Children

Initiative To Improve Durham Kids' Mental Health Care

Isaac-Davy Aronson — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:50:00 +0000

Duke Medicine is leading a collaboration with the Durham public schools and local agencies to develop better-integrated mental health care for children. Helen Egger is a child psychiatrist at Duke and leads the initiative. She says too often kids with psychiatric disorders are shuffled between schools, hospitals, and law enforcement- each addressing the problems on their own terms. Egger wants to develop school-based models that can fill in the gaps between services.

Child Death Rate Continues Decline

Gurnal Scott — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 10:10:00 +0000

The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force has released new details about the state's death rate among children.

Task force executive director Elizabeth Hudgins says deaths of kids from birth to age 17 have hit a new low.

Elizabeth Hudgins: "Now there's about 57 deaths per 100-thousand children."

National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:50:00 +0000

More than 85 people were murdered in the Triangle and Triad regions of North Carolina last year. You may have heard about the crimes in the news, but you probably don’t know much more than that. The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children aims to raise awareness about these losses of life.

Report: Child Homicides in the Military Decrease

Isaac-Davy Aronson — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:35:00 +0000

A concerted effort by the military is reducing the number of homicides of young children by parents or caregivers. That's the finding of a report from Action for Children North Carolina. Tom Vitaglione is a senior fellow with the organization.

Big Bang Boom!

Frank Stasio and Susan Davis — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 13:04:00 +0000

Chuck Folds, Steve Willard and Eddie Walker had been playing in rock bands all over the Triad when they formed Big Bang Boom, a band that makes family music. The decision was organic; they were dads and wanted to make some music their kids and their wives could love.

Mental Health and Children

Frank Stasio and Lindsay Foster Thomas — Wed, 30 May 2012 15:11:00 +0000

More than 13 million American children and teenagers suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, hyperactivity and other mental illnesses. The naturally irrational, impulsive or volatile behavior kids exhibit every day makes it tough to accurately diagnose them and medicating minors is a controversial practice, particularly when the study of child mental health is considered under-researched.

Social Media & Social Change

Frank Stasio and Meghan Modafferi — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 14:24:00 +0000

This month, the San Diego-based nonprofit organization Invisible Children debuted a Web video campaign called “Kony 2012.” The short film aims to raise awareness about a man named Joseph Kony who has been responsible for kidnapping countless children in Northern Uganda and other areas in Central Africa for use in his rebel army.

Improving Education for Foster Children

Will Michaels — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:55:00 +0000

Researchers at N.C. State are working with Cumberland County Schools in an effort to improve education among foster children. The university's Department of Social Work says it will examine issues that might interrupt the learning process such as frequently switching schools. Dr. Joan Pennell is a professor of social work at N.C. State and the program's principal investigator.

National Study Focuses on Children's Health

Jeremy Loeb — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Durham is one of seven counties in North Carolina chosen to participate in a national, long-term children's health study. The National Children's Study is the largest long-term study on children's health ever done in the U-S. It seeks to recruit pregnant women or women expecting to be pregnant and then follow their children all the way to their 21st birthdays. Researchers will collect data from the children's environment to see how that correlates to any number of health problems that may develop.