Monday numbers, NC Policy Watch

February 2012

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10—percentage of children in North Carolina who lived in high poverty areas in 2010, defined as more than 30 percent of the community living below the federal poverty level (Action for Children North Carolina, KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot from the Annie E. Casey Foundation)

4—percentage of children in North Carolina who lived in high poverty areas in 2000 (Ibid)

25—overall percentage of children in North Carolina living in poverty in 2010 (Ibid)

19—percentage of children in North Carolina living in poverty in 2000 (Ibid)

38—rank of North Carolina among 50 states in 2010 in percent age of children living in poverty, with top-ranked state having the lowest percentage (Ibid)

35—rank of North Carolina among 50 states in 2000 in percent age of children living in poverty (Ibid)

67,000—estimated number of at-risk kids in North Carolina eligible for More at Four early childhood program (“NC judge orders pre-kindergarten services restored,” Associated Press, July 20, 2011)

32,000—estimated number of at-risk kids served by More at Four in 2010-2011 (Ibid)

32 million—amount in dollars that the biennial budget approved by the General Assembly last summer cut from More at Four funding (House Bill 200, Appropriations Act of 2011)

4,000—number of slots for at-risk children in More at Four lost because of the budget cuts (“NC judge orders pre-kindergarten services restored,” Associated Press, July 20, 2011)

72 million—amount in dollars amount in dollars that the biennial budget approved by the General Assembly this summer cuts from Smart Start (House Bill 200, Appropriations Act of 2011)

104 million—total amount in dollars cut in early childhood programs in the biennial budget approved by the General Assembly this summer. (Ibid)

2,000—number of at-risk four-year-olds who can enroll in NC PreK (formerly More at Four) because of transfer by Gov Bev. Perdue of $9.3 million from child subsidy funding (“Perdue to move $9M to fund 2,000 more in NC Pre-K,” Associated Press February 23, 2012)

4—number of days since Rep. Justin Burr said the best way to address the waiting list for NC PreK was to make fewer children eligible for the program (“As money opens more pre-K slots, GOP looks to limit eligibility, WRAL-TV, February 23, 2012)