The State of Fathers

in the State of Hawaii

by Selva Lewin-Bizan, Ph.D.

Center on the Family, University of Hawaii

and Hawaii State Commission on

FatherhoodDepartment of Human Services

Provides a snapshot of the state of fathers across Hawaii Number, characteristics, and geographical distribution of

fathers Differences and similarities to the mainland U.S. populations

Data Sources 2000 and 2010 U.S. Censuses 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-year sample Hawai‘i Homeless Management Information System Hawai‘i Department of Public Safety

The State of Fathers in the State of Hawai‘i

Missing Community Data What does father

involvement look like? How are sociocultural

variations linked to parenting practices of Hawaii men?

How do we measure fatherhood?

Why Conduct Fatherhood Study?

2013 Commission on Fatherhood includes fatherhood study in

Strategic Plan 2014 & 2015

UH Center on the Family analyses Hawaii fatherhood demographics & trends

2015 Establish community partnerships

2016 Create inventory of services Work with policy makers (DHS, DOH, Hawaii Children’s Trust

Fund) to secure federal, state and county fatherhood resources

Fatherhood Study Timeline

Between 2008-2012 80% of fathers in Hawai‘i were employed Among the unemployed there was a higher rate of single fathers

than among the employed

Study Highlight - Employment

Fathers in Hawaiʻi, by marital status and employment status, 2008-2012Employment Status

All Married Spouse Present

Married Spouse Absent

Separated Divorced Widowed Never married /

Single

Employed 80,166 68,445 1,359 1,012 4,568 910 3,872

Unemployed 3,113 2,487 4 19 139 128 336

Not in force 16,872 13,373 302 106 740 1,974 377

N/A 13 0 0 0 0 0 13

Total 100,164 84,305 1,665 1,137 5,447 3,012 4,598

Between 2008-2012 about 237,000 minor children lived with their parents in Hawai‘i

Almost 3/4 of all children in Hawai‘i lived with two married parents, and almost 1/5 lived with a single mother 73.7% lived with two married parents 19.2% lived with a single mother 7.1% lived with a single father

Study Highlight – Rates of Two-Parent Households

Lowest on Maui (69%) and Hawaii counties (63.6%)

In all counties, higher rates of children lived with single mothers than with single fathers 26.4% versus 10.6% in Hawaii County 22.5% versus 8.9% in Maui County 7.7% versus 5.8% in Honolulu County 13.9% versus 9.6% in Kauai County

Study Highlight – Variations of Rates of Two-Parent Households

among Hawaii Counties

Between 2008-2012 about 302,000 children lived in family households in Hawaii 21.5% received Supplemental Security Income,

cash public assistance income, or Food Stamp/SNAP benefits

a lower rate than the 25.1% nationwide rate

Study Highlight – Rates of Public Assistance

All Married couples Single women Single men0

10

20

30

40

50

60

HIUS

Perc

enta

ge

Children living in households with public assistance 2008-2012

Assistance rates were higher within households headed by a single-person 40.5% of children living with a female head of the

household lower than the 50.6% nationwide average

24.5% of children living with a male head of the household lower than the 31.3% nationwide average

Study Highlight – Rates of Public Assistance (cont.)

Between 2008-2012 14.6% of the 301,874 children in households in Hawai‘i lived in families with an income below the poverty level lower than the 20.8% nationwide

Poverty rates were higher (35.3%) for children living in single-women family households lower than the 46.1% nationwide

Study Highlight – Rates of Poverty

Percent of Hawaii children living in single-women family households with below-poverty-income 5 times higher than for children living

in married-couple households (7.6%) Rates for mainland children living in

single-women family households with below-poverty-income 4.5 times higher than for children

living in married-couple households (10.4%)

Study Highlight – Rates of Poverty (cont.)

Married couples

Single women

0

10

20

30

40

50

HIUS

Perc

enta

ge

Children living in households with income below the poverty level

Poverty rates vary among Hawaii counties 12.6% in the City and County of Honolulu 24.9% in Hawai‘i County

In single-women households with children 34.4% in the City and County of Honolulu 45.9% in Hawai‘i County

Study Highlight - Variation of Poverty Rates among Hawaii Counties

In Hawai‘i County almost one quarter of all family households are a father-absent family household (23.4%) Children in female-headed homes are almost 3.5 times more

likely to be poor than children in married-couple households In City & County of Honolulu, less than a fifth of all family

households are a father-absent household (17.2%) Children in female-headed homes are almost 5.4 times more

likely to be poor than children in married-couple households.

Study Highlight - Variation of Poverty Rates among Hawaii Counties (cont.)

Among all homeless families in Hawai‘i, more than half are two-parent families

Among all single-parent homeless families in the state, 11.5% are headed by a father

Homeless Fathers

Honolulu Magazine

54.5% are two-parent families 40.2% are father-absent families Honolulu has the largest proportion of two-parent homeless

families 63.6% of the 1,072 homeless families

Maui has the smallest (28% of the 250 homeless families)

A higher proportion of single-father families have either no minor children, or only one child compared to two-parent and single-mother homeless families

Homeless Fathers (cont.)

• Informs policy and decision making

• Guides allocation of resources

Quality Data

A larger percentage of fathers in the state are part of a two-parent family than nationwide

Fathers in Hawai‘i fare better than mainland counterparts in terms of education, employment, and income

Still, many fathers, and their families, are in need of support

Summary

Father-Child Look-a-like ContestFather’s Day 2015