United Way places
Hawaii 29th in ‘caring
for its own people’

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By Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.com

Hawaii ranked 29th in the nation in caring for its people and community last year, moving up a notch from the previous year, according to an annual index by the national United Way.

Trudie China, vice president of marketing of the Aloha United Way, said the index provides an overall view of how each state is performing relative to pressing social, economic and environmental issues. It is not about how much a community is giving or donating, but how well it is "caring for its own people, the residents," she said.

United Way works in partnership with 1,400 independent local organizations, such as Aloha United Way.

For 2001, Hawaii had the lowest percentage of teens who are high school dropouts and topped the list with the best air quality in populated areas, China said.

Hawaii ranked lowest of all the states for the percentage of fourth-graders at or above proficiency in reading. It was also lowest in the nation for rent affordability.

China said that overall the index for the nation improved, helped by economic, education, health and safety improvements. Areas that need attention, she said, include income inequality, rental affordability and health insurance coverage, China said.

The index uses 32 indicators, including health care, education, safety, financial security and charitable activities such as volunteerism and civil engagement.

When the index was started in 1988, Hawaii's overall ranking was 17. By 2000 it had dropped to 30. When United Way analyzed information from the first 12 years of the index, they spotted the following trends for Hawaii:

>> The unemployment rate and apartment rental affordability worsened, but home affordability improved.

>> The number of high school dropouts decreased, and pupil-teacher ratios in public elementary and secondary schools improved, but teachers' salaries in those same schools dropped.

>> The percentage of children and adults who were medically uninsured, and the number of teen births, low birth-weight babies and families headed by single parents increased. The percentage of 12th-graders who used any drug other than marijuana and those who used cigarettes daily during 30-day periods increased.

>> The percentage of adults who volunteered increased, along with financial support to nonprofit groups per capita. However, the amount of money raised by United Way organizations dropped, along with the percentage of registered voters who voted in national elections.

>> Violent and property crimes reported per 100,000 inhabitants dropped.

For more details on how Hawaii compares with the rest of the nation, go to www.unitedway.org/stateofcaring.