Last week the Census Bureau announced that it will implement updated standards for the collection and reporting of race and ethnicity data set by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that are effective as of March 28th, 2024. This is the first time the OMB’s race and ethnicity data standards have changed since 1997. History of the changes Current question about Hispanic ethnicity. Current question about racial identity. The first census administered by the US government included three “race” categories. In the 2020 decennial census, there were nineteen race and ethnic origin checkbox op ..read more

In March, the Equity in Data Community of Practice learned about how to responsibly utilize census data to explore race and ethnicity. We heard from CTData’s own Cynthia Willner (Senior Research Associate) and Jason Cheung (Senior Data Analyst) who shared how race and ethnicity data is collected and how we can use it appropriately in our work. Watch the video below! Some of the highlights include: Jason provided a demo on how to navigate the Census Bureau's data.census.gov website to find race and ethnicity data from the American Community Survey (ACS). Jason showed how to search for re ..read more

Our 2023 Harford Youth Data Fellows stressed the importance of understanding the impact of poverty on their families and communities and how it shapes their lives. Together with the Hartford Data Collaborative, two of the Hartford Youth Data Fellows studied data from the U.S. American Community Survey to review publicly available data about children and youth in Hartford. They found that the percentage of children and youth under 18 living below the poverty line remains significant— 37 percent in recent estimates. Hartford Children and Their Family Structure Syree Little, 2023 Hartford Youth ..read more

Hartford Youth are interested in learning more about their educational system and how their friends and peers fare in its system. Two of the 2023 Hartford Youth Data Fellows worked with the Hartford Data Collaborative team to review data from the CT State Department of Education to better understand critical and current issues for them— the impact of high school students missing school and their college readiness and persistence. Chronic Absenteeism in High School Nasere Lewin, 2023 Hartford Youth Data Fellow, analyzed the rates of absenteeism—a key issue post-pandemic topic— for students att ..read more

Mobile crisis services dispatch trained staff and clinical support to people experiencing mental health crises at homes, schools, and community centers. In Connecticut, the State Department of Children and Families, the United Way of Connecticut, and the Child Health & Development Institute (CHDI) provide free Mobile Crisis Intervention Services for children and youth through 2-1-1. Data from CHDI monthly reports are allow communities to shine a light on mental health issues and work on improving services in their area. In 2023, the Hartford Data Collaborative and the Hartford Youth Data F ..read more

Every five years, Northwest Hills Council of Governments (NHCOG) updates their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, which serves as a guide to the region’s 21 towns and economic development partners. Northwest Hills COG reached out to CTData to provide a data and analysis platform to be used in community presentations and meetings the kick of the first phase of the Comprehensive Economic Development Plan update.   Identifying Data Questions & Sources Northwest Hills COG polled Northwest CT Economic Development Corporation members and stakeholders to find out which data questio ..read more

In our February 2024 Equity in Data Community of Practice. We were joined by Leslie Reynolds, Research Support Specialist at the Cornell University Program on Applied Demographics, who spoke with our community about finding and effectively utilizing data on small geographic areas and populations. Don’t miss the recording of this session below! In this information-packed session, Leslie discussed the following: Why and when to use small area and population data Defining what qualifies as “small” Data products available for small areas and populations (such as the Census Bureau’s American ..read more

2023 was another banner year for CTData! We increased revenue by more than 50% year over year. We also hired two new team members, adding a Director of Data Strategic Planning and a Census State Data Center Coordinator. We served more than 100 organizations and doubled the number of registrants at CTData Academy workshops and events compared to 2022. In 2023, we developed our first strategic plan. Moving forward, CTData will be building and growing in two areas where we have expertise and feel we can best support the social sector – data capacity building and research and analysis. As part of ..read more

Our first Equity in Data Community of Practice of 2024 was held on Tuesday, January 16th. We were joined by Mica Knox, from the COMPASS Youth Collaborative, who shared the COMPASS data team’s experience developing effective and accessible dashboards.  Dashboards can be an incredibly powerful tool, but only if they are created mindfully. Otherwise, they can be intimidating, confusing, or just not as useful as they were intended to be. The data team at the COMPASS Youth Collaborative has worked hard to create dashboards that are meaningful, accessible, and useful to their staff. Mica Knox ..read more

When we work with data, we are always working with a place – a state, the nation, a town, etc. In data-speak, these are called “geographies.” It simply means a physical place to where the data are connected. All geographies are hierarchical. The nation encompasses the states, the states encompass counties, and counties encompass towns. Similarly, census geography is a hierarchical structure that ranges from the nation down to blocks. These geographies are used in all Census data products. Data availability varies by source and geography. Also, census geographies can change over time, which can ..read more