Searching for Social Indicator Data for Risk and Protective Factors

Each State, county, and community collects, compiles, and makes public its archived social indicator data differently. You must often contact several agencies to obtain multiple sets of social indicator data. Social indicator data is increasingly provided on State Websites, but it may take persistent searching and phone calls to identify the appropriate agency and then the data. The following provides Internet access to State and other Governments, but you must search for the appropriate agency and determine if it posts the social indicator data that you need.

The American Community Survey is a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that provides accurate and up-to-date profiles of America's communities every year. It includes timely economic, social, and housing indicators for communities and population subgroups.

The Asset-Based Community Development Institute is an online resource center that focuses on community assets as key building blocks to sustain urban and rural community revitalization efforts. A major focus of the institute is the production of resources and tools for community builders involved in the process of capacity-based initiatives, helping them identify, nurture, and mobilize neighborhood assets.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contains links to many sources of health data, including the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s PREVLINE includes a State Needs Assessment Profiles area that contains summary profiles for substance abuse studies conducted by States. The Website also includes information on household surveys, social indicator studies, community studies, school studies, and other sources of information.

The Community Indicators Project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation provides detailed surveys of attitudes and beliefs in 26 communities (and the nation) plus an overview profile that summarizes key information about each community.

The Current Population Survey is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It collects data on such labor force characteristics as employment, unemployment, earnings, and hours of work, as well as other indicators, such as school enrollment, income, previous work experience, health, and employee benefits.

The Local and State Governments Website is a Library of Congress Internet Resource Page that contains contact information for State and local government information.

The National Association of State Information Resource Executives exists to shape national information technology policy through collaborative partnerships, information sharing, and knowledge transfer across jurisdictional and functional boundaries.

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collects and provides a variety of social indicator information, including the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System.

The National Center for Health Statistics includes two major types of data systems: systems based on populations, containing data collected through personal interviews or examinations; and systems based on records, containing data collected from vital and medical records.

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service contains links to many sources of national and State crime statistics.

Neighborhoods Online is an online resource for strengthening neighborhoods, promoting revitalization, and creating a network of activists working to improve neighborhoods.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy provides links to numerous data sets, with sponsoring agency, description, population, geographic areas, frequency, and year started.

The Social Sciences Data Center through Rutgers University provides social indicator data on such areas as census, crime, economics, health, labor, social, and other domains.

State and Local Government on the Net is a guide to State and local government Websites, through which social indicators can searched.

The State of the Nation’s Cities Report and the “Community” section at the Housing and Urban Development Website include substantial information on American communities, including social indicators and other practical information.