Hawaii kids get high marks

The islands ranked 11th overall when the well-being of its children and teens was compared to other states in the latest annual edition of the Kids Count Data Book, compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore.

New Hampshire, North Dakota and Iowa led the state rankings, while Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana filled the bottom three spots.

The rankings were based on census and other data used to measure 10 indicators, such as the percentage of children living in poverty and the number of high school students who drop out.

William O'Hare, who coordinated the survey, called Hawaii's ranking "relatively good."

"But it's probably important to recognize that, if all the states are getting worse, and Hawaii is just getting worse at a little slower rate, you can still have a high rating and be moving in the wrong direction," he cautioned.

Social-service experts in Hawaii generally were pleased with the survey, however, saying it gives some balance to a growing perception that problems such as juvenile violence and crime are becoming rampant.

"I think the numbers are actually refreshing, and I hope the public can see that Hawaii is still a pretty good place," said Bert Matsuoka, executive director of the state Office of Youth Services. "It's not that we should stand back and gloat about it. There's a lot of hard work we need to continue."

In previous years, when the same indicators are used, Hawaii has ranked from a low of 16th in 1995 to a high of ninth in 1991.

Among the findings in the most recent survey:

- Hawaii ranked No. 1 in having the lowest rate of youths 15-19 who died violently - either by homicide, suicide or accident injuries. The rate fell 26 percent from 1985 to 1993, while the national rate rose 10 percent.

- The state's juvenile violent-crime arrest rate - for homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault - rose 35 percent during the period. But Hawaii earned a No. 13 ranking because the U.S. rate rose 66 percent.

- Births to young women 15-17 climbed by 30 percent in Hawaii from 1985 to 1993, significantly more than the 23 percent national increase.

- Some 6.5 percent of Hawaii's children in 1993 lived in "working-poor" families, those who had at least one parent working at least 50 weeks a year but were still below the poverty level. The national average was 7.6 percent.

Experts here said it is vital to give youths some hope for the future to prevent problems from growing.

They stressed that money should be spent on preventive programs instead of prisons.

"You don't need to be building high-security facilities for hyperviolent kids because those are not the kids we have on the islands," said Meda Chesney-Lind, a professor and criminologist at the University of Hawaii.

One important difference between the mainland and Hawaii is that juvenile gangs here are not involved in drug-dealing, said Thomas Green, chief of research and statistics for the state attorney general's office.

He said, however, most people probably would agree that the elements are in place for Hawaii to move toward inner-city problems.

"It doesn't mean that it's going to happen," Green said.

"But I think some of the things that are precursors to larger increases in juvenile violent crime are there."