families. At the core of current debates about welfare reform and school readiness, child care has moved to the center of discussion about federal policy for children and families. This workshop report addresses the factors affecting patterns of child care use among low-income families; the quality, safety, and continuity of child care and its effects on children's development; the role of child care in families' efforts to prepare for and maintain paid employment; and the structure and consequences of federal child care subsidies. Tables, graphs, and references.