Informing policy and implementation in the child welfare system using integrated administrative data

Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center 

Administrative data sources provide a wealth of information and are a valuable resource for research. However, they are limited in the amount of information they capture and may not provide a comprehensive picture. Recently, integrating data from other sources and linking them to child welfare administrative data has been shown to be an approach to address the limitations. In this talk, I will present examples of real-world policy-relevant research projects from my work with a US child welfare system to motivate a discussion on the advantages and challenges of using linked data. I will also touch on the types of research questions that can be addressed through linked data and demonstrate interactive ways of presenting and communicating analysis results.

Integrating data sources

Real-world policy

US child welfare system