National individual-level longitudinal data: Compiling report records and foster care records spanning from 2005 to 2021.
The RAPIDS programs offer several add-ons to enhance the basic national individual-level longitudinal data. These include:
- Analysis-ready dataset construction: Incorporating prior history variables and future event variables to create a dataset ready for statistical analysis.
- Census data integration: Adding county-level variables based on residential counties at the time of the event (report, foster care entry, or foster care exit).
- Family data augmentation: Enriching the dataset with information pertaining to a child's siblings, such as demographic characteristics, current event variables, and prior history variables specific to each individual child's siblings.
GETTING STARTED WITH RAPIDS
1. Obtain the RAPIDS programs along with the pertinent documentation, including user guides and codebooks, from the RAPIDS project site at https://doi.org/10.33009/ldbase.1702395744.2e6b. To execute the RAPIDS programs, a SAS program is necessary (base SAS 9.4). Users can review the RAPIDS programs by opening them with a text editor, such as Notepad.
1.1. The RAPIDS programs used to construct the national individual-level longitudinal data:
Programs:
(a) RAPIDS_I1_IntegrationProgram.sas
(b) RAPIDS_I2_AnalysisData.sas
(c) RAPIDS_I3_CensusAddOn.sas
(d) RAPIDS_I4_FamID.sas
(e) RAPIDS_I5_AnalysisFamData.sas
Documentation:
(a) RAPIDS_I Programs Documentation_ReadMeFirst.docx
(b) Codebooks for each program
(c) Basic statistics from the dataset created by each program
1.2. The RAPIDS programs used to construct the national county-level longitudinal data:
Programs:
(a) RAPIDS_C1_CMR_County.sas
(b) RAPIDS_C2_Census_County.sas
(c) RAPIDS_C3_USDA_RUC.sas
(d) RAPIDS_C4_Grand_Merge.sas
Documentation:
(a) RAPIDS_C Programs Documentation_ReadMeFirst.docx
(b) Codebooks for each program
(c) Basic statistics from the dataset created by each program
2. Download the raw data, which is essential for running the RAPIDS programs, directly from the original sources.
2.1. NCANDS Child Files 2002-2021: Access to these datasets is freely available to qualified researchers, including university faculty and doctoral students. For more information on eligible users and the application process, please refer to the following link: https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/request-restricted-data.cfm
2.2. AFCARS Foster Care Files 2005-2021: Access to these datasets is available at no cost for qualified researchers. For details about eligible users and the application process, please visit the following link: https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/request-dataset.cfm
2.3. American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates from ACS 2005-2009 to ACS 2017-2021: Access to these datasets is freely available to the public. For detailed instructions on how to access these datasets, please refer to the "RAPIDS_I3_CensusAddOn.sas” and the “RAPIDS_C2_Census_County.sas” programs.
2.4. US Department of Agriculture Rural-Urban Continuum Codes: Access to this dataset is freely available to the public. For detailed instructions on how to access this dataset, please refer to the “RAPIDS_I3_CensusAddOn.sas” and “RAPIDS_C3_USDA_RUC.sas” programs.
3. Carefully review the RAPIDS programs and accompanying documentation.
4. It is absolutely essential that the version numbers in your data correspond to the version numbers specified in the RAPIDS Integration Program. This can be done in two ways: A) make sure the versions you download correspond to those specified in the program or B) modify the filenames in the RAPIDS Integration Program to match the newer version number. For example, RAPIDS reads the 2021V2 version of the Child File. If you download the next version in the future, you will want to change “…2021V2” to …2021V3”.
5. Execute the RAPIDS programs. While most parts of the programs do not require changes, users MUST make a few adjustments to ensure proper execution on their local computer systems. Look for "TODO" indicators (we recommend using "ctrl + F" to search for "TODO" in the programs), as these signal areas requiring modifications. Detailed instructions are provided within the programs to guide you through the necessary changes. These modifications are not onerous, requiring changes to paths specified in SAS in LIBNAME and IMPORT statements.
6. For troubleshooting purposes, basic statistics from the dataset created by each program are included in the documentation. The codes to generate these basic statistics are provided at the end of each program. Users can compare their statistics with those in the documentation to verify the proper execution of the programs. It's important to note that slight variations in basic statistics may occur between users and this project, depending on the versions of Child Files and Foster Care Files used.
