U.S. Census Bureau

A SURVEY OF PROGRAM DYNAMICS (SPD)

ABSTRACT

  1. Title: Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD)

  2. Purpose: To collect longitudinal data on the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population that permits the evaluation of the welfare reform legislation and its impact on the American people over time. These data will provide the basis for an overall evaluation of how welfare reforms are achieving the aims of the Administration and the Congress, and meeting the needs of the American people.

  3. Survey design and sample size: Congress mandated that the Census Bureau continue to collect data on the 1992 and 1993 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), as necessary, to obtain information on changes in program participation, employment, earnings, and measures of adult and child well-being through SPD. The data collected from the 1992 and 1993 SIPP panels provided us with three years of longitudinal baseline data prior to major welfare reform. Data collected in these panels include program eligibility, access and participation, transfer income and in-kind benefits, detailed economic and demographic data on employment and job transitions, income, and family composition. The three years of SIPP data combined with the seven years of SPD data will provide panel data for ten years.

    The SPD survey has three phases:

    The 1997 SPD Bridge Survey

    In the Bridge Survey, we recontacted the interviewed sample persons from the 1992 and 1993 SIPP panels and brought them back into sample for SPD. We used a modified version of the March 1997 Current Population Survey (CPS), because data collected in the CPS income supplement are similar to the data we will collect in the 1998 SPD. The Bridge Survey also included questions not collected in 1995 from the 1992 SIPP panel. The sample size was approximately 38,000 households, which included all persons interviewed in the last wave who were also interviewed in the first wave of the 1992 and 1993 SIPP panels.

    1998 SPD including a 1997 Pretest

    The second phase of the SPD is the full implementation of the core SPD questionnaire with a self-administered adolescent questionnaire. We will obtain information for the core using a computer-assisted SPD instrument, with annual recall for the preceding calendar year. The SPD instrument includes retrospective questions for all persons aged 15 years and over focusing on topics, such as jobs, income, and program participation. Additional questions focusing on children in the household will gather information on school status, activities at home, child care, health care, and child support. The self-administered adolescent questionnaire will obtain information for persons 12-17 years of age using an audio cassette-administered instrument. The pretest for the 1998 SPD in October 1997 using a sample of 400 retired March 1996 CPS households was conducted in four regional office locations. The sample for the 1998 SPD will be approximately 18,500 households. We will include all sample households with children and an over representation of household in and near the poverty threshold.

    1999 SPD and later

    The third phase of SPD is the 1999 SPD, which will include a retrospective residence history for children, a topical module focusing on issues pertaining to children's well-being, as well as the core SPD questionnaire instrument. We are identifying the topics for the topical module and will decide the vehicle for collecting the information within the next few months.

  4. Type of respondent: A household respondent, who must be a knowledgeable household member, 15 years old or over, provides information for each household member.

  5. Sponsoring agency and legal authorities: The Bureau of the Census conducts the survey under the authority of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193), Section 414.

  6. Periodicity: A longitudinal survey conducted on a yearly basis, with interviewing planned for May through June.

  7. Release of results: The Census Bureau will collect and process the data to create a public use microdata file.

  8. Historical background: P.L. 104-193 requires and funds a new survey by the Census Bureau, the Survey of Program Dynamics (SPD): "continue to collect data on the 1992 and 1993 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) as necessary to obtain such information as will enable interested persons to evaluate the impact [of the law] on a random national sample of recipients of assistance under state programs funded under this part and (as appropriate) other low-income families, and in doing so, shall pay particular attention to the issues of out-of-wedlock birth, welfare dependency, the beginning and end of welfare spells, and the causes of repeat welfare spells, and shall obtain information about the status of children participating in such panels."

  9. Special features: The survey meets a specific need, to evaluate the effects of the 1996 welfare reforms, not currently addressed by other surveys.

  10. Future outlook: Plans are to conduct this survey through the year 2001 to collect data that will enable interested persons to evaluate the welfare reform legislation and its impact on the American people.

  11. Approximate Cost: The cost is $10 million per year.

  12. Contact person: Michael F. McMahon and/or Survey of Program Dynamics staff, (301) 457-3819.


Last Revised: Tuesday, 25-May-2004 16:32:04 EDT