N.C.'S POOR PRIORITIES

As our General Assembly vigorously fights to safeguard low cigarette taxes,
our children are the ones going up in smoke. Al Singer, a senior fellow
with Child Advocacy Institute, hit the nail on the head in his April 13
Point of View article "N.C. is soft on preventing juvenile crime." If the
State of North Carolina was a parent, it would be guilty of neglect.

During the last six years, abuse/neglect cases have risen 13 percent;
juveniles under court supervision are up 15 percent. One in three youths
does not finish high school in four years. One fourth of our youth lives in
single-parent homes at poverty level. Yet our elected officials fight to
save cigarettes while slashing funds for mental health, juvenile justice
and substance abuse.

Every week in court, parents ask judges, "Why do I have to wait for my son
to get arrested before I can get him some help?" Unfortunately, that has
become the unwritten law. Funding for juvenile crime and abuse prevention
efforts has dried up.

If the General Assembly does not invest in our children now, the forecast
for our next generation will be devastating.

Marcia H. Morey, District Court Judge, Durham