Archived Research and Evaluation Data

OPRE regularly archives research and evaluation data for secondary analysis, consistent with the ACF evaluation policy, which promotes rigor, relevance, transparency, independence, and ethics in the conduct of evaluation and research. One practice that OPRE implements to support these principles is the responsible archiving of data for secondary analysis. Archiving evaluation data for appropriate secondary use by researchers promotes rigor and transparency by encouraging the external validation and reproducibility of published results or findings.

OPRE takes appropriate measures to safeguard the privacy and confidentiality of individuals contributing data for research throughout the archiving process, consistent with ACF’s core principle of ethics. Research data may be made available as public use files (when the data would not likely lead to harm or to the re-identification of an individual) or through restricted access. Restricted access files are made available to approved researchers either through secure transmission and download, virtual data enclaves, physical data enclaves, or restricted online analysis. 

Archived Datasets

Many datasets from past OPRE projects are stored at the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan. Data relating to child welfare topics are stored at the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect , at Cornell University.

Self-Sufficiency/Employment

Evaluations of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants Program

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program was authorized to provide education and training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other individuals with low incomes for occupations in the healthcare field that pay well and were expected to either experience labor shortages or be in high demand. HPOG programs were expected to target skills and competencies demanded by the healthcare industry; support career pathways; result in an employer- or industry-recognized certificate or degree; combine supportive services with education and training services to help participants overcome barriers to employment; and provide services at times and locations that are easily accessible to targeted populations.

HPOG was authorized as a demonstration program with a mandated federal evaluation. OPRE is using a multi-pronged evaluation strategy to document program implementation, outcomes, and systems change, and to assess the success of the HPOG Program.

Evaluation of the First Round of HPOG (HPOG 1.0, 2013-2021) 

In 2010, ACF awarded the first round of HPOG awards (HPOG 1.0) to 32 organizations located across 20 states to carry out five-year programs in their areas. Five awards were made to tribal organizations. As part of its multi-pronged evaluation strategy to document the operations and assess the success of the HPOG program, data collected for the HPOG National Implementation Evaluation and the HPOG 1.0 Impact Study was archived through the Child and Family Data Archive. Program impacts were measured at 15, 36, and 72 months after random assignment into the Program. Both the National Implementation Evaluation and the Impact Study were led by Abt Associates and their partners.

A restricted use data file is available through the Child and Family Data Archive: https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/37290  

The federal point of contact is Nicole Constance.

For more information on the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/career-pathways.

National Evaluation of the Second Round of HPOG (HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation, 2015-2025)

In 2015, ACF awarded a second round of HPOG awards (HPOG 2.0) to 32 organizations located across 21 states to carry out five-year programs in their areas. Five awards were made to tribal organizations. The HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation is rigorously assessing the 38 local HPOG programs administered by the 27 non-tribal grantees awarded grants in 2015. The HPOG 2.0 National Evaluation includes several key components:

  • The impact evaluation randomly assigned eligible participants to either a treatment group that had access to HPOG services or a control group that could not access HPOG but could receive other services available in the community (“business as usual”) to assess the impacts of the HPOG programs.
  • The descriptive evaluation includes implementation, outcomes, and systems studies and will help interpret findings from the impact study. The descriptive study also includes in-depth qualitative interviews with a small sample of HPOG study participants.
  • The cost benefit analyses will assess the costs and benefits of a standard HPOG program.

A restricted use data file is available through the Child and Family Data Archive: https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/38427

In-depth participant interview data is also available through the Child and Family Data Archive: https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/38561

The federal point of contact is Nicole Constance.

For more information on the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/career-pathways.

 

Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) Project (2011-2022)

The Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project was designed to produce rigorous evidence for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers about the effectiveness of nine career pathways approaches that sought to increase credentials, employment, and self-sufficiency adults with low incomes and limited academic skills. Each program-specific evaluation included an implementation study that examined the design and operation of the program and enrolled students' participation patterns, and an impact study that used an experimental design to measure differences in educational and employment outcomes between individuals randomly assigned to a group that could receive services from the PACE program (treatment group) and a group that could not but could participate in other services in the community (control group). Program impacts were measured approximately 18, 36, and 72 months following random assignment. PACE was led by Abt Associates, in partnership with MEF Associates, The Urban Institute, and the University of Michigan.

A restricted use data file is available through the Child and Family Data Archive: https://www.childandfamilydataarchive.org/cfda/archives/cfda/studies/37289  

The federal point of contact is Nicole Constance.

For more information on the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/career-pathways.

Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Project (2010-2016)

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project was the first major opportunity to use a behavioral economics lens to examine programs that serve families with low incomes — including families in the low wage labor market - in the United States. Sponsored by OPRE and led by MDRC, the project applied behavioral insights to issues related to the operations, implementation, and efficacy of social service programs and policies. The goal was to learn how tools from behavioral science can be used to deliver programs more effectively and, ultimately, improve the well-being of low-income children, adults, and families. 

This dataset includes administrative data and experimental data related to 5 sites in the BIAS Project.

These sites which administered social services and income supports associated with the Child Care Development Fund, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families block grant, child support services, and work supports, are as follows:

  • Indiana (in collaboration with the Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning).
  • Los Angeles (in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services).
  • Ohio (in collaboration with the Cuyahoga Office of Child Support Services).
  • Oklahoma (in collaboration with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services).
  • New York City’s Paycheck-Plus program.

A restricted access file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/100389/version/V1/view

The federal point of contact is Kim Clum.

For more information on the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/behavioral-interventions-advance-self-sufficiency-bias-2010-2016

Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project (2004-2008)

Philadelphia, PA

The purpose of this study was to build a knowledge base about special models that target welfare recipients who face serious barriers to employment. The study in Philadelphia tested two employment strategies. The first employment strategy, administered by the Transitional Work Corporation (TWC), was a paid transitional employment program that combined temporary, subsidized employment with work-related assistance. The second employment strategy, the Success Through Employment Preparation (STEP) program, focused on assessing and treating employment barriers before participants obtained a job.

This dataset was part of the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project. The data are available at ICPSR: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/33784

The federal point of contact is Girley Wright.

For a description of the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/enhanced-services-hard-employ-demonstration-and-evaluation-project-2001-2012.

Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), New York City

The purpose of this study was to build a knowledge base about special models that target welfare recipients who face serious barriers to employment. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) in New York City, which is an employment program for formerly incarcerated individuals. The CEO evaluation aimed to determine whether CEO's transitional jobs and other services are more effective than basic job search assistance. The study this dataset is a part of is called the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project.

A public use data file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/33783 .

The federal point of contact is Girley Wright.

For more information on the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/enhanced-services-hard-employ-demonstration-and-evaluation-project-2001-2012.

Working toward Wellness, Rhode Island

This dataset is part of the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project. The purpose of this study was to build a knowledge base about special models that target welfare recipients who face serious barriers to employment. This study analyzed the effectiveness of the Rhode Island "Working toward Wellness" (WtW) program, a one-year program that provided telephonic care management to depressed parents receiving Medicaid in Rhode Island.

A public use dataset is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/33782 .

The federal point of contact is Girley Wright.

For more information on the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/enhanced-services-hard-employ-demonstration-and-evaluation-project-2001-2012.

Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) Project (2000-2007)

The goal of Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) was to identify and rigorously test a diverse set of innovative models designed to promote employment stability and wage or earnings progression among current or former welfare recipients or other groups with low-income. As part of ERA, over a dozen different program models were evaluated using random assignment research designs.

The federal point of contact for this project is Hilary Bruck.

The survey and administrative data are available at ICPSR: https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/33181  

For a description of the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/employment-retention-and-advancement-project-era-1998-2011.

National Evaluation of Welfare-to Work Strategies (1989-2002)

The NEWWS evaluation was a study of the effectiveness of eleven mandatory welfare-to-work programs in seven locales: Atlanta, Georgia; Columbus, Ohio; Detroit and Grand Rapids, Michigan; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Portland, Oregon; and Riverside, California. Program impacts were evaluated by comparing outcomes for a randomly assigned experimental group subject to program requirements with outcomes for control groups. As part of NEWWS, the effects of two approaches to preparing welfare recipients for employment were compared in three sites (Atlanta, Grand Rapids, and Riverside). In one approach, the human capital development approach, individuals were directed to avail themselves of education services and, to a lesser extent, occupational training before they sought work, under the theory that they would then be able to get better jobs and keep them longer. In the other approach, the labor force attachment approach, individuals were encouraged to gain quick entry into the labor market, even at low wages, under the theory that their work habits and skills would improve on the job and they would thereby be able to advance themselves.

Data from all eleven sites is available for secondary analysis through the National Center for Health Statistics Research Data Center: https://aspe.hhs.gov/national-evaluation-welfare-work-strategies-newws

The federal point of contact for this project is Hilary Bruck.

For a description of the project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/national-evaluation-welfare-work-strategies-newws-1989-2002

Family Strengthening

Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) Evaluation (2014-2021) 

The Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) project included rigorous implementation and impact evaluations of three program approaches that were incorporated into existing fatherhood program services. The approaches tested included a cognitive behavioral intervention designed to help fathers with criminal records find and retain better jobs, a play-based parenting intervention designed to build parenting and coparenting skills for fathers with children 3 years old or younger, and a smartphone-based mobile application designed to improve fathers’ attendance in the parenting program sessions and encourage involvement with their child between sessions. The dataset includes baseline and six-month follow-up data.

The restricted access files are available at ICPSR:

https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/38159

The federal point of contact is Katie Pahigiannis.

For more information, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/building-bridges-and-bonds-b3-evaluation-2014-2021.

Parents and Children Together (PACT) Healthy Marriage Evaluation (2011-2020)

This data set includes baseline and 12-month follow-up data from the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation, which tested the effectiveness of two federally funded healthy marriage and relationship education programs:

  • El Paso Center for Children (El Paso TX)
  • University Behavioral Associates (Bronx NY)

The restricted access file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/37843 .

The federal point of contact is Samantha Illangasekare and Kathleen McCoy.

For more information, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/parents-and-children-together-pact-evaluation.

 

Parents and Children Together (PACT) Responsible Fatherhood Evaluation (2011-2020)

This data set includes the baseline and 12-month follow-up data from the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation, which tested the effectiveness of four federally funded responsible fatherhood programs:.

  • Connections to Success (Kansas City MO)
  • Fathers’ Support Center (St. Louis MO)
  • Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota (Minneapolis/St. Paul MN)
  • Urban Ventures (Minneapolis MN)

The restricted access file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/37673 .

The federal points of contact are Samantha Illangasekare and Kathleen McCoy.

For more information, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/parents-and-children-together-pact-evaluation

Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services (STREAMS) (2016-2022)

The Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services (STREAMS) evaluation was a five-site, random assignment evaluation of healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programs.

The five sites in the STREAMS evaluation are described below.

  1. The More Than Conquerors Inc. (MTCI) site delivered two different versions of the Relationship Smarts PLUS (RQ+) Version 3.0 curriculum for high school students in two Atlanta-area high schools.
  2. The Family and Workforce Centers of America (FWCA) site delivered Career STREAMS, an integrated relationship education and pre-employment training program for adult job seekers with low incomes. Career STREAMS incorporated the Within My Reach HMRE curriculum into an existing employment program in St. Louis, Missouri.
  3. The University of Denver site delivered MotherWise, a program for adult women with low incomes who either were expecting or just had a baby in the Denver area. MotherWise was based on the Within My Reach curriculum.
  4. The Parenting Center (TPC) site delivered Empowering Families, a program for romantically involved, adult couples with low incomes who are raising children in the Fort Worth Texas area. The program integrated employment services and financial coaching into workshop-based relationship education and case management.
  5. The University of Florida site offered ELEVATE, a workshop-based relationship education program for adult couples in six Florida counties and tested a text messaging intervention to improve program attendance and completion rates.

The restricted access files are available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/studies/38662/

The federal points of contact are Samantha Illangasekare and Kathleen McCoy.

Supporting Healthy Marriage Evaluation: Eight Sites within the United States (2003-2011)

This dataset includes baseline, 12 month follow up and 30 month follow up data from the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) evaluation which tested the effectiveness of a program aimed at strengthening low-income couples' marriages as one approach for supporting stable and nurturing family environments and parents' and children's well-being.

The restricted access file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/34420

The federal point of contact is Samantha Illangasekare.

For more information on the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) project, see https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/supporting-healthy-marriages-2003-2014

Community Healthy Marriage Initiative Survey for Six Cities (2007-2010)

This dataset includes data from two rounds of surveys to evaluate community-level impacts of various relationship and marriage education programs, comparing three cities which received ACF grant funding to three cities that did not.

The restricted access file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/34719

The federal point of contact is Samantha Illangasekare.

For more information on the Community Healthy Marriage Initiative, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/community-healthy-marriage-initiatives-chmi-evaluation-2003-2013.

Building Strong Families (BSF) Project Data Collection (2005-2008)

This dataset includes baseline, 15 month follow up and 36 month follow up data from the Building Strong Families (BSF) project, which examined the effectiveness of programs designed to improve child well-being and strengthen the relationships of low-income couples through relationship skills education.

The restricted access data file is available at ICPSR, at https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/studies/29781/summary

The federal point of contact is Samantha Illangasekare.

For more information on the Building Strong Families project, see: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/project/building-strong-families-2002-2013.

Refugee Assistance

Annual Survey of Refugees (2016-2020)

Since the 1980s, the Office of Refugee Resettlement has collected the Annual Survey of Refugees (ASR). The ASR is the nation’s unique source of data on the experiences of refugees who recently resettled in the United States. This ASR data offers a window into respondents’ first five years in the United States and shows the progress that refugee families made towards learning English, participating in the workforce, and establishing permanent residence.

Public use files for all years listed below are available with site registration.

2020: https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/195403/version/V1/view

2019: https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/168641/version/V2/view  

2018: https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/131025/version/V1/view/

2017: https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/117581/version/V1/view/

2016: https://www.openicpsr.org/openicpsr/project/104642/version/V3/view

The federal point of contact is Saunji Fyffe (ORR).

 

Early Childhood Datasets

Over 350 Early Childhood Datasets Available

OPRE archives over three hundred and fifty datasets on young children, their families, and the programs that serve them. The Child and Family Data Archive serves as the central repository for those datasets. Additionally, this effort includes optional activities supporting the archiving of datasets and supporting materials in other ECE-relevant fields such as economic self-sufficiency, welfare, employment, co-parenting, marriage, family formation and stability, and fatherhood involvement. The work of the Child and Family Data Archive is conducted under a contract with the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), University of Michigan.

Examples of datasets include:

Self-Sufficiency/Employment

Child Welfare

National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) (1997-2014 and 2015-2022)

The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) is a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of children and families who have been the subjects of investigation by Child Protective Services. There have been two cohorts of children enrolled in the survey, which makes available data drawn from first-hand reports from children, parents, and other caregivers, as well as reports from caseworkers, teachers, and data from administrative records. NSCAW examines child and family well-being outcomes in detail and seeks to relate those outcomes to experience with the child welfare system and to family characteristics, community environment, and other factors.

In September 2015, OPRE in collaboration with the Children’s Bureau awarded a contract to RTI International to carry out the third cohort of NSCAW (NSCAW III). An overarching goal of NSCAW III is to maintain the strengths of previous work, while:

  1. better positioning the study to address the changing child welfare population, and
  2. increasing the project’s overall utility.

Data collection for NSCAW III began in 2018.

Archived datasets from NSCAW I and NSCAW II are available from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (https://www.ndacan.cornell.edu/datasets/datasets-list-nscaw.cfm ).

The federal point of contact is Christine Fortunato.
 

Child and Caregiver Outcomes Using Linked Data (CCOULD) (2016-2021)

In collaboration with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), OPRE partnered with the Florida Department of Children and Families, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services) to produce linked data for children and their caregivers who received child welfare and Medicaid services.

The Child and Caregiver Outcomes Using Linked Data (CCOULD) project created a common data model and merged state datasets from Florida and Kentucky containing linked child and caregiver welfare records and Medicaid claims and enrollment records. These datasets contain information from both child welfare and Medicaid information systems on case demographics, medical diagnoses, services, outcomes, and other relevant information. The purpose of the data is to support research on the relationships between Medicaid utilization, behavioral health services, patient-centered outcomes, and child welfare outcomes. The dataset is longitudinal in nature and includes all records with maltreatment disposition dates or out of home care discharge dates occurring between 2016-2021.

Archived data for CCOULD is available at the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/dataset-details.cfm?ID=272 ).

The federal point of contact is Valeria Butler.

National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4) (2005-2006)

In collaboration with the Children's Bureau, OPRE conducted the Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4). The National Incidence Studies have been conducted approximately once each decade, beginning in 1974, in response to requirements of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. Although the Children's Bureau collects annual state-level administrative data on official reports of child maltreatment, the NIS studies are designed to estimate more broadly the incidence of child maltreatment in the United States by including both cases that are investigated by the authorities as well as those that are not. A unique contribution of the NIS has been the use of a common definitional framework for classifying children according to types of maltreatment as well as the severity of maltreatment. Key demographic characteristics of maltreated children and their families are also collected, which enables us to provide information about which children are most at risk.

Archived data from NIS-4 are available from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect at https://www.ndacan.cornell.edu/datasets/dataset-details.cfm?ID=147 .

The federal point of contact is Christine Fortunato.