National Survey of America's Families, Round 3 2002

<p>The National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF) is part of The Urban Institute’s Assessing the New Federalism project. Its purpose is to track the effects of recent federal policy changes decentralizing many social programs, and to provide a comprehensive look at the well-being of children and non-elderly adults. The survey provides quantitative measures of child, adult and family well-being in America, with an emphasis on persons in low-income families. The survey gathers data on economic, health and social characteristics of children and families in order to estimate well-being. Specific topics include: participation in government programs; employment; earnings and income; economic hardship; educational attainment; training; family structure; housing arrangements; health insurance coverage; access to and use of health services; health status; psychological well-being; participation in religious and volunteer activities; knowledge of social services; and attitudes about work, welfare, health care and childbearing. In 2002, interviews were conducted with more than 40,000 families, yielding information on more than 100,000 people. Earlier rounds of the survey were conducted in 1997 and 1999</p>