In fact, what is most striking in Table 2 is not only the high poverty rate for Hawaiian children but also how much it is above the poverty rate for Hawaiian adults. With poverty, problems of family formation intensify, often leading to more poverty. Using the recalculated poverty rate therefore makes for marginal changes in the poverty statistics for Hawai'i. We do find a larger poverty population and one that is slightly more likely to be working and slightly less likely to be comprised of poor single mothers with children. What is consistent is that poverty, according to 1990 census data, is concentrated in Hawai'i.
Poverty rates are particularly steep for Hawaiian children.
Hawaiian children have not only a much higher poverty rate than other children but have a wider gap compared to Hawaiian adults than do children of other groups when compared to adults in those groups. While the poverty rate for Hawai'i may have once been relatively low and it is still below that of many other states, there is evidence that it is growing. There is also evidence that poverty in Hawai'i is probably underestimated according to official statistics. A new perspective is therefore needed. Personal Telephone Interview.