This study, authorized under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), also will provide information about crucial program, policy, and practice issues of concern to the Federal government, state and local governments, and child welfare agencies. This is the first such study to relate child and family well-being to family characteristics, experience with the child welfare system, community environment, and other factors. NSCAW is gathering information associated with 6,100 children from public child welfare agencies in a stratified random sample of 92 localities across the United States. This report provides the first national look at the characteristics of child welfare services (CWS) as described by child welfare services managers. The Local Agency Survey was conducted during the opening wave of data collection for NSCAW and offers the field a picture of the way child welfare services operated during 1999-2000.
