The North Carolina Child Fatality Task force has released its 2017 child death data.

After stagnation in the past several years, the overall child death rate in 2017 was 57 per 100,000 North Carolina resident children from ages 0-17. That’s the lowest rate since 2013 and the second lowest since the task force was created in 1991.

Task Force Executive Director Kella Hatcher says while there’s no single cause for the slight dip in child death rate, lower infant mortality rates are a key factor.

“Since two-thirds of all child deaths are of infants, rates are largely driven by infant mortality rates, which in 2017 were close to their lowest ever, so that helped keep the total rate lower,” says Hatcher.

One area of concern for the task force continues to be suicide prevention, which was the second leading cause of death for North Carolina youths in 2017.

Hatcher says they have seen an increase in youth suicide rates in the past five to ten years, which reflects national trends.

“The task force has worked really hard in recent years on the issue of youth suicide,” says Hatcher. “We study the data, we hear from experts, and we examine what efforts are telling us are promising strategies for prevention.”

The task force is also working to strengthen legislation on firearm and motor vehicle safety.

Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death for children one to 17.

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