NCJ Number
176809
Date Published
1999
Length
17 pages
Annotation
The longitudinal National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) is planned to address crucial program, policy, and practice issues of concern to Federal, State, and local government officials and child welfare agencies.
Abstract
The NSCAW will collect and analyze, for the first time, nationally representative longitudinal data from first-hand reports of children, parents, and other caregivers, as well as from reports of caseworkers and teachers. The survey will describe the child welfare system, characteristics and experiences of children and families who come in contact with the system, and outcomes. The NSCAW sample will include 6,000 children up to 14 years of age who enter the child welfare system within a 1-year period beginning September 1999. These children, along with an additional 700 children who have been in out-of- home placements for a year, will be selected from 100 primary sampling units in 107 counties nationwide. Four rounds of direct interviews will be conducted with children, parents, and non-parent caregivers. The survey will explore the history and characteristics of children and families, their experiences with the child welfare system, and other concurrent life experiences. Procedures followed in planning and organizing the survey are detailed, key research activities are identified, and sampling design and data analysis procedures are described. 6 exhibits