Help poor children fulfill their dreams

At the moment of birth for most children, it’s the possibilities of life rather than its limitations that loom large. They are equipped with roughly the same brain power and other human physical attributes needed to thrive.

Almost immediately thereafter, the pathways diverge and, for some, the incline bends steeply upward. For children in poverty, lifting themselves out of that state, armed with an education, remains a possibility, but it soon becomes quite a heavy lift.

The latest Kids Count, a yearly report funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows a downward trend line that afflicts Hawaii as well as most other communities struggling to progress in a rocky financial landscape. The 2011 report shows a mixed set of measures, including some improvements for the 50th state: The rate of teens giving birth is on the decline, as is the infant mortality rate.

But the bad news is that 14 percent of children live below the poverty line, up a full percentage point since 2000. That puts Hawaii about in the middle of the pack among states — which is still a disturbing statistic, considering the state’s high cost of living. Even more startling: About 30 percent of children live in families where no parent has stable employment, meaning a full-time, year-round job. That level of insecurity complicates a family’s attempt to provide the children with a route out of poverty through education.

In his report on the Kids Count figures, Star-Advertiser writer Dan Nakaso interviewed a single mother of four, Mildred Kalaluhi, who cobbles together income from a part-time job with food stamps and welfare assistance to cover rent and bare living essentials for herself and her kids. It’s a too-common story of the multigenerational rut poverty can represent. Kalaluhi grew up poor herself and quit school to work and help raise her younger siblings. Questionable choices over personal responsibility have only reinforced the poverty tether.

Still — the hopeful aspect to this story is that Kalaluhi is now trying to earn her high school diploma; her older children are studying hard and have dreams of a medical profession and an easier life.

Such dreams are fragile, however, easily extinguished for those in even meaner circumstances. For example, social workers assisting the homeless affirm that for many adults who lack even a roof over their heads, the most basic motivation slips away. Life can soon become a downward spiral that pulls children down as well.

The best way to break the cycle is to intervene on behalf of these children as early as possible. Providing early educational opportunities for those who can’t afford them has been shown to be a powerful investment that pays dividends in academic success and career readiness. Keeping a child on pace to master reading skills is critical, said Ivette Rodriguez Stern, the Hawaii Kids Count director — those that don’t master reading by the third grade run a higher risk of falling behind and, ultimately dropping out.

Programs such as Head Start and Good Beginnings, which aim to ensure child health and school readiness, have been pared back in the current climate of budget cuts. That’s not surprising, but as the economy recovers, lawmakers should turn their attention back toward such initiatives to help children in poverty find their way up and out.

In the meantime, the community at large can help play a vital role. Anyone with a few dollars to spare can contribute school supplies through a variety of charities or to their local school, to help families who can’t cover that cost. The website helphawaiischools.com rounds up a range of ways people can donate time or treasure to schools.

Giving children a hand is not a mere handout. It’s a boost, but with just that little support, many kids have it in them to take it from there.