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Author: Prosser, William R.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Hauser, Robert M.
Brown, Brett V.
Prosser, William R.
Indicators of Children's Well-Being
New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, November 1997.
Also: http://www.russellsage.org/publications/titles/indicators_children.htm
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
Keyword(s): Behavior Problems Index (BPI); Child Care; Child Health; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Children, Well-Being; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Family Resources; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Labor Force Participation; Maternal Employment; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)

The search for reliable information on the well-being of America's young is vital to designing programs to improve their lives. Yet social scientists are concerned that many measurements of children's physical and emotional health are inadequate, misleading, or outdated, leaving policymakers ill-informed. Indicators of Children's Well-Being is an ambitious inquiry into current efforts to monitor children from the prenatal period through adolescence. Working with the most up-to-date statistical sources, experts from multiple disciplines assess how data on physical development, education, economic security, family and neighborhood conditions, and social behavior are collected and analyzed, what findings they reveal, and what improvements are needed to create a more comprehensive and policy-relevant system of measurement. Today's climate of welfare reform has opened new possibilities for program innovation and experimentation, but it has also intensified the need for a clearly defined and wide-ranging empirical framework to pinpoint where help is needed and what interventions will succeed. Indicators of Children's Well-Being emphasizes the importance of accurate studies that address real problems. Essays on children's material well-being show why income data must be supplemented with assessments of housing, medical care, household expenditure, food consumption, and education. Other contributors urge refinements to existing survey instruments such as the Census and the Current Population Survey. The usefulness of records from human service agencies, child welfare records, and juvenile court statistics is also evaluated.
Bibliography Citation
Hauser, Robert M., Brett V. Brown and William R. Prosser. Indicators of Children's Well-Being. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, November 1997..
2. Prosser, William R.
Family Structure, Substitute Care, and Educational Achievement
Discussion Paper No. 1140-97, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, August 1997.
Also: http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/dps/pdfs/dp114097.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP), University of Wisconsin - Madison
Keyword(s): College Graduates; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; Foster Care; High School Completion/Graduates; Home Environment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth are used to explore the educational achievement of youths who lived away from both biological parents for at least four months during childhood. The study focuses on those who spent some time in substitute care (in foster family care, living with relatives, or in institutions), those who left home to be on their own before age 17, and children who were adopted by a couple before age 2. Educational achievement is measured by high school completion, college completion, and highest grade completed by age 25. The 5 to 10 percent of youths in this study who experience surrogate forms of family care on average have lower educational achievement than those who grew up with both biological parents. The educational level of the parents appears to play an important role, and may explain a significant portion of this discrepancy. This study cannot sort out whether the differences in educational achievement reflect the types of youths who enter surrogate forms of care, the reasons for transitions, or the actual substitute care experiences. Its contribution is that it adds analysis of a nationally representative sample of youth to a very thin body of literature on substitute care.
Bibliography Citation
Prosser, William R. "Family Structure, Substitute Care, and Educational Achievement." Discussion Paper No. 1140-97, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin - Madison, August 1997.