Feedback on future National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) data collections

Instrument 1: Reimagining NSCAW Data Users and Advisors Pre-Webinar Survey Questions

OMB Control Number: 0970-0401, Expiration Date: June 30, 2024

Introduction to Pre-Webinar REDCap Survey:

Thank you for agreeing to provide feedback on future NSCAW data collections! Prior to beginning this 20-minute survey, please take a few minutes to read about NSCAW’s history, challenges and successes, and the goals of the new Reimagining NSCAW project.

History: Conceptualized in 1996, the first NSCAW cohort launched in 1999. Since 1999, there have been three cohorts (about a decade apart) of children who have been in contact with the Child Welfare System (CWS), who have been or are being followed longitudinally so that their well-being and use of services across time can be examined. The most recent (third) NSCAW cohort was initiated in 2015. We are currently completing baseline data collection for NSCAW III. The design of NSCAW III was guided by three priorities: (1) keeping NSCAW III as comparable to the two previous cohorts as possible, (2) minimizing response burden for all participants, and (3) making sure that the NSCAW III sample and instruments best reflected the composition and characteristics of children being currently served by the CWS.  These priorities may not be the same for future NSCAW data collections.

Challenges and Successes: The three NSCAWs are the only sources of nationally representative data on the well-being of children and families involved in the CWS. NSCAW has produced two full cohorts, with data collected directly from over 6,200 (NSCAW I) and 5,800 (NSCAW II) children and their caregivers, caseworkers, and teachers. The third cohort (NSCAW III) will include over 3,000 children and families. To date, publications using NSCAW data have significantly expanded a body of rigorous, empirically based research that barely existed before 1997. For the next decade, the critical question is how past investments in NSCAW and future NSCAW data collections might best contribute to emerging policy and practice reforms.

NSCAW has faced two primary feasibility challenges. First, child welfare agency participation has decreased over time. More state confidentiality statutes limit the release of identifiable child welfare agency records. Additionally, agencies increasingly don’t have the staff or resources to participate in voluntary research given competing requirements and demands. The second feasibility challenge relates to child and caregiver participation. NSCAW III has experienced fewer enrolled key respondents and a lower response rate than in previous cohorts. Older children in foster care have been especially difficult to enroll. Future data collections or design alternatives should consider solutions to agency recruitment and respondent engagement challenges.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: Through this information collection, ACF is gathering information to solicit feedback on future National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being data collections. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1.83 hours per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0401 and the expiration date is 06/30/2024. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Melissa Dolan: [email protected]

Reimagining NSCAW Project: The Reimagining NSCAW project will last 3 years and consider opportunities for future NSCAW data collections. These could include extensions to current NSCAW data collections or the design of a 4^th NSCAW cohort to be launched up to a decade from now. We are getting input from federal partners, investigators, contractors, and researchers such as yourselves who have experience using NSCAW data. Our goal is to learn more from you, the data users, about future priority research questions, methodologies, and designs.

We are asking that you take 20 minutes to complete this survey prior to the webinar. These questions will set the stage for our group discussion on [insert webinar date].

Instrument 1: Reimagining NSCAW Data Users and Advisors Pre-Webinar Survey Questions

The following table presents the pre-webinar survey questions administered via REDCap.

Question

National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) cohorts I, II and III were designed to answer 3 overarching research questions:

1. What are the characteristics of children and families who come into contact with the Child Welfare System (CWS)?

2. What pathways and services do children and families experience while in the CWS?

3. What are the shorter- and longer-term outcomes for these children and families?

Think about the knowledge gained from past NSCAW data collection investments. What has NSCAW-based research helped us learn about children and families who come in contact with the CWS? Now think about what could potentially be learned from a new NSCAW data collection effort to be launched in the next decade.

How relevant do each of these 3 past research questions remain to a future NSCAW data collection effort? Select a rating from 1 (not at all relevant) to 5 (very relevant).

If you would like, elaborate on your ratings of past NSCAW research questions. [OPEN FILL].

Please describe any emerging policy or practice issues you believe will be especially important to consider in future NSCAW data collections. [OPEN FILL].

Now we would like your suggestions for new research questions to consider for future NSCAW data collections. Think about emerging research priorities for this population of interest in the next decade. Think about emerging issues that the future CWS may face, as well as any relevant policy or practice issues.

Please write in 1-3 suggested new research questions to be considered in a future NSCAW data collection. We will compile, share, and discuss these questions during the webinar. [OPEN FILL].

The NSCAW I, II and III study designs each included a nationally representative sample of children who came in contact with the CWS, longitudinal data collection, and a focus on child well-being and service receipt. Thinking about a study and data collection effort to be launched in the next decade, how high of a priority are these design features for the future?

Please assign each design feature a priority rating using a scale from 1 (not a very high priority) to 5 (an extremely high priority).

1. National representation

2. Longitudinal data collection

3. Focus on child well-being

4. Focus on receipt of services

Using what you know about the past contributions of NSCAW, think about what has been learned. Think about the challenges faced in past NSCAW efforts, especially those related to agency recruitment and participation as well as increasing child/family nonresponse. Consider future research, practice and policy needs that might be able to be addressed by a new data collection effort.

Please describe what type of a future NSCAW design or design component might address both these past challenges and future research, policy, and practice needs. This could include design ideas about sample composition, sample selection, sampling frames, types of respondents, data collection modes, complementary data sources, or data collection frequency. We will compile, share, and discuss these design ideas during the webinar. [OPEN FILL].

For a list of publications using NSCAW data, see the child abuse and neglect Digital Library (canDL) at: https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/candl/candl.cfm

The population of interest for NSCAW I-III has been constant-- children and families involved with the CWS. Thinking about the changing child welfare landscape and future priorities, which populations of interest seem the most relevant for future NSCAW data collections?

Select all that apply.

1. Families reported but screened out

2. Families investigated (regardless of substantiation outcome)

3. Families with children living at-home who are receiving CWS services

4. Children living out-of-home and their families who are receiving CWS services

5. Families engaged in preventative services who have yet to be in contact with the child welfare system

Are there other populations of interest that seem highly relevant for future NSCAW data collections? If yes, please describe. [OPEN FILL]

Understanding the well-being of children involved with the CWS will remain at the heart of NSCAW. Past NSCAW studies have oversampled on the domains below to better support subpopulation analyses of interest.

1. Infants

2. Adolescents

3. Children living at home with biological parents/caregivers (who are being served by the CWS)

4. Children living in out-of-home placements

Which populations should be priorities for future sampling domains?

Select all that apply.

1. Infants

2. Young children

3. Adolescents

4. Young adults who may have recently aged out of contact with the CWS

5. Children living at home with biological parents (who are being served by the CWS)

6. Children living in non-kin foster care

7. Children living in kinship care

8. Children living in group homes or residential treatment

Are there other populations not listed above that should be priorities for future sampling domains? If yes, please describe. [OPEN FILL].

How important is it that any new NSCAW cohort be analytically comparable to past NSCAW cohorts? Please use the sliding scale to indicate your response from 1 (not very important) to 5 (very important).

If desired, please use the text box below to expand upon your response. [OPEN FILL].

Over time, NSCAW data has been linked to administrative datasets to enhance the data available to users. For example:

1. County-level data (Census and other sources)

2. Child welfare agency-level data (Agency directors and administrators)

3. Maltreatment re-reports (National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System or NCANDS)

4. Foster care placements and adoptions (Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System or AFCARS)

5. Medicaid

Considering your past experiences with NSCAW, which administrative data sources do you believe will be critical to be linked to NSCAW data in the future? This can include past or novel sources for future consideration. [OPEN FILL]

Understanding service referral, receipt and utilization will continue to be important for future NSCAW data collection efforts. Which services are a high priority to consider?

Select your top three priorities:

1. Primary prevention services (to avoid entry into the CWS)

2. Tertiary prevention services (to avoid out-of-home placements for children already involved with the CWS)

3. Reunification services

4. Post permanency services

5. Child mental health or substance use disorder services

6. Child school-based services

7. Child general health services

8. Caregiver mental health or substance use disorder services

Are there any other types of services that should be considered a high priority for measurement? If yes, describe them here. [OPEN FILL]

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