Assessing the Needs and Resources for North Carolina's Smart Start Population.

This report is the inaugural edition of a triennial profile of the condition of North Carolina's youngest population (age birth through 5 years), the target population for the state's "Smart Start" program. Part 1 of the report details the needs of young children in the state by means of state and county-by-county data. Part 2 presents resources such as a history and description of the Smart Start program, a list of Smart Start Partnerships by year, and county resources. The final section defines and explains the data presented. The data are presented in three areas--early education, health, and economics and family structure--with key indicators in each. The indicators are: (1) child care arrangements; (2) enrollment of child care centers; (3) services for children with developmental disabilities; (4) publicly subsidized child care; (5) Head Start; (6) early education program accreditation; (7) child care provider training; (8) healthy birth and early childhood; (9) access to health care; (10) safety; (11) family income; (12) family poverty and assistance; (13) family structure; (14) general demographic data; (15) child care provider statistics; (16) family income distribution; (17) immunizations; (18) child deaths; and (19) leading causes of death for children over 1 year old. (LBT)