APDU Data Update

APDU Data Update

News Items

Census Bureau Announces Field Management Reforms

The Census Bureau recently announced a realignment of its national field office structure and management reforms designed to keep pace with modern survey collection methods.  This new structure is expected to reduce costs by an estimated $15 million to $18 million annually beginning in 2014.  The reforms build on the work of the Bureau’s leadership in completing the 2010 Census on time and 25 percent under budget.  Access a map demonstrating the new Regional Office structure here and learn more here.  
 

Senate Passes Bill that Fixes Census Director Five-Year Term, Removes Confirmation for NCES and BJS Heads

The U.S. Senate recently passed the “Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011,” S. 679.  The bill removes Senate confirmations for hundreds of presidential appointments, including the heads of the National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics.  Senate confirmation is typically seen as an important part of ensuring the autonomy of a statistical agency.  The Bill also includes a fixed five-year term for the Census Director.  Access a Washington Post blog entry and two blog entries by APDU board member Steve Pierson (here and here) to learn more.   
 

ACS Collection Request Goes to OMB for Approval

The Census Bureau recently announced the submission of its request to OMB to collect American Community Survey data for the next three years.  Supporting materials may be accessed here, and the comment request may be accessed here.  Access the Census Bureau’s column in the National League of Cities’ Nation’s Cities Weekly on “Why the American Community Survey is Important to America’s Cities” here.  
 

Missed the Latest COPAFS Meeting?

APDU Board Member Ken Hodges recently attended the latest Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS) meeting.  Access his notes here and the official minutes here.
 

Notable Data Publications

Each week, the APDU Data Update identifies recent statistical data releases of interest to APDU members.

• Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality – Emergency Department Visits in Rural and Non-Rural Community Hospitals, 2008
• Bureau of Labor Statitics – American Time Use Survey – 2010 Results
• Bureau of Labor Statistics – Mass Layoffs – May 2011
• Bureau of Labor Statitics – Persons with a Disability: Labor Force Statistics – 2010
• Bureau of Transportation Statistics – Key Transportation Indicators, June 2011
• Bureau of Economic Analysis – U.S. Net International Investment Position at Yearend 2010
• Census Bureau – 2010 Census Summary File 1 for Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Nebraska, and North Carolina
• Census Bureau – County Business Patterns: 2009
• Census Bureau – International Data Base
• Census Bureau – Living Arrangements of Children: 2009
• Census Bureau – Summary File 1 SAS Data Sets
• Department of Health & Human Services – Medical Expenditure Panel Survey – Children’s Dental Care: Advice and Checkups, Ages 2-17, 2008
• Department of Health & Human Services – Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – Infant Mortality Statistics from the 2007 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set
• National Center for Education Statistics – High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09): A First Look at Fall 2009 9th-Graders
• National Center for Education Statistics – Students with Disabilities at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions
• National Center for Education Statistics – Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2008–09 (Fiscal Year 2009)

Calls for Comment

APDU maintains a list of open calls for comment on proposed federal data collections (http://www.apdu.org/advocacy.asp).  We periodically alert APDU members to newly added calls for comment.  Over the last several weeks, calls for comment on the following proposed data collections were published in the Federal Register (with due date):

Bureau of Economic Analysis

• Expenditures Incurred by Recipients of Biomedical Research Awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (July 27, 2011)

Census Bureau

• The American Community Survey (July 25, 2011)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (August 29, 2011)

Department of Health and Human Services

• Affordable Care Act Data Collection Standards (August 1, 2011)

National Institutes of Health

• Health Information National Trends Survey 4 (HINTS 4) (July 27, 2011)

Office of Vocational and Adult Education

• Measures and Methods for the National Reporting System for Adult Education (July 25, 2011)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

• 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (July 25, 2011)

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June 30, 2011

Webinar
Delivering What Users Want: The History of U.S. Census Small Area Data

Wednesday, September 7, 2011
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EDT
Register

Since the late nineteenth century, the U.S. Census Bureau has met the growing demand for new types of small area data.  Beginning with the 1890 Census, the Census Bureau attempted to make small area data more routine and consistent and expand the scope of such data in its products. The Census Bureau was responding to requests from public health agents who wanted to investigate causes of disease, which, at that time, they saw as overcrowding, poor sanitation, and possibly topography.  Tract level data, first introduced in New York City in the 1910 Census, was added for other cities and became essential for social welfare programming, business purposes, and local government planning.  Fast forward to the internet age and widespread demand for Block Group and Block Level data for a host of applications.  Michael Snow, historian at the U.S. Census Bureau, will present this fascinating history of the development of small area data products.
 

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