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child safety

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Coronavirus Today – Monday, March 16

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Coronavirus Today – Monday, March 16 - North Carolina Health News

This last weekend saw changes in North Carolina’s public life, but for many, changes in the state became real when their kids remained home from school.

By NC Health News Staff North Carolina has been in a state of emergency for nearly a week in response to the novel coronavirus, and with the declaration came novel lifestyle changes for many across the state. The new normal for everyday life is very abnormal, instilling child care headaches for many families, ramped up […]

a little boy drinks at a water fountain that appears to be in the hallway of a school. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, and they can get it through drinking contaminated water.

Lawmaker will again attempt to get lead out of water in schools, daycare centers

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Lawmaker will again attempt to get lead out of water in schools, daycare centers - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina does not test for lead in drinking water in schools and child care centers. State Rep. Harry Warren hopes to change that soon.

By Greg Barnes Parents of students at Red Oak Elementary School in Nash County were never notified after federal officials found excessive levels of lead in the school’s water in July 2015. Instead, school administrators posted a notice on a brick wall in the school’s kitchen. Under state law, it was the only notification they […]

shows a smiling little girl at a table with flowers, a little boy is in the background, just out of focus. they're both at a summer school lunches program. School lunch programs were suspended because of COVID-19, but school districts across North Carolina came up with alternatives.

New Rules Could Open More Homes to Foster Kids

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New Rules Could Open More Homes to Foster Kids - North Carolina Health News

The new national rules are seen as more flexible, written to enable more foster families to get licensed while protecting the safety and well-being of children.

By Teresa Wiltz Stateline Amid an opioid crisis that has increased the need for foster care, states are struggling to find enough foster families to take in kids. A shortage of affordable housing in many places is making the problem even worse. But some foster care advocates hope new federal guidelines will make it easier […]

shows a total of 165 cases of AFM across the US

Polio-like virus affecting children confounding medical world

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Polio-like virus affecting children confounding medical world - North Carolina Health News

North Carolina is one of 36 states with reported cases of acute flaccid myelitis, which leaves children partially or wholly paralyzed.

By Sarah Ovaska-Few A medical mystery is confounding national medical experts: The increase of a rare polio-like condition in children, where sudden paralysis or weakness of the limbs can set in following an otherwise unremarkable respiratory virus. Two children in North Carolina came down with confirmed cases of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, in 2018 […]

shows children looking frightened as they tumble down a slide

Advocates See Potential for Child Death Prevention in Connecting State Data

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Advocates See Potential for Child Death Prevention in Connecting State Data - North Carolina Health News

Child welfare advocates say that to improve North Carolina’s child death rate, there’s a need for better coordination and data collection on deaths that do occur.

By Rose Hoban Any time a child dies it’s a tragedy, but in 2017, 1,313 children younger than 17 in North Carolina died. For each of those tragedies, local and state health officials, medical examiners and child health experts review the circumstances around each child’s death in an attempt to learn how to prevent the […]

shows a smiling little girl at a table with flowers, a little boy is in the background, just out of focus. they're both at a summer school lunches program. School lunch programs were suspended because of COVID-19, but school districts across North Carolina came up with alternatives.

Local, National Barriers Leave Millions of Child Feeding Dollars on the Table

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Local, National Barriers Leave Millions of Child Feeding Dollars on the Table - North Carolina Health News

As the Summer Food Service Program wraps up its 50th summer, participation rates remain low. Here’s why that matters.

By India Mackinson Every day in Charlotte, an air-conditioned school activity bus full of free lunches turns into a church parking lot. Within minutes, 60 children cross the street from a mobile home park with their friends and neighbors to receive a meal. “It was just miraculous to see,” said Tamara Baker, communications and project […]

shows children looking frightened as they tumble down a slide

Children Face Struggles in Some North Carolina Counties, Stats Show

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Children Face Struggles in Some North Carolina Counties, Stats Show - North Carolina Health News

Results from this year's Kids Count Data Book shows North Carolina rates highest in education at 22nd in the U.S, but lowest in family and community at 36th.

By Karrigan Monk Carolina Public Press The numbers say North Carolina is middle-of-the-road edging toward poor in some categories when it comes to the well-being of the state’s children, with some counties posting alarmingly high numbers for neglect cases and children in foster care. But children are more than just numbers, and even accurate data […]

NC State University/ Dr. David Crouse

Keeping Children Safe on the Farm

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Keeping Children Safe on the Farm - North Carolina Health News

There are many ways for kids on a farm to get hurt. But there are ways to mitigate the risks to kids in agricultural settings.

By Taylor Knopf Farms can be great places for kids: There are cool animals and lots of space to run around. Farms can also be dangerous for kids: Every day, an average of 33 children are injured in agricultural-related incidents across the United States. And about every three days, one child dies in a farm-related […]

legislative building in Raleigh

Legislators Slog Through Hundreds Of Bills During Crossover Week

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Legislators Slog Through Hundreds Of Bills During Crossover Week - North Carolina Health News

Last week legislators considered hundreds of bills in the crush of lawmaking known as "crossover." This is Part 2 of 2 stories this week, digesting last week's work.

By Rose Hoban Crossover is the deadline by which legislators must get policy-focused bills passed through one chamber of the General Assembly, lest it die for the rest of the biennium. This year, the crossover deadline was midnight on April 27, which made for many late nights last week on Jones St. This year’s session […]

shows five peopel sitting at a long table on a dias, one is speaking.

Lawmakers Agree on Need for Child Services

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Lawmakers Agree on Need for Child Services - North Carolina Health News

At the 39th annual mental health legislative breakfast, lawmakers found points of agreement.

By Rose Hoban Legislators from both sides of the aisle found points of agreement on health care issues Saturday as they discussed Medicaid, child services and mental health care, and the need for better community psychiatric services in North Carolina. A capacity crowd of 400 filled UNC-Chapel Hill’s Friday Center for the 39th annual Legislative […]