National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being Restricted Release, Waves 1-4 and Wave 5 (All Cohorts)

Dataset Number: 127
Investigator(s): Research Triangle Institute
Abstract: The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) is the first national longitudinal probability study of children involved in child welfare services (CWS) investigations. This publicly available data set is a rich resource for researchers in child welfare, child maltreatment, child development, children’s services and other related fields.

Funded by the Administration for Children and Families U.S. DHHS, NSCAW is the first national study to provide detailed information on the experiences of children and families with the child welfare system and to collect measures of well-being for this population over time.

The target population for the NSCAW includes all children and families that enter the child welfare system. Two samples were drawn from the population in 92 participating county child welfare agencies throughout the nation. The CPS sample includes 5,501 children, who were between the ages of 0 and 14 years at the close of the investigation. All investigations for the sample were closed between October 1, 1999 and December 31, 2000. The second sample consists of an additional 727 children, who were in out-of-home care for about 12 months at the time of sampling. This second group, referred to as the One Year in Foster Care (OYFC) Sample, was selected to allow special analysis related to the experience of out-of-home care.

Wave 1 data collection took place 2-6 months after the close of the investigation. Waves 2, 3, and 4 took place 12, 18, and 36 months after the investigation, respectively. The Wave 5 follow-up took place in five staged cohorts 59-97 months after the investigation.

Data are available in many different domains, including:
 

·      Reported maltreatment	·      Health insurance coverage
·      Child placement	·      Preventive health services
·      Foster care	·      Mental health services
·      Reunification	·      Special education services
·      Adoption	·      Child welfare services
·      Caregiver behavioral health	·      Family services
·      Domestic violence	·      Caregiver services
·      Home environment	·      Foster caregiver services
·      Risk assessment	·      Juvenile court involvement
·     Physical health	·     Child behavior problems
·     Cognitive development	·     Trauma
·     Social skills	·     Depression
·     School functioning	·     Juvenile delinquency
·     Substance abuse

Most data are longitudinal, providing up to four time points for analysis. Data on policy and practice are also available from surveys of the agencies and states participating in NSCAW.

Timeline of NSCAW Data Collection for the CPS Sample

	Wave
	1	2	3	4	5
Start and End Dates	11/15/99-04/30/01	10/01/00-03/31/02	04/01/01-09/30/02	08/01/02-02/28/04	09/05/05-11/15/07
Months after Close of Investigation*	2-6	12	18	36	59-96
Respondent
Child	X		X	X	X
Current Caregiver	X	X	X	X	X
Investigator/Service Worker	X	X	X	X	X
Teacher	X		X	X	X

*This is the timeline for children in the CPS sample.  For the LTFC sample, Waves 2, 3, and 4 interviews were scheduled approximately 24, 30, and 48 months after the child was placed in out-of-home care.

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Overall Weighted Response Rates by Wave for the CPS Sample

	Wave
	1	2	3	4	5
Overall Weighted Response Rate	64.2%	86.7%	86.6%	85.3%	85.1%

 

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Overall Weighted Response Rates by Wave for the LTFC Sample

	Wave
	1	2	3	4	5
Overall Weighted Response Rate	73.4%	92.5%	94.0%	88.5%	N/A

 

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Documents

"Introduction to the NSCAW Wave 1 General and Restricted Releases":
Download PDF

"NSCAW Multilevel Guidelines May 2007": Download PDF

List of Publications from the NSCAW data (opens new site):

• NSCAW Publications, including NSCAW Research Briefs (contact the Archive for help with Refshare)

NSCAW Analysis Alerts:

• NSCAW Alert 1 - Agency Weights: Download PDF
• NSCAW Alert 2 - Re-Reports are UnderRepresented: Download PDF

NSCAW User Support:

• NSCAW User Support

For additional information and to access reports produced by the NSCAW Research Group, please visit the Administration for Children and Families Web site.

*Note: Special NSCAW Access Procedures apply when ordering the NSCAW data.*