Approximately a third of the states had projects linking public assistance data to child care, foster care, or child protective services. Four-fifths of the states used outside researchers to conduct these studies, and about half of all the projects identified were performed outside of state agencies. The vast majority of projects were one time, but there is a small, and growing, trend toward ongoing efforts that link a number of programs.

Figure 8–1 indicates the likelihood of finding projects that linked data across eight programs. Programs that are closer on this diagram are more likely to have been linked. Arrows with percentages of linkage efforts are included between every pair of programs for which 35 percent or more of the states had linkage projects. Percentages inside the circles indicate the percentage of states with projects linking data within the program over time. AFDC/TANF, Food Stamp Program, and Medicaid eligibility are combined at the center of this diagram

FIGURE 8–1 Percent of states with projects linking data from social service programs.

SOURCE: U.C. Data Archive and Technical Assistance (1999).