NCJ Number
247723
Date Published
November 1999
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This OJJDP Fact Sheet describes the features of the Child Welfare National Data Analysis System, (NDAS), the information available on NDAS, how to access it, data sources, and its special capabilities.
Abstract
In May 1999, the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) announced the Nation's first comprehensive and interactive child welfare database, the National Data Analysis System (NDAS). This free online service provided by CWLA and 30 sponsoring State agencies is the only place where practitioners can find child welfare data from all 50 States and the District of Columbia in multiple subject areas. NDAS enables users to create customized tables and graphs by selecting State and data years of interest. It also facilitates comparing a State's data with data from neighboring States or States with similar population sizes. In addition, NDAS provides users web access to child welfare data, and the data can be downloaded. Users can access NDAS through http://ndas.cwla.org or by visiting the CWLA web site at http://cwla.org.. NDAS also features two special capabilities. It enables users to view and create tables and graphs and download the data underlying those tables and graphs. This Fact Sheet cautions, however, that because States vary in how they define and address child welfare issues, collect data, and maintain information systems, child welfare data are complex and are difficult to interpret and compare.