"And we know that growing up in poverty is strongly associated with bad outcomes for children," she says. "So programs that help mitigate the negative impacts of living in poverty, those that help prevent infant mortality and low birth weight, or education programs like NC Pre-K and Smart Start, are very important because they help those children have access to the resources they need to successfully make the transition to adulthood."

North Carolina was among the top 20 states in two education-related indicators: fourth-grade reading proficiency and eighth-grade proficiency in math. Action for Children will use the survey results to help open discussions on the state and local level about smart investments today to improve the future for children in North Carolina.