Hawaii’s children rank in the lowest third of states when it comes to education and economic well-being. That is by no means good news. But knowledge is power, and armed with this information, Hawaii can do better by its youth.
Education and economic well-being are two important factors in determining whether a child will develop potential for a secure and hopeful adulthood. Hawaii recognized this by making significant investments in pre-K education and affordable housing over the past year, propelled by record amounts of federal funding.Now the state must commit to see these initiatives through.
Hawaii’s below-average ranking on these markers is drawn from data assembled by the 2022 Kids Count Data Book, released Monday. It’s an annual report tracking the well-being of children nationwide, assembled by a network of state-level groups.
The report tells us that the state is lagging in its investment in Hawaii’s youth, reinforcing with hard facts what many already know from reports on the state’s performance in educating its keiki or lifting families out of poverty.
One urgent need is for universal access to preschool; Hawaii has been dragging its feet on the issue for far too long.
In March, Kids Count released a “Hawaii Children’s Budget,” an analysis of Hawaii’s spending patterns.
“While Hawaii has begun its journey to ensure quality public pre-K education, the budget appropriated to do so is a fraction of the amount needed,” the report said.
Obvious, but damning. Now that $200 million has been appropriated to create preschool classrooms, the state must also ramp up its outreach and services for children who need access to this early-learning opportunity.
It’s hopeful that advanced tools are now available to allow for drilling down into the data to get localized information. The University of Hawaii Center on the Family, a partner in the Kids Count effort, has distilled data on access to early childhood education to a neighborhood level, considering factors such as openings available, distance, affordability and results (quality). Using this information, the state could and should tailor its efforts by first serving kids with the greatest obstacles to early education.
Hawaii continues to move too slowly, however; kids who age out of eligibility for early education will never get that opportunity back. Our next governor must commit to put high-quality, universal preschool on a fast track, and find a way to pay for it.
Economic security is Hawaii’s other substandard measure of youth well-being. Hawaii ranked 34th in the Data Book’s economic well-being category.
High housing costs are most responsible for dragging down the economic well-being of Hawaii families. One of the report’s indicators: About 111,000 children — nearly two of every five children in Hawaii — lived in households that used at least 30% of their income on housing.
What Hawaii is doing now is not working. Our new governor and lawmakers should have the impetus to change things up, with new ideas and more effective policies, backed by data to ensure their value and effectiveness.
Here, investment in affordable housing can have a significant payoff. The nearly $1 billion for housing appropriated in the last legislative session, to help the homeless, low-income to working families and Native Hawaiians, was a great start. But a statewide policy that leads to more affordable workforce housing should be one of the state’s highest priorities.
That will be the job of the next governor and Legislature. Since it’s an election year, voters should choose candidates who support these initiatives, and hold them accountable to deliver results.
