Elucidating the heterogeneous etiologies of autism will require investment in comprehensive longitudinal data acquisition from large community based cohorts. With this in mind, we have established a hospital-university-based (HUB) database of autism which incorporates prospective and retrospective data from a large and ethnically diverse…

Young people in the child welfare system are subjected to intensive and wide-ranging observation, surveillance and documentation practices that have been facilitated by the expanding use of digital technologies. Drawing on qualitative research, this article examines the pervasiveness of these governmental practices and their impacts on the…

Background: Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) experience high rates of physical and mental health problems; yet their health care is often inadequate. Information about their characteristics and health services needs is critical for planning efficient and equitable services. A logical source of such information is…

Asserts that, although the need to keep client records is clear, there is little information available as to how to construct client record. Presents guidelines for what data should be contained in intake summaries, along with assessments, treatment plans, case notes, and other supplemental materials. (Author/NB)

Describes record linkage as a data-generating technique, and presents a method for linking client records to live and stillbirth records, using 32,974 births in the Cleveland (Ohio) area. Biases that can enter the linkage process and general research issues related to record linkage are discussed. (SLD)

Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of administrative databases, issues with their implementation and data analysis, and effective presentation of their data at different levels in child welfare organizations. Focuses on the development and implementation of Washington state's Children's Administration's administrative database, the Case and…

The author outlines the advantages of illuminative, or descriptive, research in education and points out the need in this field for verification and cumulation, proposing a national depository for descriptive case records. (SJL)

Identifies 13 specific teaching strategies that counselor educators can infuse into existing course work to provide a more systematized approach to training in client documentation. (Author/KW)

Explores the history of the federal Adoption Incentive Program, the first federal child welfare outcome-based incentive program to rely solely on administrative data; discusses the program in the context of other federal child welfare incentive programs. Considers the use of data to project program utilization and costs, set baselines for the…

Discusses the value of administrative data to child welfare researchers. Considers issues in using client records--confidentiality, selection of data, historical data, sampling reliability, replication of findings, and access to data--that can be resolved in standardized ways. Notes other problematic issues, such as greater distance from subject,…

A method of case assessment is described. Data from the checklists about client, family, primary institution, and socioeconomic environment are transferred to a summary matrix outline form and causal inferences are given visual representation by vectors between the various system components. (Author/BH)

This article presents results from an outcomes-based needs assessment in an urban child welfare service district. The assessment's methodology emphasized consistent data collection from actual case records and explicitly included line staff and clients in the planning process. It was concluded that such reviews could benefit a variety of…

Examines the Chinese Exclusion Case Files of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which documented the influx of Chinese immigrants from 1882-1923, the time when Chinese immigration was first limited and ultimately stopped altogether. These files contain data on thousands of immigrants, documenting their experience, aspirations, and…