New York State Touchstones
Frequently Asked Questions
What does NYS Touchstones try to accomplish?
By providing policymakers, program administrators and citizens with timely access to New York State Touchstones/KIDS COUNT/KWIC products, data users have an enhanced tool to gather and use indicator data to assess needs, design and improve programs, and sharpen their focus on outcomes.
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What criteria are used in selecting NYS Touchstones indicators?
There are four major criteria for indicator selection:
- The measure has to focus on the characteristics of children and families, not on the characteristics of programs or services;
- The measure has to be population-based;
- The data has to be available annually for counties; and
- The measure has to be reliable.
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What geographic regions are presented in NYS Touchstones/KIDS COUNT/KWIC data products?
Data are presented for 65 regions: New York State, New York City, Rest of State (NYS minus NYC) and each of New York State’s 62 counties.
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What are the benefits of using a web-based data system?
KWIC has several advantages over hard copy publications, including:
- greater access to New York State children’s health, education and well-being data;
- more current data;
- more indicators;
- access to other data resources; and
- the ability to tailor data to fit specific needs.
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What formats for accessing and displaying data are available on KWIC?
KWIC offers numerous formats for accessing and displaying data, including pre-defined and custom reports.
Pre-defined options:
- An Indicator Profile provides a table of all regions for a selected indicator.
- A Region
Profile provides
a table of indicators that share a common theme or topic for a selected region,
called a Topical Profile. The most current data available and an arbitrary
comparison year data are displayed along with the New York State rate. There
are now three types of profiles:
- The KWIC Profile - The KWIC Profile provides
a snapshot of the overall health, education and well-being of children,
youth and families in New York State. This is the default profile.
- The Child Welfare Profile - The Child Welfare
Profile provides a descriptive portrait of children and youth in the
child welfare and court systems and is the first step in presenting child-focused,
child welfare data in New York State.
- The Maternal/Infant Profile - The Maternal/Infant
Profile provides a snapshot of the health and well-being of mother and
child, including pregnancy, birth, prenatal care, birth weight and gestation,
and infant mortality data.
- A Demographic
Profile provides a table with General Characteristics, Economic Characteristics, and Social Characteristics data from the U.S. Census.
Custom Report options:
- A Custom Profile gives users the ability to select specific indicator(s), region(s), and year(s).
- The Graph Builder gives users the ability to build line graphs and bar charts for selected indicator(s), region(s) and year(s).
- The Map Builder gives users the ability to design maps that display rates and numbers for Touchstones indicators and demographic data.
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