VR Summit September 8, 2014 Louisville, KY American Community Survey Resources and Technical Assistance Lewis E. Kraus, MPH, MCP Center on Disability at the Public Health Institute Oakland CA

Use for Disability Data NHPAD State population and trends for legislators Population characteristics and changes at the district and office levels for planning for admissions, etc. for human resources/staff planning for planning for future services (e.g., youth)

Use for Disability Data NHPAD Statewide Needs Assessment Estimates of individuals with disability Estimates of individuals with disability who are unserved, underserved Other needs? Local estimates of individuals with disability?

What the ACS Can Offer NHPAD Annual survey of sample of US Asks about: Age, sex, race, family and relationships, income and benefits, health insurance, education, veteran’s status, disabilities, where you work and how you get there, where you live and how much you pay for some essentials

ACS Disability definition NHPAD Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing? Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?

ACS Disability definition NHPAD Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing? Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?

What the ACS Can Offer NHPAD 1, 3 and 5 year estimates 1 yr – for pops 65,000 and over 3 yr – for pops 20,000 and over 5 yr – for all populations Disability questions consistent for 5 years, so “new” estimates of disability possible at local level

Attributes of 1, 3, and 5 year estimates NHPAD 1 yr estimates3 yr estimates5 yr estimates Populations65,000+20,000+Any Sample SizeSmallestBetween 1 and 5 yrLargest Reliability of dataLeast reliableBetween 1 and 5 yrMost reliable How current?Most currentBetween 1 and 5 yrLeast current

Attributes of 1, 3, and 5 year estimates NHPAD 1 yr estimates3 yr estimates5 yr estimates Best used whenCurrency is more important than precision Analyzing large populations Needs for precision and currency are similar Analyzing smaller populations Examining smaller geographies (1- yr. estimates are not available) Precision is more important than currency Analyzing very small populations Examining tracts and other smaller geographies (1- yr. estimates are not available)

Getting ACS data NHPAD American Factfinder website Guided or Advanced Search tools available Can download data (csv for Excel; pdf or rtf for layout) Can create a county level map of data

Factfinder Search Example NHPAD

Factfinder Data Table Example NHPAD

Factfinder Data Table Example NHPAD

Factfinder Data Table Example NHPAD

Factfinder Map Example NHPAD

Getting ACS data NHPAD Can also download data from Data Ferrett

Getting ACS data NHPAD Can also download data from Data Ferrett

Getting ACS data NHPAD

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities 1) Help in finding disability data in ACS Manuals Verbal Consulting

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities 2) Planning, retrieving, developing data from ACS Local or state

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities 3) Variety of Formats Tables

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities Graphics, Maps, Text

Audience Examples; Q and A Uses of data, ACS data

For More Information, Contact Lewis Kraus