Difference between revisions of "Template:Nhsc-v1-24"

Revision as of 18:56, 24 February 2006

It has been shown that education is a high priority of native Hawaiian parents, and this fact will facilitate the efforts to improve educational attainment at several levels— the students themselves, the family, the school, the community, and the State. Unemployment is a greater problem for the native Hawaiian population than for other ethnic groups in Hawaii. Data also show that native Hawaiians still lag behind most other ethnic groups in terms of the percentage of their population in professional positions. Over 22 percent of native Hawaiian men have jobs classified as "menial."

Income levels for native Hawaiians fall below that of some of the other ethnic groups. Data for 1977 show that full-Hawaiians had the lowest median family income of civilians in Hawaii compared to other ethnic groups. Part- Hawaiians had the third lowest. As suggested above, lower employment and income are due, to a large extent, to educational and training deficiencies.

In 1975, over one-fourth (27 percent) of native Hawaiians were classified as below the poverty level. In 1982, the number of native Hawaiians on welfare (Aid to Families with Dependent Children and general assistance) was significantly higher than their relative share of the population.

The high unemployment rate of native Hawaiians generally, and the educational problems of native Hawaiian youth are reflected in criminal justice data. Native Hawaiian youth constitute the largest percent of juveniles arrested for several crime categories. Alcohol and drug abuse problems also exist for native Hawaiians, although incidence is lower than for some other groups, including Caucasians.

• Native Hawaiians continue to have a shorter life expectancy than other ethnic groups in Hawaii and a higher infant mortality rate. The incidence of cancer is higher than that of other groups for both men and women of native Hawaiian descent. Other health problems include a high prevalence of respiratory conditions and a high mortality rate, particularly for full-blooded Hawaiians, for heart disease, cancer, and accidents.

• Given the high cost of housing on the islands, housing problems exist for all groups in Hawaii: the median value of a house in Hawaii is two and one-half tunes greater than the 1980 national median value. The lack of adequate housing may be even more acute for native Hawaiians because of their lower income levels. For native Hawaiians on Hawaiian Home Lands, there exist impediments that prevent them from using the assistance programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

• The State of Hawaii consists of a population of considerable racial and cultural diversity. From the earliest times, interracial

marriage was accepted by