Federal Interagency Forum on Children and Family Statistics: Resources and Opportunities for Child Development Researchers

Session Type: Federal Agency Professional Development Roundtable

Abstract

There are approximately 74 million children in the United States living in contexts that can affect their well-being in diverse ways, including family and social environments, economic circumstances, physical environments, and access to health care and other resources and services. Understanding the well-being of children and the conditions that affect their well-being are key to informing policy and practice. Concerted efforts to develop, coordinate, and monitor national data are critical to understanding the current status of children and what might be needed to support their well-being further. The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (Forum) is presently a collection of 23 U.S. Federal Executive Branch government agencies involved in research and activities related to children and families. The mission of the Forum is to (1) foster coordination and collaboration across agencies, (2) enhance and improve consistency in the collection and reporting of Federal data on children and families in the U.S., and (3) improve the reporting and dissemination of findings. This session will provide an overview of the Forum, how child well-being is conceptualized and operationalized from an interdisciplinary and cross-agency perspective and discuss the methodologies the Forum uses for data collection, coordination and reporting, including the production of the annual flagship report “America Children: Key National Indicators of Well-being.” Presenters will also provide an overview of resources available to researchers through the Forum that they can use to inform and support their own work, including available reports, datasets, and funding opportunities, as well as opportunities to participate in meetings and hear about emerging findings and priorities.

Session Organizer, Traci Cook, has served as Forum Staff Director for more than ten years and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience around Forum operations, data collection and dissemination, and stakeholder negotiations and engagement. Panelist Regina Bures, longtime Forum member, is Program Director in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development where she manages a diverse portfolio in demography, population economics and population health. Panelist Anthony Nerino, a newer Forum member from the Office of Management and Budget, couples his strong interpersonal, statistical and methodological skills with work experience from federal and non-federal organizations, to bring innovative strategies for developing future Forum partnerships.

Sub Unit

• Federal Agency Sessions

Moderator

• Traci Cook, CDC/National Center for Health Statistics

Panelists

• Regina Bures, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD/NIH)

• Anthony Nerino, Federal Government