DATA TOOLS 2.0 DATA & METHODOLOGY

DC Action for Children designed the 2014 DC KIDS COUNT® Data Tool 2.0 to bring to life data on the well-being of DC children and families, neighborhood by neighborhood. The indicators and measures reflect DC KIDS COUNT’s neighborhood-centered analytical frame. Nearly all DC KIDS COUNT indicators and measures are calculated at the neighborhood level, which allows us to evaluate the assets and needs of neighborhoods where DC’s children live, play and learn.

DATA

Data Set

File

Notes

Final Neighborhood Indicators

https://github.com/DCActionforChildren/dcaction/blob/gh-pages/data/neighborhoods.csv

This is the final data values for each of the indicators available on DC KIDS COUNT® Data Tool 2.0. The explanation of each indicator and its associated variable name in this file is available below.

INDICATORS

Following are the indicators included in the 2014 DC KIDS COUNT® Data Tool 2.0, what they measure, their source, and notes.

Indicator	Measure	Source	Notes
School Level Indicators
DC Public Schools & DC Public Charter Schools	# of students enrolled	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is for school year 2016-2017.
	% of students proficient and above in Math by school	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is for school year 2016-2017.
	% of students proficient and above in ELA by school	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is for school year 2016-2017.
	Graduation rate	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is for school year 2015-2016.

Neighborhood Demographic Indicators
Total Population	# of residents	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated total number of residents for each neighborhood cluster, 2015.
Children (Under 18)	# of children ages 0 to 17	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated total number of children ages 17 and below for each neighborhood cluster, 2015.
Young child population (Under 5)	# of children ages 0 to 4	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated total number of children ages 4 and below for each neighborhood cluster, 2015.
Over 18 Race/Ethnicity	% of residents ages 18 and older in each race/ethnic group	U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census	The 4 different race/ethnic groups are: Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic, White, Hispanic, and Others. Others include everybody else not accounted in the three groups above.
Under 18 Race/Ethnicity	% of children ages 0 to 17 in each race/ethnic group	U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census	The 4 different race/ethnic groups are: Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic, White, Hispanic, and Others. Others include everybody else not accounted in the three groups above.
Neighborhood Poverty Rate	% of residents who live below the federal poverty line	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated number of residents living below the federal poverty line in a neighborhood divided by the total population of the neighborhood, 2015.
Percentage of Children in Poverty	% of children ages 0 to 17 who live below the federal poverty line	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated number of children ages 0 to 17 living below the federal poverty line in a neighborhood divided by the total number of children ages 0 to 17 in the neighborhood, 2015.
Percentage of Children in Single Mother Families	% of children in families headed by a female householder with no husband present	U.S. Census Bureau,2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The indicator percentage of children in single mother families differs from the indicator percentage of single mother households. The former measures how many children live in families headed by a single mother of the total number of children in the neighborhood. The latter measures how many families are headed by a single mother of the total number of families in a neighborhood.
Percentage of Population between 18 and 24 without a Diploma	% of residents ages 18-24 that do not have a high school diploma	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated number of residents ages 18-24 that did not complete high school and receive a diploma.
Percentage of Population Over 25 without a Diploma	% of residents ages 25 and older that do not have a high school diploma	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated number of residents ages 25 and older that did not complete high school and receive a diploma.
Youth Employment Rate (Ages 16 to 24)	% of residents ages 16-24 in civilian labor force currently employed	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated number of residents ages 16 to 24 employed divided by the number of residents ages 16 to 24 in civilian labor force in 2015.
Political Engagement in the 2014 Election	% of registered voters who cast ballots in the 2014 general and special election based on precinct location	District of Columbia Board of Elections (DCBOEE), 2014	The percentage of registered voters who cast ballots in the November 2014 general election by precinct. Precincts were geocoded and cross-walked to neighborhood geographies.
Average Median Income	The average of the median incomes for the census tracts that fit into each neighborhood	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	This indicator estimates the median income for each neighborhood by averaging the median incomes for the census tracts that compile the neighborhood geography. While the mean (average) of medians is not a typical measure, it provides some information about household income. Without individual household data for the homes within each neighborhood, we cannot produce a neighborhood level median income.

Neighborhood Child Health & Wellbeing Indicators
Children Enrolled in Medicaid	# of children ages 0 to 17 enrolled in Medicaid	DC Department of Health Care Finance, 2014	Data is for the Financial Year 2014.
Preventative Medical Visits by Children Enrolled in Medicaid	# total number of any preventative medical visits by children ages 0 to 17 enrolled in Medicaid	DC Department of Health Care Finance, 2014	Data is for the Financial Year 2014.
Dental visits by children enrolled in Medicaid	# total number of dental visits by children ages 0 to 17 enrolled in Medicaid	DC Department of Health Care Finance, 2014	Data is for the Financial Year 2014.
Number of SNAP recipients (Children & Adults)	# number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) clients both children and adults	DC Department of Human Services, 2014	Data is for the Financial Year 2014.

Neighborhood Child Success Indicators
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding Expectations on PARCC (Math)	% of students proficient and above in Math by neighborhood of residence	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is for school year 2016-2017.
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding Expectations on PARCC (Reading)	% of students proficient and above in Reading by neighborhood of residence	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is for school year 2016-2017.

Neighborhood Child Care Indicators
Infant/Toddler Child Care Capacity	# of infant and toddler slots in neighborhood licensed child care centers and homes	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)	The data presented is as of July 2013. It provides the total number of infant and toddler slots (capacity) in licensed child care centers and homes in a neighborhood.
Ratio of Infant/Toddler Child Care Capacity to Under 3 Population	# of infant and toddler slots in neighborhood licensed child care centers and homes divided by the # of under age 3 children in the neighborhood	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) & U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The data presented is as of July 2013. It is a rough estimate of capacity to possible overall demand. The ratio calculates the total number of infant and toddler slots (capacity) in licensed child care centers and homes in a neighborhood divided by the estimate of children ages 2 and below in the neighborhood. Some of the caveats with this calculation are that the ACS data of number of children ages 2 and below is an estimate and not precise numbers. Additionally, infant/toddler is ages 0 to 3; the ACS file configuration is such that the estimates had to leave out 3 year-old infant/toddlers.
Ratio of Infant/Toddler Child Care Capacity to Under 5 Poverty	# of infant and toddler slots in neighborhood licensed child care centers and homes divided by the # of under age 5 children in poverty in the neighborhood	Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) & U.S. Census Bureau, 2010-2014 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The data presented is as of July 2013. It is a rough estimate of capacity to possible crucial demand. The ratio calculates the total number of infant and toddler slots (capacity) in licensed child care centers and homes in a neighborhood divided by the estimate of children ages 5 and below living in poverty in the neighborhood. The ACS file configuration is such that the number of children (infant/toddlers) ages 3 and below in poverty cannot be estimated. Hence, we have used the estimate of children ages 5 and below living in poverty as a rough substitute.

Neighborhood Assets Indicators
Percentage of Housing Units Owner Occupied	% of housing units in the neighborhood occupied by its owner	U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimate	The estimated total number of housing units occupied by its owner for each neighborhood cluster, 2015.
Number of Properties Vacant or Blighted	# of total residential and commercial properties vacant	DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, 2017	The total residential and commercial properties vacant in a neighborhood cluster as of July 14, 2017.
Number of Public Libraries	# of DC public libraries	DC Public Libraries, 2016	DC Public Libraries, 2016, in a neighborhood via Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) citywide Data Warehouse Program.
Number of Grocery Stores	# of large grocery stores	DC Open Data, 2017	DC Open Data, 2017. Only includes large or national chain grocery stores, which have been determined by the DC Office of Planning to be healthy food locations.
Number of Recreation Centers	# of recreation centers	DC Department of Parks and Recreation, 2017	Recreation centers were tabulated from DC Department of Parks and Recreation website.
Number of Parks	# of parks	DC Open Data, 2017	Parks were tabulated from Open Data DC's website in 2017, geocoded using the DC Master Address Repository, aggregated to neighborhood cluster level and then mapped.
Number of WMATA Rail Stations	# of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) rail stations in the neighborhood	Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority (WMATA), 2007	The data was obtained from the Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) via Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) Citywide Data Warehouse Program. No new rail stations have been built in the District of Columbia since 2004.

Number of WMATA Bus Stops	# of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus stops in the neighborhood	Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority (WMATA), 2012	The data was obtained from the Washington Metro Area Transportation Authority (WMATA) via Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) Citywide Data Warehouse Program, 2012

Neighborhood Violent Crime Indicators
Total Violent Crime Count	# of total violent crimes reported in the neighborhood	DC Metropolitan Police Department, 2016	Total violent crime consists of reported Homicides, Assaults with Deadly Weapon, Robberies, and Sex Abuse based on the definition by U.S. Bureau of Justice. The crime rate per 1,000 residents help compares the differences in reported crimes given the differences in population across neighborhood clusters.
Total Violent Crime per 1,000 Residents	# of total violent crimes reported per 1,000 residents in the neighborhood	DC Metropolitan Police Department, 2016

NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL DATA

Our focus was on providing neighborhood level data for each of the 39 main neighborhoods. The data from the U.S. Census Bureau were extracted at census tract levels. The data from the DC agencies were either in neighborhood cluster or zip code spatial units. These source data for each indicator measured at differing spatial units were then cross-walked/converted into values for each neighborhood cluster. Additionally, the spatial boundaries of neighborhood clusters do not necessarily align exactly with the spatial boundaries of census tracts. Hence most neighborhood clusters are a sum of both whole and portions of census tracts.

An example of calculating the neighborhood values: The U.S. Census Bureau data at the census tract level were pulled from the Census API with this ruby script, cross-walked with this ruby script, and matched up for the neighborhood clusters using this equivalency file provided by the DC Department of Planning. First census tracts that did not need to be split were matched up to their respective neighborhood clusters. Then portions of census tracts that were split across neighborhood boundaries were allocated accordingly to each neighborhood cluster. Then the matched values from both the non-split and split census tracts were summed up to provide the final values for the respective neighborhood clusters.

For the data received by zip codes: With SAS the zip codes were apportioned into smaller census tracts (as observed in this csv file) and then aggregated to the respective neighborhood clusters using the same census tract equivalency file and similar methodology as the above example of census data.

This is the link to the backend GitHub repository that powers the 2014 DC KIDS COUNT® Data Tool 2.0

NOTES

The U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data presented for many of the indicators are estimates and have varying margins of error.