Good Policy Requires Good Data

An Immense Influence

When it comes to children, the role that state governments play is a powerful one. In fact, states are responsible for allocating two out of every three dollars spent on America’s youngest citizens.

Deficient Data

Policy experts are struggling to make informed decisions with today’s state-level data. Why? For starters, this data is often incomplete, inaccessible and difficult to use. Equally concerning: It doesn’t always reflect the well-being of children statewide and is lopsidedly focused on negative factors.

About the National Survey of Children’s Health

The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) takes a comprehensive snapshot of children’s lives by examining factors related to their health, safety, education, social and emotional well being, family environment, extracurricular activities, neighborhood characteristics and economic security. Data collection occurs every four years and yields timely, user-friendly results, including statistics on all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia.

Changes Ahead?

Lawmakers are looking to make the NSCH an annual event — and grow the range of questions it asks. This is a smart move, say experts, who support the survey’s expansion as a cost-effective way to bolster state-level data.

Making a Case for Continuous Data Collection

Some of the many advantages to making the NSCH an annual event include: 1) a capacity to track swift changes in child outcomes following a systemic shock; 2) the creation of a permanent (and thus more efficient) survey team; and 3) faster feedback to help gauge the impact of new and existing initiatives.