Ordering Instructions for NCANDS Child File Data

General Information:
The Archive makes the case-level data of the NCANDS Child File available to eligible members of the research community for the purpose of statistical analysis and reporting. Because of the detailed nature of the information on Child File records, these data are considered restricted data. Researchers who would like to use the data must fulfill eligibility criteria, submit an application for approval to the Archive, and enter into a legally-binding data license that outlines the requirements for appropriate use of the data.

Eligibility
Only individuals holding a faculty appointment or research position at an institution of higher education, a research organization, or a government agency are eligible to obtain the Child File. The Investigator's institution must have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that is registered with the U.S. Office for Human Research Protections, or be granted an exemption from this requirement by the Archive. Exemptions may be granted to institutions with a demonstrated record of using sensitive data according to commonly-accepted standards of research ethics.

Student Access
University students are not eligible to obtain the data as Investigators, and the student discount does not apply. However, students who would like to use the Child File in their research may gain access as authorized Research Staff if their faculty advisor serves as the Investigator. The faculty advisor and institution should understand that they bear full responsibility for ensuring that all conditions of the license are met by the student, who must sign the Supplemental Agreement With Research Staff form.

Requesting the Child File Data
Applications to use the NCANDS Child File must include the following items:

1. Submit your complete contact information through our Web form
    
2. An NCANDS Child File Application (MS Word).
    
3. One signed copy of the NCANDS Child File License (MS Word).
    
4. One signed copy of the Supplemental Agreement with Research Staff (MS Word), the form authorizing access to the data for other individuals associated with the Investigator's research. Also, submit complete Research staff contact information for each staff person through our Web form.
    
5. A copy of the notification from the Institutional Review Board that the Investigator's project has been either approved or found exempt from review.
    

If multiple years of data are requested, the Investigator submits a single application and signed licenses that indicate the years(s) ordered at the top.

Collaborating researchers who are employed by different institutions may submit a single application, but separate licenses will have to be executed for each institution. An Investigator will need to be designated at each institution.

If the Investigator changes institutional affiliation during the term of the License, a new License, signed by a Representative of the new institution, will have to be executed and IRB exemption or approval from the new institutions will have to be granted. No additional fee will be required.

Application materials for the NCANDS Child File should be mailed to:

National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect
Attn: NCANDS Child File Application
Cornell University
Beebe Hall, BCTR
Ithaca, NY 14853

Please allow 2-3 weeks for processing.

To receive the data download link, make sure that the address "dropbox@cornell.edu" is allowed by your spam filters.
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Questions about acquiring the Child File may be sent to the above address or sent via e-mail to ndacan@cornell.edu.