{"id":8567,"date":"2012-08-03T14:03:10","date_gmt":"2012-08-04T00:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=8567"},"modified":"2021-03-18T15:14:41","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T01:14:41","slug":"data-book-reveals-economic-well-being-of-hawaiis-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2012\/08\/03\/data-book-reveals-economic-well-being-of-hawaiis-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Data book reveals economic well-being of Hawai\u02bbi<\/span>\u2019s children"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Center on the Family<\/a> in the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a> announced that the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2012 KIDS COUNT Data Book<\/em> ranks Hawaiʻi<\/span> 24th in key indicators of child well-being. The Center on the Family serves as the state’s KIDS COUNT affiliate.<\/p>\n

“We’re encouraged by the gains made in the education domain in recent years, especially the improvements seen in fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math proficiency,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern<\/strong>, director of Hawaiʻi<\/span> KIDS COUNT. “However, there’s still a lot of work to be done. When compared with other states, Hawaiʻi<\/span> ranks near the bottom third in the education domain.”<\/p>\n

This year’s findings also emphasize that, while the recession ended in the summer of 2009, many families across the country and in Hawaiʻi<\/span> have continued to struggle in its wake. In 2010, 30 percent of children under 18 in Hawaiʻi<\/span> had parents without secure employment, an increase from 26 percent in 2008.<\/p>\n

Hawaiʻi<\/span> also has one of the highest rates of children living in households with a housing cost burden (i.e., where more than 30 percent of monthly household income is spent on rent, mortgage, taxes, insurance or related expenses), which increased from 37 percent in 2005 to 46 percent in 2010.<\/p>\n

“When compared with other states, Hawaiʻi<\/span> ranks somewhere in the middle on overall child well-being, indicating that much more can and needs to be done to create a better future for Hawaiʻi<\/span>’s children,” said Interim Director of the Center on the Family Grace Fong<\/b>. “We need to focus our attention on the future by strengthening family economic opportunity and building supportive communities that nurture our children and families.”<\/p>\n

KIDS Count 2012 Data Book<\/em> highlights<\/h2>\n