* SPSS syntax to generate:
* CFSR Item I) Total Count of Unique Children.
* Field CHID is used to identify unique children.
* Syntax applies to NCANDS Child File V4.0.
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****** Lines beginning with '*' are comments and are not executed by SPSS.     *****.
****** Name of State Master File must be entered in highlighted section below. *****.
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********** Enter name of the State Master File in following command line *********.
get file = 'ENTER STATE FILE NAME HERE'
   /keep = staterr subyr rptid chid  .


* Group children with the same ID together using the SORT command.
sort cases by chid . 

* Remove multiple entries per child by selecting only the first entry for each child.
* SPSS lag function below means: 
*  'Select record if the Child ID is not the same as previous Child ID (i.e., a new child)'.
* The selected record is always the first.
select if (chid ne lag(chid)) .

* Active file now holds records for unique children.
* Count displayed is count of unique children within this disposition year. 
freq subyr.