American Housing Survey of the United States, 1999

Investigators: Bureau of the Census for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The American Housing Survey (AHS) can be used to answer many questions about housing units and households in the United States. The AHS provides data on apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant homes, family composition, income, housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment, fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers. National data are collected every other year from a fixed sample of about 50,000 homes, plus new construction. The survey started in 1973 and has had the same core sample since 1985. The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the surveys in person and by telephone for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The resulting 1999 dataset includes 67,177 cases.

Current Population Surveys: Annual Demographic Survey (also known as March Supplement)

Investigators: United States Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Current Population Surveys (CPS), sponsored jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is the nationís primary source of labor force statistics for the entire population. The CPS is the source of numerous high-profile economic statistics including the Nationís unemployment rate and provides data on the wide range of issues relating to employment and earnings. The CPS is a multistage probability sample of housing units in the United States. It produces monthly labor force and related estimates for the total U.S, civilian noninstitutional population and for various age, sex, race, and ethnic groups. The Annual Demographic Survey (ADS), also known as the March Supplement collects data on family characteristics, household composition, marital status, migration, income from all sources, information on weeks worked, time spent looking for work or on layoff from a job, occupation and industry classification of the job held longest during the year, health insurance coverage and receipt of noncash benefits. The ADS sample consists of the March CPS sample and November CPS households containing at least one person of Hispanic origin. The 2001 Annual Demographic Survey consists of 143 variables and 64,362 cases in the household data, 75 variables and 56,480 cases in the family data, and 466 variables and 128,821 cases in the person data.

DILS: Data and Internet Literacy Series

Investigators: Diana Dull Akers, PhD, Angela Amarillas, MA, Megan M. Bunch, MA, Tamara Kuhn, MA, Janette Mince, & Lauren J. Shapiro, PhD

The Data and Internet Literacy Series (DIL Series) was created with the goal of training data and internet novices on the appropriate use of these valuable resources. Comprised of a set of six self-paced training modules and a parallel set of teaching materials for instructors, the Data and Internet Literacy Series covers just about everything you need to know about utilizing data and the Internet to understand issues and optimize your research in the social sciences. The Data and Internet Literacy Training Modules are user-friendly self-paced guides to gaining usable skills for utilizing and understanding data and the Internet in the context of social science research. Each module has its own glossary to further define terms and concepts introduced in the module. Each module also comes with a set of activities to explore and apply data and Internet knowledge and skills. These activities encourage application of module concepts, review important terms, and stimulate critical thinking. The Data and Internet Literacy Instructor Packages provide materials for teaching the content of Data and Internet Training Modules in a classroom setting. In addition to a complete copy of Training Module materials, an Instructor Package includes a lesson plan, a set of PowerPoint® slides, review questions and answers, and photocopy masters of the module activities and review questions.

Expressive Language Delay (ELD) Treatment Program: An Early Intervention for Children with Early Expressive Language Delay

Investigators: Grover J. Whitehurst, PhD & Janet E. Fischel PhD

Specific expressive language delay (ELD) is an early childhood condition characterized by a substantial delay in the child's development of expressive language relative to their receptive language skills and non-verbal intelligence. Young children with ELD are only able to produce a few single words, at an age at which most children are able to produce hundreds of words and a variety of syntactic combinations. The Expressive Language Delay (ELD) Treatment Program is a home- and clinic-based intervention that trains parents of young children diagnosed with ELD, with skills to improve their child's expressive language abilities. The ELD Treatment Program consists of seven 30-minute training sessions, in which parents receive training on seven language therapy skills. Parents are asked to practice each of these skills at-home with their child during the two-week intervals between training sessions. Parent training sessions were conducted on a one-on-one basis at an outpatient pediatric clinic and took place every other week during a three and a half month period. The evaluation of the ELD Treatment Program demonstrated short-term success in helping to improve the expressive vocabulary skills of children diagnosed with ELD. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Food Stamp Program Quality Control Database, 2000

Investigators: Mathematica Policy Research Inc. for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service

The Food Stamp Program (FSP) is the largest of domestic food and nutrition assistance programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Services (FNS). During fiscal year 2000, the FSP served and average of 17.2 million persons per month, paying out almost $15.0 billion in food stamps throughout the year. The characteristics of food stamp households and the level of FSP participation change over time in response to economic and demographic trends, and to legislative changes in eligibility requirements. To track these changes and measure their effect on the FSP, FNS relies on data from the QC database, which is an edited version of the FSP Quality Control (FSPQC) database. The FSPQC database contains detailed demographic, economic, and FSP eligibility information for a nationally representative sample of 46,963 FSP units. The FSPQC data are generated from monthly quality control (QC) reviews of FSP cases that are conducted by state FSP agencies to assess the accuracy of eligibility determinations and benefit calculations for the state's FSP caseload. These data, which are produced annually, are ideal for tabulations of the characteristics of food stamp units and for simulating the impact of various reforms to the FSP on current FSP sites.

Fulton County Descriptive Study, A Subset of the JOBS Child Outcome Study, 1992-1994 (The JOBS Descriptive Study)

Investigators: Kristin A. Moore, Martha J. Zaslow, Mary Jo Coiro, & Suzanne M. Miller

The JOBS Child Outcomes Study is a longitudinal investigation of the life circumstances and development of young children (ages 3 to 5 year at baseline) in families receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children whose mothers were randomly assigned to one of three groups (Human Capital Development, Labor Force Attachment, Control) to test strategies to reduce welfare dependency and promote self-sufficiency. The data were collected as part of an evaluation of the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) Training Program. The evaluation was conducted by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation; The Child Outcomes substudy of the parents and children was conducted by Child Trends, Inc. The Fulton County Descriptive Study, the subject of this data set, was a subset of the JOBS Child Outcomes Study sample and only took place in Fulton County, Georgia. Its purpose was to describe the participants in one site soon after random assignment. The study gathered information about child outcomes and intervening maternal, familial, and child processes related to cognitive development, safety and health, problem behavior and emotional well-being, and social development.

High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study, 1980 to 1986

Investigators: National Center for Education Statistics

HS&B is a longitudinal study of the critical transition years as high school students leave the secondary school system to begin postsecondary education, work, and family formation. Its purpose is to provide information on the characteristics, achievement, and plans of high school students, their progress through high school, and the transition they make from high school to adult roles. Researchers can examine such policy issues as school effects, bilingual education, dropouts, vocational education, academic growth, access to postsecondary education, student financial aid, and life goals. Information was also compiled regarding school characteristics, high school course offerings and course enrollments. For a subset of schools, questionnaires were administered to principals, vocational counselors, guidance counselors, and teachers. Additional data were gathered from parents, siblings, and administrative records (high school transcripts). In addition, postsecondary information regarding transcripts and financial aid were collected for both the sophomore and senior cohort. Therefore, a wide variety of data are available for analysis.

Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, Waves I-IV, 1993-2001

Investigators: Preventive Medicine and Community Health

The Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (Hispanic EPESE) project collected data on a representative sample of community-dwelling Mexican-Americans, aged 65 years and older, residing in the five southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The primary purpose of the study was to provide estimates of the prevalence of key physical health conditions, mental health conditions, and functional impairments in older Mexican Americans and compare them to those in other populations. In addition, the investigators wanted to study predictors and correlates of the health outcomes cross-sectionally. Baseline interviews were conducted in 1993 and 1994 with 3,050 subjects. Follow-up interviews of the same subjects were conducted at two (1995-1996), five (1998-1999), seven (2000-2001) and ten (2004-2005) years. Prior to the start of the ten-year follow-up, another 1,000 subjects aged 75 or older were added to the sample. Data were collected on major chronic conditions, functional disabilities, mental health, family relations, migration history, access to health services, and related variables through personal household interviews with the subjects.

Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP): An Early Intervention Program for Low Birth Weight Premature Infants

Investigators: Craig T. Ramey, PhD, Donna M. Bryant, PhD, Joseph Sparling, PhD & Barbara H. Wasik, PhD

The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) was developed to enhance the cognitive, behavioral, and health status of low birth weight (LBW), premature infants. Between birth of a premature child and the age of three, program families received: 1) pediatric follow-up, 2) home visits, 3) parent support groups, and 4) a systematic educational program provided in specialized child developmental centers. The purpose of this early intervention program is to prevent later developmental problems. As such the child is the primary intervention target, although a parent (or other primary caregiver) is an essential participant in various program components. The IHDP curriculum is both center and home-based and includes activities to foster child functioning and enhance primary care giver child-rearing skills. At the end of the program, an experimental evaluation showed that IHDP had positively impacted cognitive and motor skills in participating children, particularly those from the most at-risk families and those who had been born at the "heavier" side of the low birth weight range (2001 to 2500 grams). Click here to view more detailed information on this program.

Infant Stimulation and Physical Therapy: An Early Intervention Program for Children with Spastic Diplegia

Investigators: Frederick B. Palmer, MD, Bruce K. Shapiro, MD, & Marilee C. Allen, MD

The Infant Stimulation and Physical Therapy program was developed to address both cognitive and motor developmental areas for children with mild to severe spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. This program is an early intervention program that lasts a full year and incorporates both an infant stimulation curriculum for the first six months, followed by neurodevelopmental physical therapy for the remaining six months. The Infant Stimulation and Physical Therapy program is both center and home-based. Parents (or primary caregivers) meet bi-weekly for one-hour sessions at a clinic for twelve months where they receive training in the daily home implementation of the program. During the first six months of the program, parents or primary caregivers meet with a child development therapist and receive infant stimulation training structured around checklists and specific behavioral objectives. During the second six months of the program, parents or primary caregivers meet with a physical therapist and receive physical therapy training that are also structured around checklists and specific behavioral objectives. Click here to view more detailed information on this program.