Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study (Boston, Chicago, San Antonio): Wave 1, 1999

<p>This data collection is the first wave of an intensive study in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio, which was initiated to assess the well-being of low-income children and families in the post-welfare reform era. The project investigates the strategies families have used to respond to reform, in terms of employment, schooling or other forms of training, residential mobility, and fertility. Central to this project is a focus on how these strategies affect children's lives, with an emphasis on their health and development as well as their need for, and use of, social services. For the first wave of the study, between March 1999 and December 1999, a random sample of approximately 2,400 households with children in low-income neighborhoods in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio were selected for interviews. Forty percent of the families interviewed were receiving cash welfare payments at the time of the interview. Each household had a child aged 0 to 4 or aged 10 to 14 at the time of the interview. The child and the child's primary female caregiver are the focus of the study. Extensive baseline information was gathered at the initial personal interview with the caregivers, tested younger children were assessed, and older children were interviewed. All interviews were conducted in-person using a computerized instrument. The third wave of data collection took place between February 2005 and January 2006, when the focal children were aged 5 to 10 or aged 15 to 20. Between May 2005 and May 2006, interviews were conducted with the teachers of the focal children.</p>

这个数据集是波士顿、芝加哥和圣安东尼奥一项深入研究的第三波数据收集，该研究旨在评估福利改革后时代低收入儿童和家庭的福祉状况。该项目调查了家庭应对改革所采取的策略，涉及就业、就学或其他形式的培训、居住流动性及生育状况等方面。本项目的核心在于关注这些策略如何影响儿童的生活，重点包括儿童的健康与发展，以及他们对社会服务的需求和使用情况。在1999年3月至1999年12月开展的第一波研究中，研究人员从波士顿、芝加哥和圣安东尼奥低收入社区中随机抽取了约2400个有儿童的家庭进行访谈。接受访谈的家庭中，40%在访谈时正领取现金福利补助。访谈时，每个家庭均有一名年龄在0-4岁或10-14岁之间的儿童。研究的焦点是这些儿童及其主要女性照料者。研究人员在与照料者的首次面对面访谈中收集了大量基线信息，对较年幼的儿童进行了测试和评估，并对较年长的儿童进行了访谈。所有访谈均通过计算机化工具以面对面方式进行。第三波数据收集于2005年2月至2006年1月进行，此时研究关注的儿童年龄为5-10岁或15-20岁。2005年5月至2006年5月期间，研究人员对这些儿童的教师进行了访谈。