Conditions for isle kids
are better in general

The annual Hawaii Kids Count Data Book, which looks at trends in areas such as teen pregnancy and children living in poverty, said conditions stabilized or got better in nine key areas between 1990-94, while worsening in six.

"I think the picture is one of improvement, so that feels good," said Project Coordinator Marcia Hartsock. "Overall, it's encouraging."

Hartsock pointed to two indicators in particular in making the positive assessment - teen births, and child abuse and neglect.

According to the data book, the number of teen births statewide in 1980 was 28.5 per thousand females who were between 15 and 19 years old. That climbed steadily to 45.2 in 1990, but decreased to 43.7 in 1994.

Similarly, the overall rate of child abuse and neglect in 1980 was 3.6 per thousand children, she said.

The rate increased to 8.0 by 1990, but dropped to 7.3 in 1994.

Hartsock attributed the changes to programs that increased community awareness of the problems and, for instance, taught teen-agers to be more responsible if they engage in early sexual activity.

"I think it's beginning to pay off," she said. "We're not seeing huge drops yet, but certainly we've changed the trend, and when you stop a trend from going where you don't want it to go, that's fairly significant."

On the downside, the percentage of children living below national poverty levels - a key statistic - grew from 11.1 percent in 1990 to an estimated 13.4 percent in 1994.

And while juvenile arrests for violent crimes dropped dramatically on Kauai and Maui, increases on Oahu and the Big Island boosted the state's rate from 242 per 100,000 youths in 1990 to 258 in 1994.

One sobering finding from the survey is that children on the Big Island, which has been hurt by plantation closures and other problems, appear to be significantly worse off than children elsewhere in the state.

Hartsock said Hawaii County scored lower in most of the indicators than the other islands. While some have a notion that raising children in urban areas like Honolulu is "a bad thing," city youths actually have more programs and activities that can benefit them than their rural counterparts, she said.

"I think as a state we really need to look at, I'd say, some neglect of services for the neighbor islands, particularly Hawaii," she said.

Among other findings:

The statewide infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births dropped from 10.1 in 1980 to 6.5 in 1990 and 6.4 in 1994.

The percent of high school students who smoke regularly, a rough measure of substance abuse, climbed from 23.3 in 1991 to 29.4 in 1994. The increase was larger among females.

The percent of children living with single parents dropped from 20.8 to 20.2 from 1990-94.

The number of deaths of children 14 years old or younger dropped from 33.1 in 1980, to 24.3 in 1990 and 21.2 in 1994.

Hartsock said she expected Hawaii to be in a similar position when new rankings are released in the spring, although the state may drop a bit since it has not had the economic recovery seen on the mainland.