Introduction
The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) consists of a series of longitudinal studies on children and families involved in the child welfare system in the United States. NSCAW datasets provide over two decades of nationally representative, longitudinal data about safety, permanency, and well-being. In the fall of 2021, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) launched the Reimagining NSCAW project to carry out preliminary activities for future NSCAW data collections. These activities included (a) developing potential design option(s); (b) actively engaging with various experts, including individuals with lived experience, throughout the project; and (c) conducting preliminary data collection activities. As part of developing design options, a “reimagined” conceptual framework was created to guide and inform possible future data collections. Specifically, the framework explicitly integrates lived experience and equity-focused, strengths-based, and trauma-informed lenses and provides examples of ways these lenses could be applied to research design and implementation.
Purpose
The purpose of this brief is to communicate considerations when developing components of a conceptual framework that: (1) elevates the role of individuals with lived experience through all phases of the research process, (2) emphasizes social, economic, and racial equity, and (3) adopts a strengths-based and trauma-informed lens. This brief is intended for researchers interested in learning ways to incorporate these lenses into their work and offers insights and recommendations from experts, including individuals with lived experience, about how to do so.
Key Findings and Highlights
The components of the framework include:
- Child Well-Being
- Caregiver and Family Well-Being
- Child, Caregiver, and Family Service Needs
- Social Determinants of Health (External)
- Community Context
- Child Welfare System
- Disparities and Inequities
- Social Policies, Programs, & Services
- Economic Context
- Lived Experience, Trauma-Informed, Strengths-Based, and Social, Economic, & Racial Equity Lenses
Methods
This framework was developed with input from those with lived child welfare system (CWS) experience and/or research expertise related to the engagement of individuals with CWS lived experience, including foster, kinship, or adoptive parents; youth and families from indigenous or tribal communities; youth in foster care; young fathers of children involved with the CWS; racial and ethnic minority youth and families; and youth, caregivers, and individuals who identify as LGBTQIA2S+.
Citation
Slack, Kristen S., Dalia Khoury, Heather Ringeisen, and Melissa Dolan. (2024). Reimagining NSCAW: Conceptual Framework Guiding an NSCAW IV Design Option, OPRE Report # 2024-336. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.