Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study

This data collection is the third 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.

本数据集为波士顿、芝加哥和圣安东尼奥三城市开展的一项深入研究的第三阶段成果，旨在评估福利改革后低收入儿童及其家庭的生活福祉。该研究项目聚焦于家庭应对改革所采取的策略，包括就业、教育或其他培训形式、居住流动性以及生育等方面。项目核心在于探讨这些策略如何影响儿童的生活，特别是关注其健康状况、发展状况以及他们对社会服务的需求和利用情况。在研究的首次阶段，即1999年3月至12月间，从波士顿、芝加哥和圣安东尼奥的低收入社区中随机选取了约2400户有儿童的住户进行访谈。在访谈时，有40%的家庭正在接受现金福利支付。每个受访家庭在访谈时都有0至4岁或10至14岁的儿童。研究和访谈的重点是儿童及其主要女性照顾者。在最初的个人访谈中，对照顾者进行了广泛的基线信息收集，对较年幼的儿童进行了评估，而对年长的儿童则进行了访谈。所有访谈均通过计算机化工具进行，以面对面方式进行。数据收集的第三阶段发生在2005年2月至2006年1月之间，此时焦点儿童年龄在5至10岁或15至20岁之间。在2005年5月至2006年5月期间，对焦点儿童的教师进行了访谈。