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Estimating Eligibility and Participation for the WIC Program Final Report (2003) / Chapter Skim
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4. Categorical Eligibility of Infants and Children
Pages 42-49

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From page 42...
... to obtain a count of infants ages O through 12 months and the number of children ages 1 through 4 years. Since the numbers of pregnant and postpartum women cannot be directly observed in the CPS, estimates of the number of women in these categories are based on estimates of the number of infants in the CPS.
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From page 43...
... The last step in the development of CPS weights, sometimes referred to as a posts/ratification or population control adjustment, compares CPS estimates with the available Census Bureau population projections by age, gender, and race. These projections are derived through a month-by-month adjustment of decennial census counts that adds births, subtracts deaths (both births and deaths statistics come from vital records)
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From page 44...
... Table 4-1 presents a comparison ofthe March CPS estimates and census projections ofthe number of children in single-year age intervals for each racial group for the year 2000. The pattern of the ratios, repeated across years, clearly shows that during the decade, CPS estimates substantially underestimate infants for black and other races and modestly underestimate the number of infants TABLE 4-1 Census Projections and CPS Estimates by Single-Year Age Groups, March 2000 White Black Other Total Age 0 Census projection 3,103,504 623,345 235,485 3,962,334 CPS estimate 3,102,955 560,460 204,477 3,867,892 Ratio of projection to estimate 1.00 1.11 1.15 1.02 Age 1 Census projection 3,092,302 604,020 228,588 3,924,910 CPS estimate 3,091,779 596,446 272,324 3,960,549 Ratio of projection to estimate 1.00 1.01 0.84 0.99 Age 2 Census projection 3,059,341 593,856 231,388 3,884,585 CPS estimate 3,058,792 611,779 213,566 3,884,137 Ratio of projection to estimate 1.00 0.97 1.08 1.00 Age 3 Census projection 3,065,235 587,374 230,898 3,883,507 CPS estimate 3,064,706 584,498 228,661 3,877,865 Ratio of projection to estimate 1.00 1.01 1.01 1.00 Age 4 Census projection 3,121,016 608,019 230,192 3,959,227 CPS estimate 3,120,429 664,301 232,269 4,016,999 Ratio of projection to estimate 1.00 0.92 0.99 0.99
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From page 45...
... Table 4-2 presents the ratios for a five-year accumulation of census projections and CPS estimates.2 The ratios are more stable estimates of the relationship between census projections and CPS estimates for the period 1996-2000 because they are based on five years of data. These ratios indi2The five-year interval was chosen to allow accumulation of sufficient CPS sample in each survey year of the "other race" groups.
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From page 46...
... ADJUSTMENT PROCEDURE TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF THE COUNTS OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN The panel considered the size of the underestimation of infants substantial enough to suggest a procedure to adjust CPS estimates as a correction. The five-year accumulated ratios of the census projections to the CPS estimates like those presented in Table 4-2 could be used to adjust the weight value for an individual in a given age and racial group in the corresponding cell in the table.
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From page 47...
... and used instead of the 1996-2000 ratios, changes in the trend of the ratios could be partially accounted for in the estimates. For example, to adjust the 2003 CPS estimates of infants and children, ratios accumulated over 1998,1999,2000,2001, and 2002 could be used.
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From page 48...
... Thus, SIPP population control adjustments are developed for each gender by singleyear age intervals for nonblacks and for two-year age intervals for blacks (0-1, 2-3, and 4-51. The panel compared SIPP estimates of the population from December 1997 with census projections for December 1997.
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From page 49...
... SUMMARY This chapter examines the undercount of infants and overcount of children in the CPS relative to population control totals. The undercount is especially problematic for blacks and for members of other nonwhite racial groups.
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Key Terms

  • cps estimate
  • census projection
  • census projections
  • control totals
  • age intervals

  • relative change
  • cps weights
  • population control
  • census bureau
  • accumulated ratios

  • population projections
  • adjustment procedure
  • sipp sample
  • children ages
  • bureau population

  • stable estimates
  • adjustment factors
  • control adjustments
  • match control
  • black infants

  • accurately estimate
  • adjust cps
  • population counts
  • sometimes referred
  • undercount infants

  • month throughout
  • race individuals
  • weights using
  • estimates undercount
  • counts derived


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