Feb 22 -- The U.S. Census Bureau invites public comments to OMB by March 25, 2024 on the reinstatement of the Current Population Survey (CPS) Fertility Supplement.
The Fertility Supplement is conducted in conjunction with the Current Population Survey (CPS). The Census Bureau sponsors the supplement questions, which were previously collected in June 2022, and have been asked periodically since 1971. This survey provides information used mainly by government and private analysts to project future population growth and to aid policymakers and private analysts in their decisions affected by changes in family size and composition. Past studies have discovered noticeable changes in the patterns of fertility rates and the timing of the first birth. Potential needs for government assistance, such as aid to families with dependent children, child care, and maternal health care for single parent households, can be estimated using CPS characteristics matched with fertility data.
The data collected from this supplement are used primarily by government and private analysts to project future population growth, to analyze childbearing patterns, and to assist policymakers in making decisions that are affected by changes in family size and composition. Past studies have documented profound changes to historical patterns that have occurred in fertility rates, family structures, premarital births, and the timing of the first birth. The data collected from the “marital and cohabitation status items” are used by government and private analysts to analyze mothers’ living situations at the time of the first birth; the data also fill a need for information that is not available in other Census Bureau surveys.
The CPS characteristics, such as family income, household relationships, and labor force status, when matched with fertility data, can produce estimates of potential needs families may have for governmental assistance. For example, these needs include aid to families with dependent children, childcare, and maternal health care for single-parent households. The fertility data also assist researchers and analysts who explore such important issues as premarital childbearing and postponement of childbirth because of educational or occupational responsibilities and goals. As a result of the rapid changes in the economy, the June Fertility supplement offers analysts with a key indicator of family economic resources, namely, the employment status of women with infant children.
CPS Fertility Supplement:
https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/demo/cps/cps-supp_cps-repwgt/cps-fertility.html
Census submission to OMB:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202402-0607-005 Click IC List for information collection instrument, View Supporting Statement for technical documentation. Submit comments through this webpage.
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-03556
For AEA members wishing to submit comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806