Action for Children North Carolina guides the decisions of policymakers by providing data and research that is often used on the floor of the N.C. General Assembly. We are extremely proud of the measurable difference we are making in the lives of children and young people across the state. Results stemming from our recent public policy work include:
 
Health:

• More children than ever in North Carolina can now enroll in the public health insurance program (Health Choice).
• Nutritional snacks are more readily available in school vending machines.
• With the passage of N.C. Kids’ Care, the groundwork is now laid to increase access to affordable health insurance coverage for thousands of currently uninsured children in families between 200%-300% of the Federal Poverty Line ($42,000-$62,000 per year for a family of four).

Safety:

• Motor vehicle deaths of infants and toddlers (birth to age 4) declined 26 percent in the four years after child passenger safety laws were strengthened.
• Motor vehicle deaths of young children (ages 5 to 9) declined 27 percent in the three years following passage of the law requiring use of booster seats.
• The risk of motor vehicle accidents has been reduced by banning cell phone use among teenagers currently under the graduated drivers' license provision.
• Driver crashes declined 38 percent for 16-year-olds and 20 percent for 17-year-olds in the five years following the passage of the graduated drivers’ license provision.
• Bicycle deaths for children (under age 15) declined by 60 percent in the five years after the law was passed requiring that children wear bike helmets.

Economic Security:

• An increase of $14 million will go back in the pockets of low-wage working families by establishing an N.C. earned income tax credit (EITC) that improves tax fairness, supplements wages and helps lift families and children out of poverty.

Juvenile Justice:

• A more effective way to serve juvenile offenders that increases public safety is now being studied by a Task Force at the state level.
• A new law to expunge the first offense from eligible youths' records is expected to lead to an estimated additional lifetime earnings of $41.7 million for each annual cohort of young people whose records are expunged. This estimate does not include averted costs to potential victims and the criminal justice system.
• Strategies for keeping young people crime-free are being implemented in four of North Carolina’s poorest counties.

Education:

• A plan for integrating financial education K-12 in the public schools is now being formulated by a state-level Financial Literacy Council.
• Parents now have a say in whether their child can receive corporal punishment in school. Thanks to Action for Children's advocacy, only a handful of districts in North Carolina still allow corporal punishment in school.