Families and Children Study (FACS) Aims, coverage and methodology Figen Deviren Department for Work and Pensions

Contents Study design Sample design Questionnaire content Timetable of survey Response rates Weighting Examples of FACS analysis

Commissioned and managed by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and is co-sponsored by Department for Education and Skills and Department for Transport. National Centre for Social Research carry out fieldwork and other elements of the design and data production processes. Stakeholders

A refreshed panel study of approximately 7000 families in Britain, investigating the circumstances of all families with dependent children. FACS has been conducted annually from 2001 (incorporated sample from 1999 and 2000). Clustered sampling method using 150 postcode districts, sampled from child benefit records Study design

Sample design Panel: Families are sampled from child benefit records and are followed every year until their children are no longer dependent. Booster: Cases added from families with a new first birth. Refreshed panel design means that FACS is suitable for longitudinal, cross-sectional and time- series analysis.

Data collection The fieldwork is conducted by National Centre for Social Research: A one hour interview for the main respondent (the mother figure) A partner interview (proxy from 2007) A ten minute self-completion questionnaire for all children aged in the family (2003, 2004 and 2006 onwards )

Questionnaire content It covers a range of topics including: health disability and caring education income child maintenance benefits and tax credits childcare housing material well-being travel to work and school labour market activity children's attitudes and activities money management, savings and debt

Timetable Questionnaire development March-June Questionnaire finalised August Fieldwork Sept – Feb (+1) Data processing and production Feb – Apr Annual report published and data archived Spring

Response rates For 2005 Panel response rate was 87% Booster response rate was 65% Child self-completion response rate was 88%.

Response rates

Cross-sectional weights to adjust to population Longitudinal weights adjust for sample back to 2001 and 1999 Calculations of the response rates, design effects and complex sampling errors are available in the FACS annual reports. Weighting

Annual report Presents cross-sectional findings of each waves data Most topics are are reported against standard break variables eg household type, age of youngest child, disability status and income quintiles.

Some cross-sectional findings One in five children lived in a household where no one worked over 16 hours per week Lone parent families were more likely to be in the lowest income quintile Nearly all lone parents and over two thirds of couple families received either a benefit or tax credit Lone parents were twice as likely to describe their health as not good

Some cross-sectional findings Almost half of children walked to school Nearly one in ten children aged had truanted at least once Around one third of children aged had been bullied at least once Over a half of working mothers used childcare either informal or formal Nine out of 10 non working mothers said there were specific reasons preventing them working more than 16 hours per week. In half the cases this was wanting to be with their children

Published analyses (1) Low income homeowners in Britain: descriptive analysis, Meadows, P and Rogger, D (2005) Newborns and new schools: critical times in women's employment, Brewer, M. and Paull, G. (2005) Maternal education, lone parenthood, material hardship, maternal smoking and longstanding respiratory problems in childhood: testing a hierarchical conceptual framework. Spencer N. J. (2005) The Socio-Economic Circumstances of Families Supporting a Child at Risk of Disability in Britain in 2002 Emerson, E. and Hatton, C. (2005) The economic position of large families, Iacovou, M and Berthoud, R. (2006)

Published analyses (2) Social equalisation in youth: evidence from a cross- sectional British survey. Spencer N. J. (2006) The Living Standards of Children in Bad Housing Barnes M, Lyon N, and Conolly A. (2006) Persistent employment disadvantage, Berthoud, R and Blekesaune, M (2007) Lone parents with older children and welfare reform. Haux T. (2007) The Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Social Exclusion. Levitas R, Pantazis C, Fahmy E, Gordan D, Lloyd E. and Patsios D. (2007) Mothers' child support arrangements: a comparison of routes through which mothers obtain awards for maintenance in Britain, Morris S. (2007)

Current analysis Partnership and employment trajectories, Gillian Paull Families health, disability, caring and employment, Steve McKay and Adele Atkinson Trajectories of low income families, Gillian Paull Disability and family break-up, Steve McKay

Further information The National Centre for Social Research conducts the fieldwork: Respondent website providing potential respondents and current respondents with a brief overview of the survey and answers to frequently asked questions. FACS website for potential users of FACS data, includes questionnaire

FACS data is available from the ESRC data archive: The FACS questionnaires are also available from the Questionbank: o.htm Useful addresses

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