Justification for change to 0970-0202

January 19, 2007

To: Karen Matsuoka

From: Mary Bruce Webb

Re: Change Request for #0970-0202

The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (OMB control # 0970-0202) is a nationally representative, longitudinal survey that assesses the functioning and well-being of children who have come into contact with the child welfare system. The “core” sample for NSCAW comprises 5,501 children who entered the system through an investigation by Child Protective Services; these children were sampled out of 92 separate Primary Sampling Units. Baseline data collection was begun in 1999, and included direct assessments and interviews with 5501 children ages 0-14, their caregivers, and their caseworkers. Follow-up data collections were completed at 12 months, 18 months, and 36 months post-baseline, with rates for enrolled children maintained above 80% through the 36-month follow-up.

The survey was mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996. Once the authorization for PRWORA expired, and the program was funded through continuing resolutions, the funding picture for following up NSCAW children beyond four waves of data collection became uncertain; only relatively small sums were available at any given time, and committing to a full Wave 5 follow-up was not feasible.

With the money allocated through the Continuing Resolution in 2005, we contracted to follow up a subsample from NSCAW, those children who were infants at the baseline data collection. The sampling design for NSCAW was such that for any given age group, national estimates can be provided, so this sample represented all infants who came through CPS investigations during the baseline period. Data collection for these children (the “Infant Follow-up”, who are now five and six years old), used the same instruments that were used with five- and six-year-olds (and other elementary school aged children) in previous NSCAW data collections.

In 2006, additional funds became available for adding other subsamples for NSCAW Wave 5 follow-up. The “young child” and “young adult” age groups were then fielded. To date, Wave 5 data collection has been conducted in three separate components, specifically:

• Wave 5 Infant Follow-up: This component began in September, 2005 and ended in August, 2006, with an 80% response rate. The focus of this data collection effort was children in the NSCAW cohort who were infants (younger than 12 months of age) at the time of the baseline (Wave 1) interview, and who were 5-6 years old at Wave 5. There are 1,196 children in the CPS sample component who meet this age criterion. As in previous waves of NSCAW, Wave 5 data collection involved in-person interviews or assessments with these children, their current caregivers, and their services caseworker (if the child or family has received services since the last interview). A mail survey of teachers was also conducted for children not home-schooled. Two new child assessments were included in the Infant Follow-up: a) a measure of executive functioning - the cognitive ability to attend to certain stimuli while ignoring others – that was launched from the laptop, and b) the collection of salivary cortisol. These two new assessments were included only in the Infant Follow-up component of Wave 5.

• Wave 5 Young Child Follow-up: The Wave 5 Young Child Follow-up began in March, 2006, and ended in December, 2006 with an 80% response rate. The focus of this data collection effort was children in the NSCAW cohort who were toddlers or preschoolers (12-48 months of age) at the time of the baseline (Wave 1) interview, and who were 6-9 years of age at Wave 5. There are 1,121 children in the CPS sample component who meet this age criterion. As in previous waves of NSCAW, Wave 5 data collection on the Young Child Follow-up involved in-person interviews or assessments with these children, their current caregivers, and their services caseworker (if the child or family has received services since the last interview). A mail survey of teachers was also conducted. The instruments and data collection procedures for these children are the same as those used in the Infant Follow-up, with the exception of exclusion of the executive functioning test and salivary cortisol collection.

• Wave 5 Young Adult Follow-up: The Wave 5 Young Adult Follow-up began in August, 2006 and is scheduled to end in January, 2007. The focus of this data collection effort is young adults in the NSCAW cohort who were adolescents (12-16 years of age) at the time of the baseline (Wave 1) interview, and who are adults 18-21 years of age at Wave 5. There are 800 young adults in the CPS sample component who meet this age criterion. Data collection on the Young Adult Follow-up is unique to Wave 5 in that it involves only one in-person interview - with the young adult. No data are collected from caregivers, caseworkers, or teachers.

In September 2005, we received OMB clearance for three additional years of data collection on NSCAW (clearance effective through June 30, 2009). The initial clearance package covered the Infant Follow-up. In January 2006, a change request was submitted to obtain clearance for the Young Child Follow-up. This request was approved given the use of the same data collection protocol and instrument on the preschool age group as on the infant age group. In May 2006, a separate OMB clearance package was submitted for the Young Adult Follow-Up; due to significant changes in the instrument for this older age group, a separate clearance package was required.

We would like to request clearance through a change to the two original clearance packages for NSCAW (i.e., Infant and Young Child Follow-Up; Young Adult Follow-Up) to add in the remaining 2,381 children in the original NSCAW cohort, using the same instruments already cleared. This subsample represents the remainder of the cohort. If clearance is provided, the fifth wave of the NSCAW study will contain the full Child Protective Services sample component. This remaining group of “adolescents” would include children who were 3-12 years of age at the time of the baseline (Wave 1) interview, and who are now 10-19 years of age. There are 2,381 adolescents in the CPS sample component who meet this age criterion.

For adolescents ages 17 years and younger (n=2,051) Wave 5 data collection will involve in-person interviews or assessments with these children, their current caregivers, and their services caseworker (if the child or family has received services since the last interview). A mail survey will also be conducted of teachers. The data collection procedures and instrument mirror that of the Infant and Young Child Follow-Ups. The instrument items are the same as those used in previous waves of NSCAW for this age group – only the dates will be updated in the instrument range checks. For adolescents ages 18 and older (n=330), only one in-person interview with the young adult will be conducted. The instrument and data collection procedures for adolescents ages 18 and older will mirror those detailed in the clearance package approved for the Young Adult Follow-Up. No revisions beyond date change updates will be made to the current young adult instrument.

The revised total number of respondents completing the survey, including the children and youths themselves, their caregivers where appropriate, their teachers, and their caseworkers, is 5,418. The total number of respondents was previously 950. The total burden hours will increase from 1,424 to 7,791. This represents an increase of 6,367 additional burden hours.

Because we already have trained data collectors in the field, there would be significant cost savings if we can start the field work for the remaining Wave 5 sample before or immediately following data collection completion on the “young adult” subsample. Receiving rapid clearance for this activity will allow us to save on hiring, training, and other start-up costs for the field staff, who are scattered across 92 separate geographic locations. The majority of current field staff (over 70%) have indicated that they would remain with the NSCAW study should additional cases be fielded in the near-term future.

Please let me know if I can provide further information. I will look forward to hearing from you as to whether we can use a change procedure to collect data on the remaining NSCAW cohort.