Children with Special Health Care Needs: In the Footprint of the Great Recession

Nan M. Astone, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Jason Fields, U.S. Census Bureau

How has the Great Recession has affected children under 18 and young people 18 to 24 with special health care needs? Using data from the 2004 and 2008 Panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we examine the dynamics of the social and economic characteristics of the both the parents of, and households containing, either children under 18 or young people age 18 to 24 with special health care needs for two contrasting periods: October 2003 through December 2007; and May 2008 through November 2011. The study design is an assessment of indicators measuring the economic characteristics—including income, labor force participation, program participation (especially programs relevant to our analysis, such as SSI), and medical expenditures—using longitudinal data analysis. Additionally, we assess change in household characteristics including parental co-residence, enrollment in school, and home leaving and labor force participation among the young adults.