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Book ranks Hawai'i No. 13 for shielding kids from risks | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper

Updated at 10:39 a.m., Friday, February 23, 2007

Book ranks Hawai'i No. 13 for shielding kids from risks

Advertiser Staff

Hawai'i is the 13th-best state when it comes to protecting children against risks, according to a book that compares the well-being of children with a state's tax base.

"Homeland Insecurity...American Children at Risk" found that children in higher-tax states generally fare better in a ranking based on 11 health and quality-of-life issues when compared to low-tax states. The book was authored by Michael R. Petit, who is also the founder of Every Child Matters, a Washington-based organization that advocates for children.

The state with the lowest child vulnerability ranking was New Hampshire. The worst was Mississippi.

The study ranked Hawai'i as having the 23rd-highest tax burden in the country.

Here's a list of other rankings for the state, with No. 1 being the best and No. 50 the worst:

  • Juvenile Incarceration rate per 100,000 — 2

  • Percent of children uninsured — 4

  • Percentage of children living in poverty in poorest county — 5

  • Percentage of children living in poverty — 8

  • Deaths per 100,000, ages 15-19 — 8

  • Deaths per 100,000, ages 1-14 — 9

  • Per capital child welfare expenditures — 23

  • Births to teen mothers per 1,000 — 23

  • Percent of births by women receiving late or no prenatal care— 28

  • Child abuse fatalities per 100,000 children — 31

  • Incarceration rate per 1,000 adults — 31

  • Number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births: 32

  • Percent of infants born underweight — 36

  • Federal Spending in state per $ of Federal taxes — 43

  • Overall crime rate — 46
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