Child Poverty In Hawaii
We all are aware of successful adults who came from humble beginnings. Some people even attribute a nobility to poverty -- an idea that its simplicity of lifestyle may be more wholesome or that the temptations of wealth are a hindrance to good character development. However, growing up in poor and low income families has been identified as a major 'risk factor' for children's development. While the majority of children in these circumstances turn out well, poverty increases the chances of negative outcomes.
The community and caring people are concerned about children with little economic security because this experience tends to lead to other problems:
- less adequate prenatal care and low birth weight, with higher infant mortality;
- lower levels of school readiness and slower intellectual development;
- frequent moves that interrupt family stability and schooling;
- greatly increased chances of child death due to accident or disease;
- higher levels of personal and family stress; and
- lower levels of educational and socioeconomic attainment as adults.
The federal government annually determines the poverty thresholds for families of various sizes: in 1995 that was $16,141 for a two-parent family of four, $12,817 for a single-parent family with two children. One child in five in Hawai`i lives in a family with income below the federal poverty threshold. When the high cost of living is considered, a truer picture is obtained of nearly one child in four being in poverty.
OF THE 300,000 CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN HAWAI`I, POVERTY AFFECTS THEM AT THE FOLLOWING RATES:
- Children living with a single parent are nearly ten times more likely to be poor than children living with two parents.
- Children are more likely to be poor than other age groups, including the elderly.
- Children of Pacific Islander ethnicity are three times as likely, native Hawaiian children twice as likely to be poor as children in other ethnic groups.
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