Created Variables

The following collapsed created variables about program participation have been added starting in round 9 for all eligible respondents regardless of their interview status in a particular year.

CVC_UI_SPELLS_YR. Provides the number of spells the respondent received Unemployment Insurance compensation during the year.

CVC_UI_YR. Provides the number of months the respondent received Unemployment Insurance compensation during the year.

CVC_UI_EVER. Provides the number of months the respondent received Unemployment Insurance compensation during the year or ever.

CVC_AMT_UI_YR. Provides the dollar amount of the Unemployment Insurance compensation received during each year.

CVC_GOVNT_PRG_YR. Provides the number of months cash or transfer payments were received from other government programs during the year.

CVC_GOVNT_PRG_EVER. Provides the number of months cash or transfer payments were ever received from other government programs.

CVC_AMT_GOVNT_PRG_YR. Provides the total amount received from other government programs.

Event History Variables

Program participation arrays are constructed individually for three need-based programs--AFDC, Food Stamps, and WIC.  The AFDC array includes all federal and state programs created under Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or any government program for needy families that replaces AFDC.  All other need-based programs (e.g., SSI, other) are combined into a fourth program participation array entitled Other.  Three arrays are created for each program type.  All program participation arrays use the same continuous month format as the marital status arrays and provide information starting in the month that the respondent turned 14 and ending in the month that he or she was last interviewed. 

In addition, arrays are available for two employment-based programs. Unemployment Insurance is included in all rounds, and Worker's Compensation is included in rounds 1-3.

AFDC_STATUS. Presents the status--receiving or not--of whether the respondent received AFDC (Aid to Families of Dependent Children) benefits during each month. A value of '1' in the status array indicates months of receipt; a value of '0' indicates months that a respondent did not receive that benefit but was above the age of 14 (other eligibility requirements such as income level or presence of children are not considered).  Respondents not age-eligible for the program have a value of '-4.'  Similar variables include FDSTMPS_STATUS (for receipt of food stamps), WIC_STATUS (for receipt of WIC benefits), or OTHER_STATUS, (for receipt of other benefits such as SSI). An edit variable (e.g., AFDC_EDIT_DATE) flags respondent-reported and imputed dates; the edit flags are described in Appendix 6 of the NLSY97 Codebook Supplement.

AFDC_AMT. Presents the amount of AFDC the respondent received for a particular month. Similar variables include FDSTMPS_AMT (amount of food stamps), WIC_AMT (amount of WIC benefits), or OTHER_AMT, (amount of other benefits such as SSI). A second set of edit variables (e.g., AFDC_EDIT_AMT) flags problematic values and explains any editing performed on these variables.  More information about this editing process is available in the NLSY97 Codebook Supplement.

AFDC_HH. Presents the household members ((e.g., respondent only, child only, respondent and child) who received the AFDC benefit that month. Similar variables also are available for food stamps, WIC, and other benefits. This array condenses the set of answers from the survey questions that collect this information; for example, see YPRG-18300.01_001 to YPRG-18300.01_005 for AFDC.

Deny Variables.  Deny variables in the program participation section flag respondents who deny previously reported receipt of assistance.

Important Information About Using Program Participation Data

1. Users who encounter problems with the program participation data should be aware that inconsistencies exist for a few respondents who report overlapping spells of program receipt. For more details, users can contact NLS User Services at usersvc@postoffice.chrr.ohio-state.edu.

2. The term "independent youth" is used frequently when describing income-related data. To be considered independent, respondents must have at least one of these characteristics: are age 18 or older, have had a child, are enrolled in a 4-year college, have ever been married or are in a marriage-like relationship at the time of the survey, are no longer enrolled in school, or are not living with any parents or parent-figures. Beginning in round 8, all respondents are classified as independent.

3. In the round 1 survey, youths with a current partner who did not meet any of the other independence criteria were incorrectly skipped past the program participation section. These youths are coded as -3, invalid skip, in the data.

4. In round 2, respondents who were receiving benefits from a given program at the time of the round 1 interview and who were currently receiving benefits at the round 2 interview date reported whether they had stopped receiving benefits at any point between interviews. If the respondent reported a stop date, he or she was not subsequently asked to report the start date of the current spell (the period of receipt after the gap through the current interview date). Information was gathered on the current spell regarding amount and household member(s) receiving. This was corrected for all types of programs except food stamps in rounds 3 and 4.