Community Profile

Did You Know?

General

• In New Hanover County, there are 11,664 children ages 0-5
• Family Composition:
  • Married-couple families in New Hanover County with own child(ren) age 0-5: 5490
  • Single-parent families with own child(ren) age 0-5: 2161
  • Single parent families as percentage of total families w/child(ren) age 0-5: 28.24%
• 17% of children ages birth to five in New Hanover County live in poverty.
• New Hanover County lists 163 licensed and regulated child care facilities

Early Care and Education

“Early learning begets later learning and later success”
— James J. Heckman,
Nobel Prize-winning economist, University of Chicago

• The average child will spend more hours in child care than in elementary and high school combined.
• 58.3% of children ages 0-5 in New Hanover County are part of families in which both parents or a single parent are working.
• 12% of children in New Hanover County who receive child care subsidy are enrolled in unregulated care situations. This often means the quality of care and education is lower.
• 15.2% of kindergarteners have untreated tooth decay, making it difficult for them to concentrate and learn.
• “Ninety-one per cent of police chiefs surveyed agree: “If America does not make greater investments in after-school and educational child care programs to help children and youth now, we will pay more later in crime, welfare, and other costs.” (1999 George Mason University study, Fight Crime, Invest in Kids);

“Addressing parents’ needs for their children’s care and education is a vital part of enabling the state’s labor force participation.”

“Higher education levels increase income and decrease the need for government programs such as welfare and unemployment insurance.”

— both from “The Economic Impact of the Child Care Industry in North Carolina prepared by the National Economic Development and Law Center

• In 2003, 5290 children used licensed, regulated child care in New Hanover County
  • This number reflects that 56% of families with child care-aged children in county use child care.
  • Of those families using child care, 70% are single-parent families.
  • 58.3% of New Hanover County children live in families in which both parents or a single parent work, pointing to the absolute necessity of high quality child care.

    “…the effects of child care derive not from its use or nonuse but from the quality of the experience it provides to young children”
    
    —The National Academy of Sciences
    (“From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development”)

• Several longitudinal studies have been reported on recently, due to the widespread use of child care and early education facilities and the growing recognition of the crucial role high quality child care plays in a community’s economic development. Some notable reports and their findings:
  • The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study (age 3-age 40) identified short- and long-term effects of a high-quality preschool education program for children living in poverty. The study monitored two groups of at-risk young children in Ypsilanti, MI from age 3 until age 40, one group in a high-quality preschool environment, the other group in no preschool program. The control group performed significantly better by the age of 40 (and at all stages throughout) in various categories: lower criminal activity, higher employment rates and earnings, lower high school dropout rate, more stable home lives (home ownership, car ownership, etc.).
  • Chicago’s Child-Parent Centers study (16 year study of disadvantaged minority children in Chicago) found that high quality child care made its students “much more likely to finish high school and less likely to be held back a grade, drop out, or get arrested…”
  • The Economic Impact of the Child Care Industry in North Carolina (with county specific data) illustrates the importance of high quality child care—not only for children and their families, but for future economic development in any area.

Health Services

“The first three years of a child's life are an amazing time of development...and what happens during those years stays with a child for a lifetime… The sooner a developmentally delayed child gets early intervention, the better their progress will be.”

- Kyla Boyse, R.N., University of Michigan website, Your Child

• Often unsaid, good health is a cornerstone of success— children who are not healthy cannot be fully focused on learning, including those with undiagnosed medical issues.
• Everyone and, particularly, ALL children, should have a Medical Home. This ensures that you are getting the appropriate medical attention and reduces costs for time spent in urgent care or emergency medical settings.
• During your child’s well-child check-ups, the pediatrician is checking for developmental delays— one compelling reason to take advantage of your child’s check-ups, even when you don’t see the need.
• In New Hanover County, Medicaid enrollment of children 0-5 is almost 40% (39.4%, over 4,350 children) about 1.5% (approximately 165 children) in Health Choice.
• The percentage of New Hanover County children entering Kindergarten with untreated tooth decay has decreased to 15.2%, down from 19% in the three years from 2000-2003.
• Developmental delays are diagnosed earlier as pediatricians, parents and research understand signs and symptoms.

Family Support

• Substantiated reports of child abuse/neglect in New Hanover County are down 10% since 1999; current reporting cites 308 cases in 2003-2004.
• Children, on average, reach certain developmental milestones by certain ages. If you have concerns about your child’s development, begin with your pediatrician!
• Families of a pre-term infant often need extra help and services for their newborn (Family Support Network). In New Hanover County, that included over 275 pre-term births (March of Dimes, 2003 data) and the national numbers are rising.
• Children in high-quality child care settings exhibit language and literacy skills, cognitive skills (including pre-math skills) and social skills that are above the national norms
• Social Emotional Development, one of the hallmarks of school readiness, is the ability to get along with others in a group and to learn emotional control, empathy and respect for others.