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Those who make and implement policies for children and families are seriously hampered by several features of the federal statistical system: categorical fragmentation, sampling strategies that follow adults and families rather than children, and lack of longitudinal data on children. This volume examines the adequacy of federal statistics on children and families. It includes papers on the relevant aspects of health care reform, family and community resources, interpersonal violence, the transition to school, and educational attainment and the transition to work.

This compendium compiles in one volume brief descriptions of federally-supported data collection programs that provide national statistical information on children and their families. As a review of the data indicates, statistics on children vary greatly in availability, quality, adequacy of population coverage, geographic scope and detail, and continuity and comparability over time. The problems related to collecting such data are discussed in the introduction. The data collection programs are grouped under seven substantive headings: Population, Family Structure, Housing; Income, Expenditures, and Program Participation; Employment and Child Care; Health and Nutrition; Education; Social Behavior and Attitudes, Substance Use; and Crime, Delinquency, Child Abuse. Under each heading, three to sixteen different surveys are described, each including information on survey purpose, sponsorship, design, periodicity, content, limitations, availability, and child and family characteristics. (DST)