Lives of island youths have improved, study finds

Hawaii ranks 17th among the states for child well-being, with an improving economic picture and nearly universal health coverage for kids, according to the 2017 Kids Count Data Book released today.

The annual report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation assesses how youths in each state fare on a range of measures covering health, education, economics and family situation, drawing on government data sources.

New Hampshire placed first in the nation for child well-being, while Mississippi came in last, according to the Baltimore-based charity, which works to ensure better futures for children.

In the Aloha State just 2 percent of the state’s children lacked health insurance coverage in 2015, one of the lowest rates in the country, and a substantial drop from the 4 percent registered five years before. Nationally, 5 percent of children are uninsured, down from 8 percent over the same period.

“We’ve done well in making sure that our children have health insurance coverage,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, the Hawaii Kids Count project director at the University of Hawaii Center on the Family. “We must continue to work hard at all levels to make sure that coverage is not jeopardized.

“With all the concern about possible reforms to the Affordable Care Act and the possible impact on Medicaid, we need to be really careful,” she added. “About a third of our children are covered through Medicaid and Quest, and so we don’t want that to be threatened in any way.”

The report found that the economic well-being for children in Hawaii has improved as more of their parents landed solid jobs in a tight labor market. The fraction of island keiki whose parents lack full-time, year-round jobs fell to 26 percent in 2015 from 30 percent five years earlier.

Hawaii placed 23rd nationally for overall child well-being in 2016, but the foundation advised against making comparisons with last year’s rank because analysts changed how they calculated graduation rates — one of the 16 factors used to assess states. This year’s report finds 82 percent of Hawaii high school students graduating on time, close to the national average of 83 percent.

Measures of teen well-being are generally headed in a positive direction in Hawaii. The fraction of local teens 16 to 19 years old who are neither in school nor working was cut in half, to 6 percent in 2015 from 12 percent in 2010. That puts Hawaii ahead of the national average of 7 percent.

Teen pregnancy rates continued to fall in Hawaii and across the nation. Teen mothers accounted for 21 out of 1,000 births in 2015 in Hawaii, down from 33 in 2010. Nationally, teen births dropped to 22 from 34 over that time period. The number of Hawaii teens who abuse alcohol or drugs shrank from 8 percent in 2010 to 5 percent, which is the same as the national average.

Meanwhile, more of Hawaii’s youngsters are missing out on preschool. Just 48 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in preschool in 2015, down from 56 percent four years earlier.

Barbara DeBaryshe, interim director of the University of Hawaii Center on the Family, called for a renewed focus on high-quality, affordable child care and preschool.

“Strong programs support school readiness and give an extra boost to children facing the difficult odds of poverty of family hardship,” DeBaryshe said. “Sadly, we simply do not have enough child care seats in our state, especially for infants and toddlers. Investments in our keiki now will have large payoffs in the future.”

Kamehameha Schools has been working to expand preschool opportunities on the Waianae Coast through its Community Learning Center in Maili, launched in 2014. In addition, 13 public charter schools statewide are now offering free prekindergarten for children whose families meet income limits, with funding from a U.S. Department of Education Preschool Development Grant. To learn more, visit bit.ly/2sIUnde or call the Charter School Commission at 586-3775.