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1 1 (December 28, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govebaq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated December 28,2020 New Census Bureau Products Track COVID-19's Effects Introduction In May 2020, the U.S. Census Bureaureleasedits first findings fromthe new Household Pulse and SmallBusiness Pulse Surveys, both now in Phase 3. Theseexperimental products are designed to tracktheeffects 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 usingnew data sources or methodologies that benefit datausers in the absence of other relevant products. Long before COVID-19 struck, the federalstatistical systemproduced data that could gauge changes in mortality, health status, food supplies, unemployment, andbusiness 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 dis seminated in almost realtime to help policymakers respond to the pandemic and plan for recovery. Household Pulse Survey The Household Pulse Survey questionnaire is the productof 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 Statis tics (BLS, Department of Labor), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (Department of Transportation), National Center for Health Statistics (Department of Health and Human Services), National Center for Education Statistics (Department of Education), Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Social Security Administration. Phase 1 topics covered were individuals' employment status, spending patterns, food security, housing, physical and mentalhealth, access to health care, and educational disruption. Phase 2 asked additional questions, including those about application for and receipt ofbenefits, mental health services, evictions and foreclosures, availability offmancialresources, postsecondary educational disruptions, capacity to telework, and travelpractices. The Phase 3 questionnaire is unchanged fromPhase2. Phase 3 responses are made online and are voluntary, as they were in Phases 1 and 2. Level of Geography and Frequency The Census Bureauis producing statistics fromthe survey for the 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and the 15 most populous metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Data collection for Phase 1 beg anon April23, 2020, and ended on July 21. Phase 2began on August 19, and results were released biweekly through November 4. The first data were released fromPhase 3 on November 18; the bureau expects these releases to continue biweekly through January 6, 2021. Sample Design and Methods The survey draws on a systematic sample ofhousing units from the Census Bureau's Master Address File, supplemented by email addres ses and mobile telephone numbers fromthe bureau's ContactFrame. The initial Phase 1 s ample, according to the bureau, was dividedinto three panels, and eachwas interviewedup to three times. In successive weeks, the bureaureplaced one panel with another to avoid overburdening respondents. The sample included fourpanels in the secondandthird weeks and three subsequently. Phase 2 involved the selection of independent panels for successive data collection periods, and respondents were interviewed once. Phase 3 uses the same design and methods as Phase 2. Advantages and Limitations The Census Bureauhas noted that efforts are underway to introducenew 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 available for months or years. The Household Pulse Survey, in contrast, has a short turnaround time. Although response rates may be lower than in the bureau's traditional surveys, the pulse survey's benefits include, in the bureau's words, implementation efficiency, cost, and timeliness ofresponses. Because, as the bureauhas 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 eachrelease, and invites user feedback about data quality and usefulness. (See, for example, http s://www.census.gov/programs -surveys/household- puls e-survey/technical-documentation.html.) Illustrative Findings: November25 to December 7, 2020 This period, highlighted below at the national level, was one when children couldhave hadto meet school requirements fromhome and adults could havehad to teach or help teach them. Adults, with or without children, could have faced multiple other challenges, which the survey results indicate. Time devoted to learning activities. Ofhouseholds with children enrolled in public or private schools, 49.9% reported that the children spent muchles s or a little less time on all learning activities in the past week (that is, the weekbefore the survey) than before the pandemic. https://crsrepc

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