Participants Frequently Asked Questions
Survey background
- What is the National Survey of Children’s Health—Longitudinal Cohort (NSCH-LC)?
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The NSCH-LC is a national survey that focuses on the physical and emotional health of children and young adults aged 3 to 24 in the United States. The 2023 NSCH-LC collects information related to the health and well-being of children and young adults, including access to and use of health care, family interactions, mental health, school and after-school experiences, and family economic circumstances.
- Why is this survey important?
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The NSCH-LC is designed to measure the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, young adults, and their families. The results of the NSCH-LC will inform the development of federal policies and programs aimed at improving the health and well-being of children and young adults.
- Who sponsors the survey?
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau – part of the federal government – sponsors and provides the primary funding and oversight for the survey.
- How is the U.S. Census Bureau involved?
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The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the survey, oversees the sampling, and produces final public use data sets of the results, on behalf of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
- Why should I participate?
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Each household is unique and important. We need to hear from households from all walks of life to collect enough information to help improve the health of children and young adults across the country. If a household that has been selected for the survey does not respond, we cannot replace them with another household.
- I have a child that I consider an adult. Do I still need to answer the survey?
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Yes. The NSCH-LC asks questions about both children and young adults aged 3 to 24. The survey also asks questions about their families and the experiences of young people as they transition into adulthood.
- I have a child or young adult that does not live with me. Do I need to include them in the survey?
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Yes, even if the child or young adult does not live with you, if they are age 3 to 24, we still need you to include them when you respond to the survey.
- Do I have to participate in the survey?
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No. However, your household is unique and important. We need to hear from households from all walks of life to collect enough information to help improve the health of children and young adults across the country. If a household that has been selected for the survey does not respond, we cannot replace them with another household.
- Where can I find additional resources for participants?
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For information about government resources to help find health care, health insurance, nutrition assistance, and other supports, go to Benefits.gov. For information about mental health resources, go to Parent and Caregiver Resources at SAMHSA.
Answering the survey
- What kinds of questions does the survey ask?
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Survey topics include:
- Child, young adult, and family characteristics
- Community, child care, and school experiences
- Physical and mental health status
- Health insurance
- Access and use of health care services
- Family resources, experiences, health, and activities
- COVID-19 impact on children, young adults, and family health
- How long will this survey take?
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For most households, the survey should take 40 minutes on average to complete. If there are no children or young adults aged 3 to 24 that you are a parent or previous caregiver for, then the survey should take less than 5 minutes to complete.
- What if I do not know an exact answer to a question?
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You can ask someone else in your household. They might know the answer. If no one knows or there is no one else in your household, please provide your best guess or estimate. If you need clarification on what a specific question is asking, please call the U.S. Census Bureau toll-free at 1-800-877-749-4943 or email us at ADDP.NSCH.LC@census.gov. TTY users can dial 1-800-877-8339 to use the Federal Relay Service.
- How do I recover my Web survey Login ID or PIN?
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If you have lost or misplaced your Web Login ID and/or PIN, please call the U.S. Census Bureau toll-free at 1-800-845-8241 for assistance. TTY users can dial 1-800-877-8339 to use the Federal Relay Service.
- ¿Cómo puedo responder la encuesta u obtener ayuda en español?
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Puede completarla en español por teléfono o solicitar un cuestionario impreso por correo. Llame al 1-877-749-4943 para recibir ayuda o para completar la encuesta por teléfono.
Confidentiality, privacy, and security
- Will my response be confidential?
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The U.S. Census Bureau is required by law to protect your information. We are not permitted to publicly release your responses in a way that could identify your household. The Census Bureau is conducting this survey under the authority of Title 13, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 8(b) (13 U.S.C. § 8(b)) and Section 501(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 701). Federal law protects your privacy and keeps your answers confidential under Title 13, U.S.C., Section 9 (13 U.S.C. § 9). Per the Federal Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015, your data are protected from cybersecurity risks through screening of the systems that transmit your data. This survey has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The eight-digit OMB approval number is 0607-XXXX.
- How can I verify that the survey materials are legitimate?
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To verify that the survey materials are legitimate, please call the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-877-749-4943 or visit census.gov for instructions to verify a Census Bureau Survey, Mailing, or Contact.
This survey has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The eight-digit OMB approval number that appears at the bottom left corner of the survey web page, and at the upper left corner of the form confirms this approval. If this number were not displayed, we could not conduct this survey.
- For this survey, is it safe to provide my information over the Internet?
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Yes. Your information is always encrypted. Our secure servers use "HTTPS," Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer, to ensure the encrypted transmission of data between your browser and the U.S. Census Bureau.
This means that instead of sending readable text over the Internet, both your browser and our server encode (scramble) all data using a security key. In addition to data being encrypted during transmission, all data are encrypted for protection when stored on the Census Bureau servers.
- How can I be sure my information is really going to the U.S. Census Bureau and not some third party?
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Our secure server uses a digital certificate (digital ID) issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) as proof of identity.
The digital ID will contain information such as:
- “U.S. Census Bureau” as the name of the organization that owns the website
- “respond.census.gov” as the site's registered Internet name/address
- “Verisign Trust Network” as the name of the Certificate Authority under which the digital ID was issued
The method for viewing a web site's Digital Certificate/ID varies depending on the web browser. Please see your browser's "help" information for instructions on how to verify a web site's identity.