TRACKING DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CLIENTS - EVALUATION OF AN ENCODING APPROACH

• NCJ Number: 57763
• Journal: EVALUATION QUARTERLY Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (MAY 1979) Pages: 256-262
• Author(s): S BORTHWICK; R BUTKUS; C MILLER
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 7 pages
• Grant Number(s): OHD 54-P-71117/9-02
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE RELIABILITY OF AN ENCODING SYSTEM DESIGNED TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE LINKAGE OF RECORDS FOR THE SAME CLIENT FROM DIFFERENT DATA FILES IS EVALUATED.

Abstract

THE PURPOSE OF RECORD LINKAGE IS TO ENABLE SERVICE PROVIDERS AND RESEARCHERS TO KEEP TRACK OF CLIENTS WHO RECEIVE SERVICES FROM MORE THAN ONE STATE OR AGENCY, OR WHO REAPPEAR WITHIN THE SAME AGENCY. THE ENCODING SYSTEM EVALUATED IS PART OF A CALIFORNIA PROJECT INVOLVING THE COLLECTION OF LONGITUDINAL AND CROSS-SECTIONAL DATA ON DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED CLIENTS OF PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY AGENCIES. THE SYSTEM, WHICH HAD BEEN IN USE FOR 4 YEARS AT THE TIME OF THE EVALUATION, IS BASED ON A THREE-ELEMENT 'TRACK NUMBER'--A CODIFICATION OF THE CLIENT'S NAME, SEX, AND BIRTHDATE. THE ACCURACY OF RECORD MATCHES OBTAINED WITH THE TRACK NUMBER WAS TESTED BOTH BETWEEN AGENCIES AND WITHIN A SINGLE AGENCY. THE FINDINGS DOCUMENT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ENCODING SYSTEM IN MATCHING CLIENT RECORDS, AND POINT TO THE RELATIVE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF EACH TRACK NUMBER ELEMENT AS A CONTRIBUTOR TO ACCURATE MATCHES. DETAILS OF TRACK NUMBER CONSTRUCTION, SUPPORTING DATA, AND A LIST OF REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED.