The Census Bureau is seeking public comments on proposed revisions to the National Survey of Children's Health before it goes to the Office of Management and Budget. These data help shape policies and programs that support children's health and well-being across the U.S.

The U.S. Census Bureau is requesting public comment on the utility of data collected through the NSCH and ways the survey can be enhanced in the future. Specific plans for 2026 include increasing the survey sample so that reliable state-level estimates can be produced with fewer years of pooled data and continuing to oversample specific populations in California and eight other states.

Read the complete Federal Register notice online.

Deadline to comment: February 3, 2026.

By Stephanie Richards, Kari Williams, and Sarah Flood

"The Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey is the official source of information about poverty in the United States. Since 1968, the ASEC has been used to create the Official Poverty Measure (OPM) and has included the variables needed to create that measure. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and the variables needed to create it were first released by the Census Bureau in 2010, reporting the SPM for 20091. In contrast to the OPM, the SPM provides a more complete picture of the economic wellbeing of American households.

"The value of the SPM is apparent – it is a comprehensive and nuanced measure that accounts for the diversity of living arrangements, variability in cost of living, and a wider array of available financial resources and demands. However, the temporal coverage of SPM is limited; the Census Bureau only has data back to 2010. Over the last ten years, researchers at Columbia University’s Center on Poverty and Social Policy (CPSP) have eliminated this constraint by compiling the data necessary to create SPM and make it available back to 1968, and have shared the data with the research community via the CPSP Historical SPM Data Portal.

"...In this blog post, we briefly describe differences between the components – family, resources, and needs – used to create OPM and (historical) SPM, preview CPSP’s “anchored” poverty variables that facilitate comparisons over time that reference a set cost-of-living standard, and share suggestions for further reading (because we know you are going to want to learn even more about this!)."

Read the complete blog post online

From the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)

"Please contribute to a new, open-source collection of educational materials designed to strengthen learning for a democracy in question. We seek materials across disciplines, including the humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, and professional studies. 

"Democracy as a governing system thrives when it adheres to standards and practices such as truth, fairness, equity and equal opportunity, civic participation, checks and balances, nonviolent disagreement, and public deliberation. In a governing system of, by, and for the people, interpersonal norms are equally important, norms such as inclusion, compassion, decency, honesty, and shared responsibility for each other and our communities, the nation, and the world.

"Democracy needs to be taught and learned. These systems and norms are examples of the content we seek.

"If you have content to contribute, please fill out our description form. You do not need to upload materials at this time. Submit your description by January 18, 2026."

From the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 11/12/25, by Mark Mather and Beth Jarosz

"In the past nine months, many public datasets have been altered or removed, thousands of statistical agency staff have retired or been laid off, and the accuracy of trusted federal statistics has been questioned and politicized.

"The strain on taxpayer-funded public data has been demoralizing—not just for the policymakers, researchers, businesses, and others who rely on federal statistics, but for the civil servants who protect them from misuse. The recent cancellation of a key survey measuring hunger in America was particularly alarming. But there’s one upside to this state of affairs: It’s mobilizing people who care about federal data to act.

"Federal data stakeholders have been working hard to safeguard data by archiving thousands of at-risk federal datasets, tracking changes to federal datasets, and documenting the value of federal data. PRB also launched a Federal Data Forum for people to share information about the latest threats to public data and how organizations and individuals can help. More than 600 concerned data users have joined the forum since May. ...

"Millions of people rely on federal statistics but few step up to defend them. So, how can data users give public data a voice? Here are five things you can do."

Read the complete blog post on the PRB website. Also, check out our DCSS "Resources for Tracking Trump Administration Actions," updated throughout 2025.

From the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota

"The Landscape of Major Federal Health Survey Data Releases in 2025" by 
Andrea Stewart, Research Fellow (November 13, 2025)

"A Brief Overview of Several Federal Health-Related Surveys" by 
SHADAC Staff and Colin Planalp, Associate Director for Emerging Health Policy Issues (November 10, 2025)

Interactive Survey Data Finder Tool

"The Higher Education Randomized Controlled Trial (THE-RCT) study aims to capitalize on existing data from postsecondary education RCTs to foster substantive and methodological scholarship and encourage teaching and learning opportunities. The cornerstone of THE-RCT is a restricted access file (RAF). This version contains individual-participant data from more than 30 of MDRC's higher education RCTs covering over 50 institutions and over 50,000 students. The data were originally collected as part of different randomized controlled trial evaluations of a variety of higher education interventions. The data were collected for different student samples, at different times, and in different locations for each study."

Distributed by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, 2025-12-03. (https://doi.org/10.3886/E240388V3)

"The Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering (JWM) is launching a new article type: Research Interrupted — designed to spotlight meaningful and robust STEM education research that was prematurely terminated due to recent shifts in federal funding priorities. JWM recognizes the immense intellectual and emotional labor that you, as researchers, invest in these important projects, and we want to create a platform to elevate the insights from these projects so they can be shared, valued, and built upon.

Research Interrupted articles will be shorter in length than our traditional articles (under 4,000 words), with abbreviated literature reviews. Peer reviewers will receive guidance to calibrate the same quality standards for traditional JWM articles to the nature of the interrupted research. To reduce financial burden on authors, we have negotiated a reduced Gold Open Access APC with our publisher (from $1,500 to $750 for verified terminated projects). Green Open Access remains free of charge.

JWM recognizes it has been a difficult year for our communities, and we are here to support you. We are now accepting Letters of Intent to submit (LOI) through December 31, 2025. LOIs will indicate that authors plan to submit a full manuscript before December 2027. This is not a special issue; instead, Research Interrupted articles will be incorporated into future issues of the journal, following the same process as traditional JWM articles."

For more information, please see the full announcement

CALL FOR ARTICLES

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences

ISSUE ON "Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study: 25th Anniversary"

"In celebration of the landmark Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study's 25th anniversary, we are soliciting proposals for an issue of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, situating the study in the larger literature, engaging with key questions using the most recent wave of survey data, inviting comparisons using other data sources, and identifying areas for future research. The issue will provide a lens into how today's heterogenous families form, grow, change, and thrive, using data within and across generations."

Prospective contributors should submit a CV and an abstract (up to two pages in length, single or double spaced) of their study along with up to three pages of supporting material (e.g., tables, figures, pictures, etc.) no later than 5 PM EST on January 7, 2026.

Read the complete call online.

From the Consortium of Social Science Associations series, "Why Social Science?"

Because Our Work Helps Us Envision and Build a Better Future

By Heather M. Washington, PhD (American Sociological Association)

"We live in an era of rapidly expanding economic inequality, humanitarian crises, chaotic deportation efforts, the militarization of U.S. cities, global conflicts and wars, burdensome labor practices that undermine work-life balance, and continued attempts to erode rights and protections of women, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ people. We also face ongoing environmental catastrophes, with additional consequential environmental challenges looming on the horizon. Social science provides a window to understand such issues and offers tools that can help us create more equitable policies to address these social problems. Every day, sociologists and other social scientists put research into action and ideas into impact in ways that help improve our collective future and build pathways toward more just outcomes. 

"Sociology is the scientific study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. It offers a valuable lens through which contemporary social issues can be viewed, and by which historical connections can be evaluated. As a sociologist, I understand that equitable and just policies require collaboration among researchers, community members, and policymakers. Sociologists have the tools needed to study social phenomena. Community members provide real-world expertise and experience that is critical for understanding social issues. Policymakers wield the levers of change. Working together as researchers, community members, and policymakers is foundational to the discipline as evidenced by the influential and impactful work of pioneering sociologists. Sociologists working in and beyond the academy have continued this historical legacy, helping to create research-informed policies."

Read the full essay on the COSSA website

"NSF TIP's Workforce Development Roadmap [PDF] is an actionable agenda to guide future investments to strengthen the American workforce in critical and emerging technologies. As advances in critical and emerging technologies continue to rapidly expand and traditional industries adopt new technologies, the demand for a skilled or semi-skilled technical workforce is increasing across all economic sectors. Addressing the gap between the demand for, and the availability of, a labor force requires bold investment in workforce development that prepares individuals for higher-skill, higher-paying jobs that enhance economic mobility. The Workforce Development Roadmap lays out an investment framework to address this need through cross-sector collaborations and partnerships, innovative community-specific solutions, and expanded access to experiential learning and other training pathways."

NSF seeks input from individuals and organizations across all sectors on the Workforce Development Roadmap. Responses will be accepted until January 15, 2026, in the Workforce Development Roadmap form, by emailing TIPWorkforce@nsf.gov, or by mailing your response to the attention of Mary Crowe, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA.