{"id":98334,"date":"2019-06-17T08:10:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T18:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=98334"},"modified":"2019-06-17T08:34:27","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T18:34:27","slug":"hawaii-kids-count-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/06\/17\/hawaii-kids-count-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u02bbi middle-of-the-pack for child well-being"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book cover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> once again ranks 24 out of 50 states on overall child well-being, according to the 2019 KIDS COUNT® Data Book<\/a>, released June 17 by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. <\/p>\n

The 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book<\/em> is the 30th edition of an annual data study that examines trends in child well-being across areas that represent what children need most to thrive.<\/p>\n

While all four indicators of child economic well-being tracked by the report have improved since 2010, conditions have shown little to no improvements in more recent years, with the state\u2019s rank for this domain slipping from 30 in 2018 to 34 in 2019.<\/p>\n

“Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> now ranks in the bottom third when it comes to the economic well-being of our children,” said Ivette Rodriguez Stern<\/strong>, Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> KIDS COUNT project director at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s Center on the Family<\/a> in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Affordable housing challenges<\/h2>\n

Of concern is the large proportion of children living in households with a high housing cost burden. Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> ranks among the bottom five states on this indicator, with nearly two in five children living in these households.<\/p>\n

“Affordable housing remains a challenge in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. High housing costs present a significant challenge to low-income families that already have limited resources. When families are paying too much for housing, they have a harder time meeting other basic needs, such as child care, food and health care, and they can\u2019t save or build financial stability,” said Stern.<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s ranking in the education domain has also slipped\u2014going from 37 in 2018 to 40 in 2019\u2014signaling the ongoing need for greater investments in children\u2019s education. Despite improvements over the past decade, the state continues to rank in the bottom third on reading and math proficiency and is ranked 33 in the on-time high school graduation rate.<\/p>\n