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Project Description

N/A

Project duration: Jan 1996 - Jan 2007

Sites studied include Alabama,
California,
Colorado,
Florida,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Mississippi,
New Jersey,
New York,
Texas,
Washington,
and
Wisconsin.

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

The primary sampling method for the NSAF was a random selection of telephone numbers; a sample of households without telephones was also included. The survey was designed to oversample people with low incomes so that analysts could obtain a more detailed picture of this portion of the population. To obtain information on children, researchers surveyed the adult most knowledgeable about the children in the household.

1997 Survey:
Detailed information was obtained on 75,437 adults and 34,439 children in 44,461 households. Data collected Feb — Nov 1997.

1999 Survey:
Almost 46,000 households interviewed, with similar counts of adults and children. Data collected Feb-Oct 1999.

2002 Survey:
Planned at about 40,000 households. Broadly similar to earlier rounds.

Recent Findings in Brief

10/24/00: Assessing the New Federalism: National Survey of America's Families: Snapshots of America's Families: 1999

Interim Descriptive/analytical findings:

ECONOMIC WELL-BEING.

• Nationally, the employment rate for low-income single parents increased from 63 percent in 1997 to 67 percent in 1999.
• The national poverty rates for adults and children declined from 13 percent and 21 percent respectively in 1997 to 11 percent and 18 percent respectively in 1999.
• The gap between the proportion of black and white adults with low incomes grew by 3 percentage points, from a 24-percentage point gap to a 27-percentage point gap.
• California, Florida, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Washington, and Wisconsin saw significant movement of families from low-income to higher-income brackets.

• The rate of employer-sponsored insurance increased for low-income adults, especially among whites, young adults (ages 19 to 34), and those in fair or poor health.
• More children in families with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of poverty—the group primarily targeted by the State Children's Health Insurance Program—had public coverage.
• Although changes in patterns of insurance coverage between 1997 and 1999 varied by state, states' relative positions did not change dramatically. Only three of the 13 states studied—Alabama, Colorado, and Massachusetts—saw significant reductions in the number of uninsured adults and children.

• The percentage of children in two-parent families increased by about 1 percentage point to 64 percent in 1999, while the percentage in single-parent families decreased from 27 percent to 25 percent. The proportion of low-income children in single-parent families dropped from 44 percent in 1997 to 41 percent in 1999.
• The well-being of higher-income children and families declined in several respects. The proportion of higher-income young children whose parents read or told stories to them fewer than three days per week increased by about 2 percentage points. The proportion of higher-income children with highly aggravated parents—parents who reported frequently feeling frustrated and stressed by the experience of caring for their child—increased, especially in two-parent households. Higher-income children ages 6 to 17 became less likely to be highly engaged in school. Despite these declines, higher-income children fare significantly better than their low-income counterparts.
• The only significant national improvements in child well-being occurred among low-income 12- to 17-year-olds. A somewhat larger share of these children was highly engaged in school (30 percent in 1997 and 34 percent in 1999) and a smaller proportion exhibited high levels of emotional and behavioral problems (15 percent in 1997 and 10 percent in 1999).

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