Official figures gathered by the State Center for Health Statistics show a 2004 rate of 77.7 deaths per 100,000 children less than 18 years of age.
The numbers represent a 6 percent increase from 2003, but is 27 percent lower than the rate in 1991, when the N.C. Child Fatality Task Force was established.
"Though the 6 percent increase in the child death rate is disappointing, it is not unexpected. The well-being of children, and particularly infants, is usually correlated with economic and social indicators," said a statement released today by Jennifer Tolle Whiteside and Tom Vitaglione, Co-Chairs of the NC Child Fatality Task Force. "There's no doubt that the loss of employment and the continued presence of poverty in our state is being reflected in the increase in the child death rate."
Other findings of the study include:
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