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Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), there has been <br />a significant reduction in the number of young people <br />using tobacco products. <br />According to local school YRBS data, teen smoking <br />rates have steadily decreased over time in Chapel <br />Hill-Carrboro City Schools from 2005 (15.32%) to <br />2007 (12.31%) to 2009 (10.6%).The percentage of <br />youth who have never smoked increased from 63.2% <br />in 2001 to 72% in 2007. Similarly, the number of high <br />school students who have never smoked increased <br />steadily from 54% in 2001 to 80.7% in 2008 in the <br />Orange County Schools District. <br />During the 2008-2009 school year, 42 Orange <br />County TRU Peer Educators reached over 2,000 <br />youth and adults through school and community <br />events, training, and presentations on tobacco <br />prevention and cessation. One highly publicized <br />event was the 2009 Kick Butts Day (KBD) Carnival <br />organized by the Cedar Ridge High School TRU <br />group at a local shopping center. <br />The KBD event reached over 100 community <br />members with tobacco prevention activities and <br />cessation materials. Keynote speaker Reena <br />Roberts, a cancer survivor featured in the statewide <br />TRU commercials, cited the event as her first <br />community-based speaking engagement. TRU Peer <br />Educators also conducted Merchant Education <br />presentations with six local non-compliant vendors, <br />encouraging them not to sell tobacco products to <br />minors. <br />In September 2009, the Orange County TRU <br />Program, led by Pam Diggs of the health department, <br />received the 2009 Kathy Kerr Outstanding Health <br />Education Project Award from the North Carolina <br />Chapter of the Society for Public Health Education. <br />Child Health <br />Child abuse and neglect remain areas of serious <br />concern. During the period January to November <br />2009, 1251 children were reported for <br />abuse/neglecUdependency. Of these reports, <br />19.5% were found substantiated or in need of <br />services-a slight decrease from the previous <br />year.'s <br />Advocates for Children Committee <br />Child health was a top health priority identified in <br />the 2007 Health Assessment; and has continued to <br />be the focus for the Healthy Carolinians Advocates <br />for Children (AFC) Committee. <br />Many local organizations, including the Orange <br />County Department of Social Services, UNC <br />Hospitals' Beacon Program, Orange County Rape <br />Crisis Center, the Health Department and others, <br />offer programs and services to support children and <br />families at risk of abuse. The AFC Committee <br />collaborates with these organizations to raise <br />awareness of child abuse and neglect. <br />In April 2009, the AFC <br />Committee, in partnership <br />with the Chapel Hill Police <br />Department and the <br />Hillsborough Exchange Club, <br />held its third annual Real <br />Men Rock event for the <br />prevention of Shaken Baby <br />Syndrome (SBS). Over 50 <br />families attended the event <br />and received information on SBS and child abuse <br />prevention. As part of the Real Men Rock campaign, <br />the Orange County Sheriff's Department distributed <br />child IDs to parents. The AFC distributed educational <br />materials to Orange County pediatricians and family <br />practice physicians to pass on to new and/or expectant <br />parents. Real Men Rock posters were also distributed <br />to the physicians to post in their waiting and clinic <br />rooms. <br />The fourth annual Real Men Rock event will be held <br />April 24, 2010. There has been discussion around <br />expanding the event by including a lunch seminar <br />beforehand; inviting additional partners to join (e.g. <br />representatives from the Period of Purple Crying <br />Program at the National Center on Shaken Baby <br />Syndrome); and reaching out to child care providers. <br />In addition to Real Men Rock, the AFC Committee <br />continued to raise awareness about child health issues <br />through its Brown Bag Lunch series. Over 50 people <br />attended the most recent session on Youth and Drugs, <br />which indicated a high level of community interest in <br />the topic. Future Brown Bag Lunch topics will include <br />Kids and Smoking and Self Injury and Teens. <br />In addition, an "Early Childhood Resource Notebook: <br />Meeting the Needs of Children Birth through Five" was <br />created. This resource manual, which has been very <br />well received, includes a comprehensive listing of <br />mental health providers that serve children from birth <br />through five years of age. <br />11 <br />