In order to be self-sufficient, a single parent on Kaua’i with children needs to make between $17.33 and $31.38 an hour, depending on the number and ages of children. But only two of the 10 most prevalent jobs on Kaua’i
In order to be self-sufficient, a single parent on Kaua’i with children needs to make between $17.33 and $31.38 an hour, depending on the number and ages of children.
But only two of the 10 most prevalent jobs on Kaua’i pay wages higher than the self-sufficiency standard for a single person, much less provide income sufficient to meet the needs of a single parent with one or more children.
“Unfortunately, many families do not earn self-sufficiency wages, particularly if they have recently entered the workforce,” said Dr. Diana Pearce of the University of Washington, lead researcher and author of a new report, “The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Hawai’i.”
“They cannot afford their housing and food and child care, much less their other basic needs, forcing them to make painful choices between necessities, or to accept substandard or inadequate child care, insufficient food, or substandard housing,” said Pearce.
The study identifies how much money families need to make to meet basic needs, without receiving any governmental subsidies or private assistance.
According to the 2000 Census, on Kaua’i there were 1,424 households with children headed by single females. That figure is up substantially compared to the 1990 number.
The report, released last week, has several self-sufficiency tables specific to Kaua’i, as well as information on other counties and some specific communities across the state.
On Kaua’i, a single parent with one preschooler needs to earn $19.07 per hour to meet the basic needs of his or her family. If he or she has one preschooler and one school-aged child, he or she would need to make $22.48 per hour to meet his or her family’s basic needs (housing, food, child care, medical care, transportation, etc.).
In the two-parent family, with one preschooler and one school-aged child, each adult needs to earn $13.33 to be considered self-sufficient, or able to make ends meet without public assistance or private help.
One Kaua’i, two-parent family with three school-aged children according to the study needs to make $68,913 a year to be self-sufficient. That equates to each parent working full-time jobs each paying $16.31 an hour.
The Hawai’i median household income from 1999 to 2001 was $49,232.
With money that tight, there is nothing in many family budgets for medical emergencies or similar crises.
It’s no wonder so many adults on Kaua’i work more than one job.
The report also looks at the difference between what’s needed for self-sufficiency and federal income guidelines for poverty families.
The report compares the self-sufficiency standard for Hawai’i to the federal poverty line, minimum wage, and median family income.
It demonstrates that for most families, earnings above the official federal poverty line actually fall short of what is needed to meet basic needs in Hawai’i.
To bridge the wage gap, the report recommends several basic strategies: provide access to job training and education programs for low-wage workers; reduce costs through work supports, such as child care, housing, food security, and health care; and provide livable wages.
“What Hawai’i can do, and what Hawai’i plans to do, really is in the hands of the people here,” said Nina Dunning, director of planning and research at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.
In other states, officials have worked for higher wages, educational opportunities, and other fixes, she said. The study is a tool to allow policy-makers to understand how decisions affect families, Dunning said.
It’s important especially for single parents with children to understand that just because they’re struggling to make ends meet in Hawai’i, that doesn’t mean they’re failures, or guilty of bad budgeting, she continued.
It’s just that the high cost of living coupled with low wages for many jobs puts families in tough straits when it comes to self-sufficiency.
“I think a lot of people are making it, and they are getting by,” maybe by sharing housing, having relatives or neighbors watch children after school, or seeking assistance from Kaua’i Food Bank or similar agencies, said Dunning.
“‘The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Hawai’i’ reports the level of income necessary to enable families to take the first steps toward economic independence,” said Allicyn Hikida Tasaka, executive director of the Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women.
“This objective view of what it costs for working families to make ends meet across the state will be an useful tool for government, business leaders, service providers and nonprofits as they work together to design better programs and policies for Hawai’i’s working families,” she said.
“The downward turn in Hawai’i’s economy has had an enormous impact on the working families of this state, who are struggling to keep food on the table and a roof over their children’s heads,” said Tasaka.
“We hope that this new information can be used by legislators, business leaders, service providers and families themselves to understand the crucial role that both decent wages and work supports, such as child-care assistance, affordable housing and health-care assistance, can play in assisting working families in these tough economic times.”
“Just as we support our troops and our government in their struggle to bring peace and freedom to Iraq, it is imperative that we support the hard-working families of Hawai’i who struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis,” said Tasaka.
“In this sluggish economy, now, more than ever, policy-makers, business leaders, service providers and advocates must work together to help hard-working, low-income families meet their basic needs and move towards economic security,” she added.
In 33 other states where state-specific, self-sufficiency standards have been calculated and released, the studies have proven effective tools for designing sound public policy, developing programs, counseling low-income families about education and training options, and providing realistic information about whether residents are truly able to make ends meet, said Pearce.
“We understand that as we release this report, families around the world are suffering due to the impact of war,” said Maureen Golga, self-sufficiency project organizer for Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW).
“And just as we need to support and assist these families with critical humanitarian aid, we must not forget the families in our own backyard who struggle on a daily basis simply to make ends meet,” Golga said.
“This report could not be more timely, given the state of the economy in Hawai’i and the worldwide focus on building a better future for all families.”
The Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women produced the report in partnership with WOW, a national organization.
Research was conducted by Pearce, with supporting data provided by various federal, state and local governmental agencies, and private organizations.
The mission of the Hawai’i State Commission on the Status of Women is to ensure equality for women and girls in the state by acting as a catalyst for positive change through advocacy, education, collaboration, and program development.
WOW is a 38-year-old national women’s employment organization that works to achieve economic independence and equality of opportunity for women and girls.
WOW coordinates the Workforce Network, a network of women’s service and training organizations in all 50 states that reaches more than a million women and girls every year. WOW has been a leader in the areas of nontraditional employment, literacy, and welfare-to-work strategies for more than three decades, Golga added.
“The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Hawai’i” is online at www.SixStrategies.org.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
