This paper discusses several major information systems and presents knowledge obtained from them which is directly relevant to several policies of the federal government that are critical to the well-being of many children and families in the US. The systems discussed are: 1) the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which can pinpoint the extent to which families and children become permanently dependent on welfare; 2) the Current Population Survey, which provides statistics on poverty, as well as official US employment statistics; 3) the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which is the best information source on the standard of living of American families; 4) the National Vital Statistics System, which provides information on marriages, divorces, births, and deaths; 5) the National Health Interview Survey; 6) the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; 7) the National Survey of Family Growth; and 8) the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Unfortunately these information sources have suffered in a variety of ways from federal budget changes during the last few years. The Survey of Income and Program Participation is a new data system being implemented by the US Bureau of the Census. Its 2 primary goals are 1) to collect detailed information on the various sources of money and nonmonetary income, and 2) to collect extremely detailed information on eligibility for and participation in a wide variety of government transfer programs. The proposed budget for 11 federal programs that support social and behavioral science research shows a decline of about 2% between 1981 and 1984, without adjusting for inflation. Because of these budgetary declines, the Advisory Group on Child and Family Indicators of the Social Science Research Council made the following recommendations: 1) assure the continuation of the discussed information systems, 2) establish an archive for data on children, and 3) repeat several surveys regularly. The implementation of these recommendations would provide a strong foundation for the continued collection of current information and the creation of new information needed to advance the scientific understanding of the development of children and its ability to conduct critically needed policy analyses.
