Children may be healthier

RALEIGH -- Children are faring much better in North Carolina than they were five years ago, with improved access to health insurance, less time vegging out in front of the television and waning use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

But an annual report card of children's well-being published by Action for Children and the N.C. Institute of Medicine emphasizes that improvements in health and safety were measured before the economy soured.

As a result, advocates fear a slowing of progress.

"The data don't reflect yet that services have been cut," said Tom Vitaglione, a child advocate and senior fellow with the advocacy group Action for Children. "Next year and after that we may show declines."

Vitaglione is particularly concerned that children may not have ready access to health insurance coverage. He said the state's Health Choice program, which provides insurance to low-income children, was only able to add about 2,000 children last year.

At the same time, Vitaglione said, many more children likely lost coverage if their parents were laid off from jobs that included a health insurance benefit.

And despite standards that have improved steadily through the years, the state still ranks 37th nationally for the welfare of its children.

"We're third-best in being business friendly, yet 37th in the nation for being child friendly," Vitaglione said. "So something in there isn't translating."

Here are some highlights from the report, which gauges improvement by comparing 2009 data to 2004:

Nearly 27 percent more children were covered by public health insurance.

Breast-feeding rose by 16 percent.

Far more preschool children enrolled in services to ease the effects of developmental delays, emotional disturbances, and/or chronic illnesses, with a 62 percent rise in participation rates.

Asthma diagnoses dropped nearly 13 percent compared with 2005.

Teen pregnancies were down 16 percent.

Seventeen percent fewer teens smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol; 30 percent fewer teens used cocaine.