In the past decade, North Carolina's civic health has been tested. Residents read headlines about local, state, and national leaders investigated for misconduct and are expected to place their confidence in a system of government that they may not trust. Conversely, in 2008, North Carolinians of all ages demonstrated their civic strength by turning out in record numbers to vote in the Presidential election.

Just as American democracy cannot succeed without informed and engaged citizens, North Carolina's future depends on residents who care about their communities and participate in civic life. Turnout for the 2008 election and the stories of countless leaders working to make our communities better, tell us that North Carolina has the potential to ex its civic might. But how can we harness this civic potential? How can we ensure that all North Carolinians are engaged in their communities? Measuring the state of North Carolina's civic health is an important step in developing policies and programs that strengthen the state's civic infrastructure.

THE NORTH CAROLINA CIVIC HEALTH INDEX
The National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC), in partnership with the Civic Indicators Working Group, has published America's Civic Health Index annually since 2006. Through the passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009, NCoC formalized a partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Corporation for National and Community Service. The act charges these three partner organizations with developing, rening, and implementing annual measures of America's civic heath. Having good measures of our country's civic aptitudes will enable policymakers, private and public institutions, and citizens to strengthen the range of activities, attitudes, and behaviors that make up our nation's civic life.

This year, NCoC has partnered with 13 states and 4 cities to assess civic health at the state and local levels. North Carolina's Civic Health Index is overseen by a team of organizations committed to advancing civic engagement in North Carolina. Democracy North Carolina, North Carolina Campus Compact, the North Carolina Center for Voter Education, the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium, and the Department of Public Policy at Western Carolina University have joined to assess North Carolina's civic health with a united purpose to document, and ultimately improve, civic engagement in North Carolina. The Center for Civic Education also provided crucial funding to support this project.

CONTEXT OF NORTH CAROLINA
Because the civic health of North Carolina is shaped by many factors, it is important to understand the context in which civic participation occurs in our state. Changes in North Carolina's population and demographics, as well as our existing civic infrastructure (i.e., policies related to voting, opportunities to volunteer, and civic education), inuence how much residents are involved in their communities and shape the civic health of our state.

POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHICS
North Carolina's population has grown signicantly over the past decade. Between 2000 and 2009, the state's population grew by 16% from 8,078,824 to 9,380,884 residents; this is double the U.S. growth rate of 8%. North Carolina's population will probably continue its rapid growth: The U.S. Census Bureau projects that North Carolina will be among the eight most populous states by 2030. 1

The state's rapid population growth has been mirrored by a shift in demographics. Between 2000 and 2008, the state's Hispanic population increased by 68%; Hispanics made up 7% of North Carolina's population in 2008. During this same period, the number of African–Americans living in North Carolina increased by 10.3%; African–Americans make up 21% of the state's population. The population of white residents grew by 9.4%, making up 70% of North Carolina's population. 2,3

North Carolina's population increase can also be attributed to an inux of people moving from other parts of the United States, primarily the Northeast. In 2007, North Carolina ranked 6th in the number of net movers as a percent of the state's population. 4

More than 80% of North Carolinians have graduated from high school, and more than 25% have a 4–year college degree. Both of these gures are slightly below the national average. The state's median household income, $46,107, is also below the national average. Poverty in North Carolina is a particular concern. Nearly 15% of North Carolinians live in poverty, 14.6% compared with 13.2% nationally. 5

North Carolina has been hit particularly hard by the recent recession. The unemployment rate increased by nearly 7 percentage points between 2000 and 2010. In May 2010, 10.3% of North Carolinians were unemployed, compared with the national rate of 9.7%. 6

VOTING
The changes in demographics summarized above have undoubtedly shaped voting trends in our state. For instance, the number of unafliated voters has increased dramatically over the past decade: Since 2000, the number of North Carolinians registered as “unafliated” (neither as Democrat nor Republican) has increased by 83%. 7 The inux of new residents from politically moderate states has been offered as one explanation for this trend toward unafliated registration. As urban areas grow, North Carolina's population hubs have an increasingly strong voice in the electoral process. In the 2008 election, North Carolina's seven most populous counties (Mecklenburg, Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, Cumberland, Durham, and Buncombe) had 37% of the state's registered voters. 8

North Carolina policymakers have worked hard to make it easier for eligible voters to cast ballots. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized a number of policies that ultimately allowed all eligible voters in North Carolina to “vote early.” Through “one–stop” voting, voters can now cast absentee ballots at designated sites in each county in the period from 19 to three days before the election; county boards of elections have the option of offering one–stop voting on evenings and weekends in this period. In 2007, the General Assembly enacted legislation allowing eligible citizens to come to a one–stop site and, while there, ll out an application to register and cast an absentee ballot. This is often referred to as “same–day registration.”

State policymakers have taken important steps to increase youth voter turnout. In January 2010, North Carolina became the third state to allow 16– and 17–year–olds to “pre–register” to vote. Signed into law in August of 2009, HB908 changed North Carolina's pre–registration policy to allow a citizen to register to vote after turning 16. These pre–registered voters are automatically added to the voter roll when they reach the age to vote. 9

VOLUNTEERING
According to Volunteering in America, North Carolina averaged 1.7 million volunteers who contributed $4.5 billion of service annually from 2007–2009. During this same two–year period, 24.6% of North Carolinians reported volunteering. 10

North Carolina's 53 designated Volunteer Centers are key resources for volunteer opportunities in local communities. Volunteering and community service are also promoted by the governor's office through its Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service. Appointed by the governor, commissioners and commission staff work to foster an ethic of volunteerism and community service in North Carolinians of all ages and backgrounds. The commission oversees the state's Americorps and Citizen Corps programs, promotes participation in Days of Service, and suggests ways to serve that will address North Carolina's most critical challenges. 11 In 2009, the Commission surveyed community organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, and national service programs to gauge various aspects of North Carolina's volunteerism. The results showed that 85% of surveyed organizations offered service in their local communities, 80% engaged volunteers older than 55, and 61% provided youth with volunteer opportunities. 12

CIVIC EDUCATION IN K–12 PUBLIC SCHOOLS
North Carolina's schools are key elements of the state's, and the country's, civic infrastructure. Our nation's founders often referred to the link between schools and civic preparation. In a 1787 letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson shared his belief that the education of the “common people” was necessary to ensure the preservation of liberty. In his farewell address, George Washington outlined his vision for public education and argued that enlightening the citizenry was essential to the success of government.

Students in North Carolina's public schools begin studying citizenship as early as the 3rd grade, when young North Carolinians learn about the concepts of leaders in relationship to their communities. 13 The theme of citizenship is continued in middle school, where students
learn about North Carolina history and explore opportunities for citizenship at the local and state levels. When students reach high school, they are required to take three social studies courses, including Civics and Economics, which is typically taught in the 10th grade. The current standards for the tested Civics and Economics course state that students will “acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become responsible and effective citizens in an interdependent world” and to operate as informed decision–makers. In this course, students “explore active roles as a citizen at the local, state, and national levels of government” and “develop, defend, and evaluate positions on issues regarding the personal responsibility of citizens in the American constitutional democracy.” 14

Public schools in North Carolina do not have a statewide service–learning requirement. However, service–learning exists in the curriculum of some school districts and individual schools, mostly as a result of grants from Learn and Serve America. 15 These schools receiving Learn and Serve funding aim to connect service–learning goals with outcomes in the areas of academic engagement, partnership development, and health and safety needs. 16

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
North Carolina's public and private higher education institutions have recognized community engagement as a priority, and in 2009, 40 of North Carolina's colleges and universities were named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. Established in 2006, the national honor roll recognizes colleges and universities that support innovative and effective community service. The selection process is managed by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that engages more than a million Americans in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads President Obama's national call–to–service initiative, United We Serve. North Carolina has had an institution identied as “Presidential Awardee” each year since the designation was created: Elon University in 2006, Johnson C. Smith University in 2007, Duke University in 2008, and UNC Chapel Hill in 2009.

Thirteen of North Carolina's institutions of higher learning have been granted the Carnegie Foundation Community Engagement Classication. This elective classication was established in 2006 to recognize higher education institutions collaborating with their communities in an exchange of knowledge and resources, and involves analysis of national data, data collection and documentation, with substantial effort invested by campuses. By December 2008, 120 institutions nationwide had received the Community Engagement Classication. Of the 13 North Carolina institutions deemed “community engaged,” 10 are public universities. North Carolina's state system exceeds peer systems across the country.

Community engagement is well integrated into the North Carolina college experience. In addition to the University of North Carolina, the North Carolina Community College System, and North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, North Carolina Campus Compact is a resource and convener for campuses committed to graduating civically engaged citizens and to building their communities. The Compact state office works closely with the national Campus Compact of nearly 1,200 presidential members and 35 state ofces.