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1 1 (June 30, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdasc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. : iE SE .r, i , June 30, 2020 New Census Bureau Products Track COVID-19's Effects In May 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau released its first findings from the new Household Pulse and Small Business Pulse Surveys. These experimental products are designed to track the effects of the novel coronavirus disease first observed in Wuhan, China, in 2019 (COVID-19) and declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. The bureau defines such products as those using new data sources or methodologies that benefit data users in the absence of other relevant products. Long before COVID-19 struck, the federal statistical system produced data that could gauge changes in mortality, health status, food supplies, unemployment, and business conditions, among other important variables. Not previously available, however, were the kind of data now provided by the pulse surveys, which are not only detailed but also being disseminated in almost real time to help policymakers respond to the pandemic and plan for recovery. The Household Pulse Survey questionnaire is the product of collaboration among some of the major agencies in the federal statistical system, led by the Census Bureau (Department of Commerce), which is conducting the survey and presenting the results. The other collaborators are the Economic Research Service (Department of Agriculture), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, Department of Labor), National Center for Health Statistics (Department of Health and Human Services), National Center for Education Statistics (Department of Education), and Department of Housing and Urban Development, with input from the Office of Management and Budget. The topics covered are individuals' employment status, spending patterns, food security, housing, physical and mental health, access to health care, and educational disruption. Responses are made online and are voluntary. The Census Bureau is producing statistics from the survey for the 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and the 15 most populous metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Data collection began on April 23, 2020, and is to continue for 90 days, with weekly data releases. The survey draws on a systematic sample of housing units from the Census Bureau's Master Address File, supplemented by email addresses and mobile telephone numbers from the bureau's Contact Frame. The initial sample, according to the bureau, was divided into three panels, and each was interviewed up to three times. In successive weeks, the bureau is replacing one panel with another to avoid overburdening respondents. The sample included four panels in the second and third weeks and is including three subsequently. The bureau stated that this design can offer insights into how household experiences changed during the pandemic. Advakges, an~c'UL~rttma)3n The Census Bureau has noted that efforts are underway to introduce new questions about COVID-19 into the statistical agencies' benchmark surveys. Producing these surveys, however, is a highly deliberative process, so data on the pandemic might not be released for months or years. The Household Pulse Survey, in contrast, has a short turnaround time. Although response rates may be considerably lower than in the bureau's traditional surveys, the pulse survey's benefits include, in the bureau's words, implementation efficiency, cost, and timeliness of responses. Because, as the bureau has explained, experimental data may not meet all of its quality standards, it clearly identifies the pulse survey data, provides technical documentation, includes a Source and Accuracy Statement with each release, and invites user feedback about data quality and usefulness. (For an example of a Source and Accuracy Statement, see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/ technical-documentation/lhhp/Source-and-Accuracy- Statement-May-21 -May-26.pdf.) k~VMay 2 to Mkj .2:6, As previously mentioned, Household Pulse Survey results are available weekly. The May 21 to May 26 period, highlighted below at the national level, was one in which children could have been meeting educational requirements from home before the end of the school year, and adults could have been largely responsible for teaching them. Adults, with or without children, could have been facing multiple other challenges, which the survey results indicate. Time devoted to teaching activities. Adults living with children enrolled in public or private schools reported spending an average of 11.7 hours in the past week (that is, the week before respondents answered the survey) on teaching activities with the children. Loss of employment income. Adults living with children under age 18 were more likely than adults in childless households (55.3% versus 43.3%) to report loss of employment income since March 13, 2020. Food. Whereas 22.3% of adults reported that, before March 13, their households had enough food, but not always the types of food wanted, 31. 1% of adults reported this K~:> p\w gnom ggmm mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LIANJILiN,

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