June 21, 2021
Press release | Hawaiʻi KIDS COUNT

Hawaiʻi’s ranking in children’s economic well-being dropped in one year from 25th to 44th, according to the 2021 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a 50-state report of recent household data developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation analyzing how families fared between the Great Recession and the start of the COVID-19 crisis.

This year’s Data Book also shows that Hawaiʻi dropped from 17th to 26th in the annual KIDS COUNT overall child well-being rankings, which represent the most recent information available but do not capture the impact of the past year.

By revealing that Hawaiʻi’s keiki were falling behind the rest of the nation even before the pandemic, the newest KIDS COUNT Data Book should be a warning bell to everyone who cares about our state’s children. Policymakers and community leaders must act boldly to prevent our children’s well-being from deteriorating further.

— Deborah Zysman, HCAN Executive Director

In the annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, the Annie E. Casey Foundation assesses child well-being through sixteen indicators measuring four domains: economic well-being, education, health and family and community context. There are four indicators that comprise the economic well-being domain:

Children in poverty: In 2019, 12% of Hawaiʻi’s children lived in households with incomes below the poverty line. Hawaiʻi ranks well in child poverty, at eighth in the nation, largely because the official poverty line does not factor in the high cost of living here.

Children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment: In 2019, 24% of Hawaiʻi children lived in families where no parent was fully employed. With the highest unemployment rate in the nation for most of 2020, this indicator will likely worsen for Hawaiʻi with data that reflect the impact of the pandemic.

Children in households that spend more than 30% of their income on housing: In 2019, Hawaiʻi fell to 49th in the nation for this indicator, with 38% of children living in households that were housing cost-burdened, reflecting Hawaiʻi’s affordable housing crisis.

Teens ages 16 to 19 not attending school and not working: In 2019, 10% of Hawaiʻi’s teens were not in school and not working, placing them at 47th in the nation. This indicator also will likely worsen with data that reflect the impact of the pandemic.

It is very concerning that Hawaiʻi already ranked in the bottom 10 states on children’s economic well-being, according to these pre-pandemic data. It took the lowest-income families a decade to recover from the Great Recession, and now we are once again facing the threat of a greater share of our keiki growing up in economic hardship, which can have long-lasting effects on education and future employment.

— Ivette Rodriguez Stern, junior specialist at the University of Hawaiʻi Center on the Family

In addition, Census Bureau survey data collected since the start of the coronavirus crisis adds to the story of Hawaiʻi’s children and families in this moment:

In March 2021, 61% of Hawaiʻi households with children reported losing employment income since the start of the pandemic. In comparison, the national percentage of similar households reporting lost income was 49%. This wide gap highlights the disproportionate economic effect of the coronavirus crisis on Hawaiʻi’s families and children.

Our state’s leaders should prioritize investing in children, families, and communities to ensure an equitable and expansive recovery. These priorities include boosting the Earned Income Tax Credit, expanding early learning programs, enacting paid family and sick leave, and adopting student-centered budgeting. The Data Book shows that simply returning to a pre-pandemic level of support for children and families would shortchange thousands of Hawaiʻi kids and fail to address persistent racial and ethnic disparities.

— Deborah Zysman, HCAN Executive Director