Exploring Foster Youth Data Workshop

Welcome to the Exploring Foster Youth Data Workshop! This workshop is designed to guide you through the process of analyzing individual-level foster youth data, focusing on understanding the demographics and state-specific variations in foster care support. This workshop is available for both R and Python users.

Prerequisites

Before you begin the workshop, you need to:

1. Request Access to the Data:

   • Open the PDF file LastName FirstName 2024-03-13.pdf in the RawData folder.
   • Follow the instructions at the top of the PDF to request access to the individual-level foster data from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN). Please note that this process can take several days.

2. Prepare the Data:

   • Once you have access, download and unzip the data folder.
   • Move the unzipped folder to RawData/SensitiveData in your workshop directory.

3. Install Required Software and Packages:

   For R Users:

   • Download and install R from The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).
   • Download and install RStudio from the RStudio download page.

   For Python Users:

   • Download and install Python from the Python.org downloads page.
   • Install Jupyter Notebook or JupyterLab:

     pip install notebook jupyterlab
     

   • Install required Python packages:

     pip install pandas numpy seaborn matplotlib
     

Working Through the Workshop

1. Open Your Coding Environment:

   • For R Users: Launch RStudio and open the R Markdown file ExploringFosterYouthData.Rmd.
   • For Python Users: Launch Jupyter Notebook or JupyterLab and open the notebook file ExploringFosterYouthData.ipynb.

2. Work Through the Workshop:

   • Follow the instructions and complete the exercises in the file.
   • Execute the code chunks or cells to perform the analyses and view the results.
   • Engage with the questions throughout the workshop to deepen your understanding of the data and the analysis techniques.

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing the Exploring Foster Youth Data Workshop! We hope this experience has provided you with the confidence to continue working with and analyzing this foster care dataset.