Linking Federal Surveys with Administrative Data to Improve Research on Families

2016 ◽  
Vol 669 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy O’Hara ◽  
Rachel M. Shattuck ◽  
Robert M. Goerge
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Administrative Data ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Administrative Records ◽  
State And Local

Linkage of federal, state, and local administrative records to survey data holds great promise for research on families, in particular research on low-income families. Researchers can use administrative records in conjunction with survey data to better measure family relationships and to capture the experiences of individuals and family members across multiple points in time and social and economic domains. Administrative data can be used to evaluate program participation in government social welfare programs, as well as to evaluate the accuracy of reporting on receipt of such benefits. Administrative records can also be used to enhance collection and accuracy of survey and census data and to improve coverage of hard-to-reach populations. This article discusses potential uses of linked administrative and survey data, gives an overview of the linking methodology and infrastructure (including limitations), and reviews social science literature that has used this method to date.

scholarly journals If You Offer It, Will They Come? Patterns of Application and Enrollment Behavior in a Universal Prekindergarten Context

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841984844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Shapiro ◽  
Eleanor Martin ◽  
Christina Weiland ◽  
Rebecca Unterman
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Census Data ◽  
School Level ◽  
Universal Prekindergarten ◽  
Administrative Records ◽  
Boston Public Schools ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
Prekindergarten Programs

Universal public prekindergarten programs have been expanding in recent years, but not all eligible families apply to these programs, for reasons that are not well understood. Using two cohorts of students ( N = 8,391) enrolled in Boston Public Schools, we use geographic information systems to combine administrative records with census data to compare the student-, neighborhood-, and school-level characteristics of kindergarteners who did and did not apply to the Boston Public Schools prekindergarten program. We find that nonappliers are more likely to be non-White ( SD = 0.27), low income ( SD = 0.11), and dual language ( SD = 0.58), particularly those who did not attend any other prekindergarten program. We find similar differences at the neighborhood and school levels. Our study provides some of the first descriptive information on the sociodemographic characteristics and spatial distribution of families who opt out of applying to universal prekindergarten programs. Findings may inform recruitment strategies to promote equitable and universal prekindergarten enrollment.

scholarly journals The Price of Poverty: Policy Implications of the Unequal Effects of Monetary Sanctions on the Poor

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65
Author(s):  
Ilya Slavinski ◽  
Kimberly Spencer-Suarez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Federal State ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Time Requirements ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Set Up

Over the last several decades, with the rise of mass incarceration in the United States and its steep costs, governments at the federal, state, and local levels have dramatically ramped up monetary punishment. Monetary sanctions are now the most common type of criminal penalty in the United States. The growth of fines, fees, and other legal financial obligations (LFOs), and the ensuing legal debt, reflect a shifting of the system’s costs onto its primarily low-income and indigent subjects. This study provides an exploration of previously underexamined ways in which monetary sanctions impose distinct burdens on the poor. Interviews with 121 defendants in Texas and New York, along with courtroom observations, demonstrate that criminal legal debt is particularly challenging for people with low incomes in three meaningful ways. First, systems set up to handle indigency claims do not adequately address the needs or complex individual circumstances of those who simply do not have the ability to pay. Oftentimes, alternatives are unavailable or statutorily prohibited. Second, the lack of alternatives to payment lead to compromising situations, which then compel indigent defendants to make difficult choices about how to allocate scant resources. Finally, being encumbered with fines and fees and participating in alternatives like community service comes with taxing time requirements that can prove uniquely challenging for those who are poor. These three findings lead us to propose a series of policy recommendations revolving around three key themes: (a) enhancement of indigency procedures, (b) equity in monetary sanctions, and (c) alleviating burdens by improving accessibility.

Roles for Health Educators in a Time of Health Care Cutbacks: Preventive and Ameliorative Approaches

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Richard Brown
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Access ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Health Educators ◽  
Care Access ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact

Cutbacks in public health care programs at federal, state, and local levels have reduced the health care access of many low-income persons. Based on findings from several California studies, this article suggests several roles for health educators intended to prevent cutbacks or mitigate their impact. Methods of preventing cutbacks rely on community organization methods and coalitions including health education professional groups. When preventive actions are unsuccessful, health educators may ease the impact of cutbacks by developing adequate education interventions for users of affected services and community organization strategies to improve access to remaining services. Specific methods are suggested and discussed.

Urban Renewal Policy and Community Change

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Baber
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Federal State ◽  
American Business ◽  
Market Values ◽  
State And Local

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s federal, state, and local governments worked together to implement policies that expanded the nation's highway systems, encouraged suburban expansion, and funded wholesale clearance projects in so-called slum and depressed inner city areas. These policies created programs that directly affected African Americans in cities all over the United States by targeting older neighborhoods, eliminating affordable (though substandard) housing, dislocating families and extended networks, and replacing what existed with highway overpasses, widened city streets, massive sewer projects, parks, and public housing. The residents of the affected neighborhoods were not involved in the planning, much of which took place years before the programs were implemented, and their voices were not well represented at public hearings. Absentee land owners, who leased properties to African Americans, capitalized on Urban Renewal opportunities, selling their holdings or allowing them to be claimed by condemnation or eminent domain for "fair market values." Those who were displaced had few options for relocation and resettled in other areas where they could find affordable housing, creating new low-income neighborhoods where they were once again tenants of absentee landlords. Traditional services—beauty and barber shops, medical offices and other businesses—were dispersed and people found it harder to conduct business with their friends and neighbors. Streets were broken up by highways, and people without transportation could no longer walk to the traditional business areas. Consumer activity was dispersed to new areas in cities, weakening the African American business foundation and causing many businesses to fail.

Train Horn Noise Impact Assessment Model

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jade Huang ◽  
Jeffery E. Warner
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Noise Impact ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Train Speed ◽  
Effective Deterrent ◽  
State And Local

Train horn noise has been long regarded as a nuisance to the residents of the adjacent communities, in spite of the fact that train horn is an effective deterrent to accidents at highway-rail grade crossings. Federal, state, and local governments are making efforts in mitigating the negative effect of train horn noise. This paper utilized census data and train speed and volume information to develop a GIS-based model that exhibits the train horn noise impact on adjacent populations and demonstrates how these impacts change with altered rail operations. This model serves as a tool for planners, engineers, and decision-makers to gain a better understanding of the most affected areas, thus pursue the most appropriate mitigation measures for the localities.

scholarly journals Covid-19’s Socio-Economic Impact on Low-Income Benefit Recipients: Early Evidence from Tracking Surveys

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Enriquez ◽  
Adam Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Job Loss ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Online Surveys ◽  
Food Scarcity ◽  
Early Evidence ◽  
Socio Economic Impact

The Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis have introduced manifold dislocations in Americans’ lives. Using novel survey data samples of SNAP recipients and Census Pulse survey data, we examine the socio-economic insecurities faced by low-income/benefits-eligible households during the early months of the crisis. Five repeated online surveys of SNAP recipients included measures of perceived and realized housing insecurity, food scarcity, new debt accrual, and recent job loss as indicators of Covid-induced shocks. We then compared our SNAP beneficiaries data to the Census data from a similar period on job loss, food insecurity, and housing precarity. Food insecurity and debt accrual worsened significantly between April and June 2020. Job losses also compounded, albeit at a slower rate. The proportion of respondents reporting multiple types of precarity increased over the month. Compared to Latinx and White respondents, Black respondents were more likely to experience Covid-induced precarity across three out of four indicators, and they experienced more types simultaneously on average. The results provide early systematic evidence on the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis on poor Americans and racial disparities therein.

The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Public Health Law

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (S4) ◽  
pp. 76-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzi Ruhl ◽  
Mari Stephens ◽  
Paul Locke
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Native Americans ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
The Public ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Health Laws

NGOs can play an important role in the development, implementation, and reform of public health laws. To be effective, NGOs must recognize the critical role law plays in protecting the health of the public and in the public health system’s emergency preparedness. They must be ready to work with federal, state, and local leaders to advance the goals that public health laws were enacted to achieve. NGOs also have technical expertise, which they can utilize to help translate highly complex scientific concepts into public health action steps that regulators, legislators, and members of the public can readily understand.Those who are most often affected by pollution tend to be low income people, the working class, Native Americans, and people of color. Those most affected by pollution issues, however, usually have the least input in the creation of policy.

A Safety Net Unraveling: Feeding Young Children During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-120
Author(s):  
Katherine W. Bauer ◽  
Jamie F. Chriqui ◽  
Tatiana Andreyeva ◽  
Erica L. Kenney ◽  
Virginia C. Stage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Adult Care ◽  
Low Income Children ◽  
Early Child Care ◽  
Food Programs ◽  
State And Local

The emergence of COVID-19 in the United States led most states to close or severely limit the capacity of their early child-care and education (ECE) programs. This loss affected millions of young children, including many of the 4.6 million low-income children who are provided free meals and snacks by their ECE programs through support from the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Although Congress swiftly authorized waivers that would allow CACFP-participating ECE programs to continue distributing food to children, early evidence suggests that most ECE programs did not have the capacity to do so, leaving a fragmented system of federal, state, and local food programs to fill the gaps created by this loss. Critical steps are needed to repair our nation’s fragile ECE system, including greater investment in CACFP, to ensure the nutrition, health, and development of young children during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Better Parks Through Law and Policy: A Legal Analysis of Authorities Governing Public Parks and Open Spaces

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (s1) ◽  
pp. S109-S115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Henderson ◽  
Christine R. Fry
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Public Parks ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Obesity Prevalence ◽  
State Laws ◽  
School Communities ◽  
State And Local

Background:Improving parks in low income and minority neighborhoods may be a key way to increase physical activity and decrease overweight and obesity prevalence among children at the greatest risk. To advocate effectively for improved recreation infrastructure, public health advocates must understand the legal and policy landscape in which public recreation decisions are made.Methods:In this descriptive legal analysis, we reviewed federal, state, and local laws to determine the authority of each level of government over parks. We then examined current practices and state laws regarding park administration in urban California and rural Texas.Results:We identified several themes through the analysis: (1) multiple levels of governments are often involved in parks offerings in a municipality, (2) state laws governing parks vary, (3) local authority may vary substantially within a state, and (4) state law may offer greater authority than local jurisdictions use.Conclusions:Public health advocates who want to improve parks need to (1) think strategically about which levels of government to engage; (2) identify parks law and funding from all levels of government, including those not typically associated with local parks; and (3) partner with advocates with similar interests, including those from active living and school communities.

scholarly journals AMEND: Open Source and Data-Driven Oversight of Water Quality in New England

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-103
Author(s):  
Nathan Edward Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Open Source ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Online Data ◽  
Web Resource ◽  
Civic Organizations ◽  
Sewer Overflows ◽  
State And Local

The advent of government transparency through online data publication should provide a transformative benefit to the information gathering practices of civic organizations and environmental advocates. However, environmental agencies and other reporters often disseminate this critical data only in siloed repositories and in technically complex, inconsistent formats, limiting its impact. We have developed a new open source web resource, the Archive of Massachusetts ENvironmental Data or AMEND, which curates information relating to federal, state, and local environmental stewardship in Massachusetts, focused on water quality. We describe the construction of AMEND, its operation, and the datasets we have integrated to date. This tool supports the development and advocacy of policy positions with published analyses that are fully reproducible, versioned, and archived online. As a case study, we present the first publicly reported analysis of the distributional impact of combined sewer overflows on Environmental Justice (EJ) communities. Our analysis of the historical geospatial distribution of these sewer overflows and block-level US Census data on EJ indicators tracking race, income, and linguistic isolation demonstrates that vulnerable communities in Massachusetts are significantly overburdened by this form of pollution. We discuss applications of this analysis to the state-level legislative process in Massachusetts. We believe that this approach to increasing the accessibility of regulatory data, and the code underlying AMEND, can serve as a model for other civic organizations seeking to leverage data to build trust with and advocate to policymakers and the public.

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