Group to Tackle Child Deaths

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Group to Tackle Child Deaths

Special Report - October 2, 2007
The N.C. Child Fatality Task Force met yesterday to discuss its latest figures on child deaths in the state. As reported on September 10, 2007, the death rate among children in the state from birth to age 17 is the lowest ever reported, 73.2 per 100,000 children. The Task Force attributed the decrease in death rates for children to three factors: new technologies that increase child safety; safety regulations that government bodies have passed (such as booster seat legislation, bicycle helmet legislation, limitations on the use of ATV’s, and graduated drivers’ licenses); and increased attentiveness of parents and caregivers.

While the Task Force was extolling the results of the overall decrease in child deaths, it noted that 60% of those deaths occur to infants—1033 of the 1,573 children who died in 2006 were infants. The Task Force also noted that the rate of death among black infants is twice the rate of death among white infants, with the infant death rate for Hispanics falling between the two. Some of the new initiatives that the Task Force will be addressing this year include: a study regarding the effectiveness and cost of requiring seat belts on public school buses, legislation clarifying the child abuse reporting requirement of hospitals to law enforcement agencies, creation of a 1-800 number for reporting child abuse and neglect, legislation requiring carbon monoxide detectors in homes, and increasing the permitting age for drivers’ permits.