Rhode Island-Based Resources
General Data and Data Stories
- DataSpark has already created numerous infographics and other materials on issues United Way of Rhode Island cares about. Before re-creating the wheel, or if you need some already processed data, go to DataSpark.
- RI Community Profiles provides good information about each of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns.
- Click here for infographics on everything from high school absenteeism to lead hazard mitigation.
- RI DataHub (run by DataSpark) has many data stories, data reports, and even a data catalog with info on adult education, housing, workforce, health, etc.
Children’s Well-Being and Education
- Rhode Island Kids Count: See the description for Kids Count Data Center as RIKC is their Rhode Island partner.
- Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP): Produces reports on CCAP impact, etc.
- Rhode Island Afterschool Network: Provides professional development and practice information to youth-serving professionals.
Health and Well-Being
Rhode Island Economy and Workforce
- Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training: Good data on wage rates and other labor stats. This is the jump-off point for all of the research and data points.
- Economic Progress Institute: See the description for Center for Budget and Policy Priorities as EPI is the Rhode Island-specific partner.
- Latino Policy Institute: Conducts studies that investigate issue areas impacting the Latino community and, in some cases, Rhode Island’s broader communities of color.
Rhode Island Food Security
- University of Rhode Island Feinstein Center for a Hunger Free America’s Hunger and Poverty Facts: Provides data and research on food insecurity and SNAP in Rhode Island.
- Rhode Island Food Bank Status Report on Hunger: Offers both national and local data on food insecurity. Runs one year behind.
Rhode Island Housing-Related Issues
- HousingWorks RI has their factbook online, as well as information about housing trends, housing in Rhode Island’s cities and towns, affordable housing, and housing and the Affordable Care Act.
National Resources with Rhode Island-Specific Data
General Data and Data Stories
- American Community Survey by the United States Census Bureau: Offers a broad range of data, both raw and processed, about Rhode Island and its various communities. Many research and data entities use the ACS data as the basis of their work.
- Brookings Institute: Provides a wide array of materials from the international to the local. Focuses largely on economics, cities, and policy.
- Pew Research Center: Researches numerous social issues and is a great place to begin the hunt for research and data on nearly any social topic.
- *Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: Data on the United States and countries all over the world with particular indicators on demographics, debt, environmental issues, and much more. A plethora of information.
*International focus
Children’s Well-Being and Education
- Kids Count Data Center by The Annie E. Casey Foundation: National partner to Rhode Island Kids Count; sets the national indicators and outcomes that describe the current state of children in the United States.
- National Institute on Out-of-School Time: Conducts studies and does research on best practices in out-of-school time work.
- America After 3PM: Provides data and research on how young people in the United States spend their time after 3PM.
- Education Law Center: Offers an array of research, data, and policy information regarding equity in education.
- Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University: Offers access to the latest research and best practices in early childhood, childhood trauma, and child neural development.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: ACEs are noted as one of the major determinants of health and social well-being. This website provides access to deep explanations of ACEs, best practices, research on ACEs, and much more.
Health and Well-Being
- Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) : Offers wide-ranging research and policy materials on health care in the United States, including Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, and access.
- KFF’s State Health Facts: State-specific information about the topic areas noted in the KFF description.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Offers a wide variety of research and data on health and disease in the United States with some local data.
Adult Education
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC): Conducts the Survey of Adult Skills that measures “adults’ proficiency in key information-processing skills” including literacy, numeracy, and problem solving.
- Coalition on Adult Basic Education: Provides research to practice materials around adult basic education.
Economy and Workforce
- U.S. Department of Labor: This is the jump-off point for all the research and data points.
- Prosperity Now: Focuses on financial security, entrepreneurship, homeownership, etc. Does both policy and research work.
- Prosperity Now’s Assets & Opportunity Initiative: Provides state-specific data on financial security, jobs, healthcare, and other related factors. Very good and unique data sets.
- Center for Economic and Policy Research: Offers great materials about global, national, and local trends in economics and financial security.
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: National partner to Rhode Island’s Economic Progress Institute; focus on federal and state budgets, financial security of families, inequities in health care, food, and housing access.
Food Security
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Full data sets on food insecurity and so much more.
Housing-Related Issues
- Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies: Provides intensive research and data on a broad range of housing issues and from a broad range of perspectives.