N.C. Slipping in Pre-K Programs
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N.C. slipping in pre-K programs By Stephanie Carroll Carson ly a 20 percent cut to its budget last year. prepare the report, is cautious. N.C. NEWS SERVICW Greg Borom, director of Advocacy for Children First of “We know that pre-K works. There’s concern that the Buncombe County, sees the effect firsthand. very fine programs that North Carolina has developed are “What we’ve seen happen in Buncombe County and ASHEVILLE - The severe budget cuts to North Carolina’s going to be subject to some revisions.” around the state is that the waiting lists have really grown, Last year, when North Carolina’s More at Four program early childhood education programs seen last year are al- but the availability has really shrunk.” ready making their mark, at least when it comes to per- was renamed N.C. Pre-K and moved under the Department There is still some positive news for the state. North of Health and Human Services, some controversy emerged ception of the state’s programs. Carolina is one of only five states that meets all the qual- A report released Tuesday by the National Institute for about the definition of what children would be eligible for ity standards criteria set by NIEER and ranks 19th among the newly-named program. That legal issue is ongoing in Early Education Research finds that North Carolina’s cuts states in terms of enrolling children in early childhood ed- to programs such as More at Four, now known as N.C. Pre- the state Supreme Court. ucation programs. Almost 31,000 children are enrolled in Nationwide, the NIEER study found that state funding K and Smart Start, are impacting the state’s ability to meet the state’s pre-K programs. the needs of its families. Each of those programs saw rough- for pre-K has decreased by $60 million in the last year. Jim Squires, a senior research fellow at NIEER who helped This is the second year of decline in total spending. SPORTS N.C.A&T has high hopes after spring football game VOLUME 14 NO. 18 WEEK OF APRIL 15,20125,2012 $1.00 THE TRIANGLE’S CHOICE FOR THE BLACK VOICE N.C. eugenics The Young & confirmations the Digital By Evelyn Howell top 100 plateau CORRESPONDENT DURHAM - Advancements in new technology have al- By Herbert L. White lowed today’s young users [email protected] to connect with their friends and the outside world fast. Twitter, texting, YouTube More than 100 people have been verified as and Facebook are all popu- unwitting sterilization victims of North lar new media networking Carolina’s Eugenics program. tools. The N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims “Mobile is considered the Foundation announced last month that 111 gateway. It’s more pro- individuals who underwent procedures have nounced in their lives and been matched to Eugenics Board program is considered Grand Central records. Forty-eight of N.C.’s 100 counties Station of their lives,” said had at least one verified match led by Lenoir S. Craig Watkins, a social sci- County’s 18 among 61 procedures. entist whose research is Mecklenburg, which had the highest number based on the digital lives of of procedures of any county with 495, was young people and how mo- second with 10 verifications and Wake County bile device is used to com- with nine. Three counties in the top 10 for municate with their peers. number of procedures – No. 5 Buncombe (at The author of “The Young 139), No. 8 Scotland (114) and No. 10 Hertford & the Digital: What the (106) – have no matches. Migration to Social Network “I am putting together the compensation Sites, Games and Anytime, plan for inclusion in my budget and I encour- Anywhere Media Means for age anyone who believes they are a victim to our Future” was the keynote contact the Justice for Sterilization Victims speaker last week at a two- Foundation,” Gov. Bev Perdue said in a state- day Duke conference titled ment. “They are working hard to identify in- “Black Thought 2.0: New dividuals who were affected, and the steady Media and the Future of increase in matches with archived records is Black Studies” at the John an important step in this process.” Hope Franklin Center. The foundation has received more than Watkins, an associate pro- 1,300 phone inquiries since January, said fessor of radio, television Executive Director Charmaine Fuller Cooper, RECEPTION-WEDDING.COM and film at the University of who said the number of verified victims is The gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen in North Carolina. Texas, has studied youth expected to rise. and media culture for 12 “North Carolina operated the most aggres- years and digital media for sive eugenics program in the nation, steril- eight years. He is currently izing the majority of its program victims af- the principal investigator ter World War II and the Holocaust,” she said. for a three-year study called “Anyone could have been subjected to a ster- ‘New poor’ranks grows in N.C. “Connected Learning ilization order and the chances for steriliza- Research Network,” funded tion were great for those in poverty. by the MacArthur “Victims have courageously stepped for- concentrated poverty. The center identified 100 areas Foundation on Youth, ward to tell their stories and their courage By Stephanie Carroll Carson NORTH CAROLINA NEWS SERVICE of concentrated poverty in the state located in 30 100 Digital Media and Learning. has inspired more people to contact the foun- counties,withthelargestsharelocatedinGuilfordand Watkins said black studies dation.” STATESVILLE – Like thousands of people in North Mecklenburg. in terms of literacy is teach- In January, the Eugenics Compensation Task Carolina, Russell Brown never expected to be facing ing how using “social mo- Force recommended a tax-free payment of Unemployment in urban regions has dropped sig- poverty or losing his home. nificantly over the last year. The Charlotte region’s bile media as educational $50,000 to each living victim and those who devices is not just games were alive when first verified by the founda- A single father, Brown had a good job and bought jobless rate fell from 11.9 percent in February 2011 his first house in March of 2009. Six months later, he and videos.” tion. The task force also recommended pro- to 10.7 percent in 2012 – the greatest improvement in “The role of the black in- viding mental health services to victims, cre- was laid off, and for the first time in his life Brown the state – while the Triad’s dropped by 1.1 points, tellectual experience is ex- ation and expansion of permanent and trav- found himself asking for help. and the Triangle fell 0.4 points. traordinary, which includes eling eugenics exhibits, and continuation of “It was a very humbling experience,” Brown said. “We are seeing good news in North Carolina’s local tenure, battling for re- the Sterilization Victims Foundation. “When you’ve been a person that’s been independent labormarkets,butourmostpopulousregionsareclear- sources and gaining respect Perdue’s recommendations are expected to all your life and you never really had to ask for help, ly doing the best,” said Allan Freyer, a Budget & Tax in the ‘Ivory Tower,’ “ he be included in the budget she submits to law- and for me, I really didn’t know where to go, ‘cause said. makers, who are responsible for the type and Center policy analyst. “The Triangle, Triad, and I’ve never been in that position before.” Charlotte regions are experiencing significantly low- Watkins said the idea of source of any compensation. closing the inequality gap The N.C. Eugenics Board carried out a cam- The increase in “newly poor” North Carolinians con- er unemployment rates than the rest of the state. tributes to the fact that areas of concentrated poverty used to be to get lower in- paign of involuntary sterilization between Perhaps even more importantly, the metros in these come kids access to comput- 1929-74. By the end of the program, nearly have more than doubled since 2000 in the state. three regions alone account for 92 percent of the to- ers. Now that they have this 7,600 people were sterilized, most of them Researchers say that areas of the state where entire tal private sector job growth in North Carolina’s metro access through schools and between 1946-68. communities are facing poverty present additional areas since February 2011.” libraries, there is a challenge The Sterilization Victims Foundation is still challenges in the form of demand for services and in- The rest of the state had significantly smaller drops ahead known as the “digital receiving verification inquiries from people creased competition for jobs. sinceFebruarywiththeNortheastfallingby0.2points, divide,” where lower income who feel that they were impacted by the eu- “For folks who have worked their entire life to sud- kids are still disadvantaged. genics program. If you believe you are or the East by 0.4 points, and the Southeast by 0.3. denly face a labor market, where there just aren’t Although western N.C. has higher overall unemploy- “It’s beyond digital access; know someone who may have been affected it’s about literacy skills and by the program, call toll-free 877-550-6013 enoughjobsoutthereforthepeoplewhowanttowork, ment, its jobless rate fell 0.5 points from 13 percent or (919) 807-4270. is demoralizing,” said Alexandra Sirota, director of the to 12.5 in the past year. On the Net: Budget and Tax Center, which recently published data Herbert L. White of The Charlotte Post contributed to See THE/2A www.sterilizationvictims.nc.gov from the U.S.