First National Survey of SSI Children and Families in Two Decades

Policymakers and program operators need updated information about children with disabilities and their family circumstances. The last comprehensive survey of these issues was conducted over 20 years ago. To fill this information gap, Mathematica is collecting data on children with disabilities and their families who are receiving or have applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), as part of the National Survey of SSI Children and Families (NSCF). This $4.7 million, two-year project provides data to the Social Security Administration for policymaking and program planning. It is also valuable to researchers interested in children’s health and disability issues.

The survey, which Mathematica helped design, has two major objectives:

• To provide information on the characteristics, experiences, and needs of SSI child recipients and their families
• To evaluate the effects of welfare reform on SSI children

Using computer-assisted telephone and personal interviewing techniques, Mathematica is interviewing about 9,900 children and young adults. Interviewers use two different versions of the questionnaire—one for children and one for young adults—that are similar in content but allow for differences in living situations, SSI eligibility, and other age-specific issues. The questionnaire asks about child’s health status and functional limitations, health care utilization, health insurance coverage, receipt of services, and SSI experience. In addition, we are examining the socioeconomic status of children’s households, including earned and unearned income, and housing characteristics. 

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