adolescents are randomly assigned to have a comparison studies are sim - PDF document

2 adolescents are randomly assigned to have a comparison studies are similar to experimental Basic research studiesas how divorce seems to affect children. more variables. In the case of children ofservice was delivered. For example, a study of program actually resulted in the provision of effort between the KIDS COUNT initiative and that describe the well-being of infants, children, or youth. For example, among The Right StartSESOFNDICATORSto identify areas of concern as well aschildren and families. Perhaps the best Indicators of Well-Beingdocument of the Federal Interagency Forum on which is disseminatedPlanning and Evaluation, U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services. More recently,have become available. Such childhood obesity). Indicator reports also oftenmore than what America looks like. Social or may not require policy intervention of communities. We have seen this approach in ties. Similarly, school systems often use doing on standardized tests, often targeting track measures of child outcomes through the to mind. The health of all Americans by the year 2010. And, and well-educated children). This role of social for children and youth. The word noteworthy. It signals a change from using input data to using outcome data to measure accountability. (Input data might be the receives. However, outcome data would show patient who saw a psychotherapist experienced under welfare reform, states that reduced substantial bonus payments. The risk, ofaccountable. Thus, caution is necessary whenReflective practice: to inform practices oftools designed to show how particular programtheir objectives. For example, in the planningChild Trends researchers devel-One of the great advantages of social indicators 37 better outcomes for children a decade later. Poli-SEOFNDICATORSAs seen above, social indicators can be helpfulFor example, if measured for low-income children Ð not middle-level. Looking just at trends on the national individuals in their own states and home provides a useful context. Of course, welfare . Proper conceptualizationsuggests recognizing that welfare reform is notor for families, such as poverty, but for ISUSEOFNDICATORSunintentionally (due to inadequate training andmakers who would use social indicators). Inap-decade. Some advocates of abstinence for teensclaim credit for the decline based on trends insexual experience. At the same time, someindicator data alone can be misleading because trends in indicators cannot resolve issues ofcausality. Indeed, the causes of social changeTo claim credit for program success. markers of the programsÕ success. But suchindicators cannot resolve whether the partici-been if they hadnÕt been enrolled in the program. For that, experimental evidence isindividuals or programs, without shouldnÕt necessarily be taken to mean that it mal evaluation using more rigorous techniques. Athave seen this, for instance, in some of the 4 to be affecting the well-being of children. Both theONCLUSIONStools for policy makers, practitioners, the media,and the general public. These statistical markerssociety, to monitor how well we are doing, to setinform practices in a given community or pro-level can be useful to state-level policy makersDespite all this, when compared with the businessused far less often in the broader social policymeasures, but we may not have good data. Thatseems to be the case in tracking the well-being ofchildren in the child welfare population. The mostmay have data, but we lack good measures or havemeasures that are inadequate. Consider Òreligiosi-ty,Ó that is, religious belief and practice. Datafrom national surveys can tell us about teenagersÕan imperfect indicator of religious belief and practice. We also lack adequate measures on suchment, ethical behavior, and a love of learning.such as rates of infant mortality, teen pregnancy,and substance abuse. While tracking negative out-whatÕs wrong but also on supporting and nurtur-may well be the next frontier in the use of socialMeeting on Measures of Child Well-Being that wasage of devolution,Ó which will be included in in the well-being of children and youth,Child Welfare League of America Press Ben-Arieh, A., Kaufman, N., Andrews, A., Goerge, R., Lee, B., & Aber,Handbook of applied develop- Moore, K.A. (1997). Criteria for indicators of child well-being. In R. Hauser,its support of our communications activities. We alsothank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundationfor ongoing support of our series. Addi-tional support for Child TrendsÕ communications efforts isprovided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation ADDRESSSERVICEREQUESTED U.S. POSTAGEWashington, D.C. Child Trends, founded in 1979, is an independent, nonpartisan research center dedicated to improving the lives ofchildren and their families by conducting research and providing science-based information to the public and decision-makers. For additional information on Child Trends, including a complete set of available Research Briefs, visit ourWeb site at www.childtrends.org.For the latest information on more than 70 key indicators of child and youthwell-being, visit the Child Trends DataBank at The Uses (and Misuses) of Social Indicators: Implications for Public PolicyBy Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D., and Brett V. Brown, Ph.D., with Harriet J. Scarupa, M.S. February 2003 This Research Briefis different from mostChild Trends briefs, which customarily pre-THERESEARCHCONTEXTTo get a better grasp of the appropriate use of socialindicators as tools for policy makers, program developers, and opinion shapers, it may be help-
Experimental studiesare the only type ofresearch that truly can account for cause andeffect, and, therefore, are considered the Ògold Publication # 2003-01 4301 Connecticut AvenuPhone 202-362-5580 Fax 202-362-5533 www.childtrends.org RIEF 1The proverbial term ÒminerÕs canaryÓ originated in the practice of miners taking a canary with them into the mines where they worked. If there was a poisonous gas leak inthe mines, the canary would fall dead, alerting the miners to the danger and allowing them to get away to safety.