VR Summit September 8, 2014Louisville, KY

American Community Survey

Resources and Technical Assistance

Lewis E. Kraus, MPH, MCP

Center on Disability at the Public Health Institute

Oakland CA

Use for Disability Data

NHPAD

State population and trends for legislators

Population characteristics and changes at the

district and office levels

for planning for admissions, etc.

for human resources/staff planning

for planning for future services (e.g., youth)

Use for Disability Data

NHPAD

Statewide Needs Assessment

Estimates of individuals with disability

Estimates of individuals with disability who are

unserved, underserved

Other needs?

Local estimates of individuals with disability?

What the ACS Can Offer

NHPAD

Annual survey of sample of US

Asks about:

Age, sex, race, family and relationships, income

and benefits, health insurance, education,

veteran’s status, disabilities, where you work and

how you get there, where you live and how much

you pay for some essentials

ACS Disability definition

NHPAD

Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious

difficulty hearing?

Is this person blind or does he/she have serious

difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?

Because of a physical, mental, or emotional

condition, does this person have serious difficulty

concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?

ACS Disability definition

NHPAD

Does this person have serious difficulty walking or

climbing stairs?

Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing?

Because of a physical, mental, or emotional

condition, does this person have difficulty doing

errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or

shopping?

What the ACS Can Offer

NHPAD

1, 3 and 5 year estimates

1 yr – for pops 65,000 and over

3 yr – for pops 20,000 and over

5 yr – for all populations

Disability questions consistent for 5 years, so “new”

estimates of disability possible at local level

Attributes of 1, 3, and 5 year estimates

NHPAD

1 yr estimates 3 yr estimates 5 yr estimates

Populations 65,000+ 20,000+ Any

Sample Size Smallest Between 1 and 5 yr Largest

Reliability of data Least reliable Between 1 and 5 yr Most reliable

How current? Most current Between 1 and 5 yr Least current

https://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/estimates/

Attributes of 1, 3, and 5 year estimates

NHPAD

1 yr estimates 3 yr estimates 5 yr estimates

Best used when Currency is more important than precision

Analyzing large populations

Needs for precision and currency are similar

Analyzing smaller populations

Examining smaller geographies (1- yr. estimates are not available)

Precision is more important than currency

Analyzing very small populations

Examining tracts and other smaller geographies (1- yr. estimates are not available)

https://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/estimates

Getting ACS data

NHPAD

American Factfinder website

http://factfinder2.census.gov

Guided or Advanced Search tools available

Can download data (csv for Excel; pdf or rtf for

layout)

Can create a county level map of data

Factfinder Search Example

NHPAD

Factfinder Data Table Example

NHPAD

Factfinder Data Table Example

NHPAD

Factfinder Data Table Example

NHPAD

Factfinder Map Example

NHPAD

Getting ACS data

NHPAD

Can also download data from Data Ferrett

Getting ACS data

NHPAD

Can also download data from Data Ferrett

Getting ACS data

NHPAD

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities

1) Help in finding disability data in ACS

Manuals

Verbal

Consulting

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities

2) Planning, retrieving, developing data from ACS

Local or state

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities

3) Variety of Formats

Tables

Stats RRTC Technical Assistance possibilities

Graphics, Maps, Text

Audience Examples; Q and A

Uses of data, ACS data

For More Information, Contact

Lewis Kraus

lkraus@centerondisability.org

510-285-5600