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<br /> <br />Family Success Alliance Advisory <br />Council creates anti-poverty <br />programs for Orange County <br />BY CLAIRE NIELSEN | January 7, 2015 <br /> <br />Members of the new Family Success Alliance Advisory Council are making headway in <br />creating services to address the needs of Orange County children and families living in <br />poverty. <br />On Dec. 16, the advisory council, made up of 22 representatives from local <br />governments and non-profit organizations across the county, chose two zones within <br />the county to pilot a cradle-to-career program for children in low-income families. <br />The two zones were chosen from six original zones that were determined by data such <br />as the number of children in Orange County qualifying for free or reduced lunches and <br />those eligible for Medicaid, said Stacy Shelp, spokeswoman for the Orange County <br />Health Department. <br />“The specific reason the health department became interested was because of research <br />about the long-term effects poverty has on people’s health outcomes,” she said. <br />Orange County is one of the wealthiest counties in the state, but it also has some of the <br />highest rates of income inequality, said Orange County Commissioner Bernadette <br />Pelissier. According to data provided by the Orange County Health Department, the <br />number of children living in poverty in Orange County increased by 7.4 percent from <br />2001 to 2011. <br />“Sometimes families that are struggling within Orange County can fly under the radar,” <br />said Dr. Michael Steiner, chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent <br />Medicine at UNC Hospitals and chair of the advisory council.