Please see two active Federal Register Notices for the American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey. Comments on planned tests of questions on sexual orientation and gender identity close November 20. Proposed changes to several topics including the household roster, educational attainment, health insurance coverage, disability, and labor force questions are open for comments until December 19.

Dana McCalla, PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University, is seeking key informants for a dissertation study examining mental health service use among black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. The qualitative component of this study involves interviews with various professionals (key informants) located in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area who work directly with black immigrant populations; this includes social workers, faith leaders, immigration attorneys, non-profit leaders, mental health therapists, and clinic administrators. The interview questions will address informants' observations concerning black immigrants' wellness experiences, including engagement with mental health services and barriers to receiving care. Interviews will be virtual and will last between 30 and 45 minutes. This is independent student research conducted on behalf of Howard University. Participation is completely anonymous; any identifying information will be kept confidential.

Professionals who fit the above description and are interested in participating can fill out this brief (2-minute) screening questionnaire.

If you are a mental health or black immigration scholar in the DMV area who can offer helpful insight and/or if you have connections to potential informants please feel free to contact the Principal Student Investigator, Dana McCalla, via email at your earliest convenience (throughout November and December 2023). 

The U.S. Census Bureau is convening a virtual Workshop on Advancing Research on Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality on November 14 and 15, 2023. This event will bring together new perspectives on how data resources can be better leveraged to both measure the dimensions of race and ethnicity within the U.S. population, and to investigate how systemic inequalities by race/ethnicity can be identified within U.S. society.  

Visit the conference website for more details and to register.

An Updated Measure of Poverty: (Re)Drawing the Line is a new report from the National Academies, Committee on National Statistics. The report offers recommendations for updating how poverty is measured in the U.S. On Thursday, September 28, five members of the committee that produced the report presented their assessment of the Supplemental Poverty Measure and what a change to a new Principal Poverty Measure would accomplish.

The report is available here.

A recording of the presentation is available here.

RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Request for Articles: "Asians in America Beyond Education: Career Choices, Trajectories, and Mobility Strategies."

Abstracts due December 11

For complete information, see https://www.russellsage.org/request-articles-asians-america-beyond-education-career-choices-trajectories-and-mobility-strategies

(Via COSSA) On September 22, the Biden Administration announced the establishment of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The office is expected to accelerate executive action and prioritize legislation that reduces gun violence in the United States. 

In February of this year, the COSSA blog "Why Social Science?" addressed the issue with an essay, "Because Gun Violence Requires Social Science-Solutions."

Also in September,  the Bureau of Justice Statistics hosted a public seminar celebrating 50 years of the National Crime and Victimization Survey (NCVS). The survey is the only crime and victimization survey in the United States that addresses underreported crime through survey collection rather than police reporting. The NCVS is used to understand crime patterns and the impact of that crime in different households, recognizing victims that may have been indirectly affected by the crime.

A Hybrid Conference Hosted by Howard University, Tuesday, November 14–Friday, November 17, 2023. Deadline for Submission: Friday, September 29, 2023 by 5:00pm (EST)

Conference Theme: “My Story – Who Can I Tell? Disclosure… Harm… Healing…”

This hybrid conference aims to increase awareness of the stigma of HIV and other health conditions and to explore interventions to eradicate this stigma. This conference also serves to educate healthcare providers and the general public about stigma as both a major barrier to prevention and treatment of illnesses and a human rights violation.

For more information, see the conference website (https://www.whocanyoutell.org/) and the attached flyer.

The Metropolitan Policy Center at American University is co-sponsoring a book event Wednesday, September 6th at 3pm in the School of International Service (SIS) Building, Room 300.

This event will feature author Katie J. Wells presenting key findings from her  new book, Disrupting D.C.: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City (Princeton University Press.

This position is located in the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) as a supervisory statistician for the Justice Statistics Unit. You will have responsibilities for maintaining, enhancing, and expanding major statistical series and programs to ensure that the knowledge created has utility to stakeholders and that BJS's data collection activities are implemented in ways that maintain the trust and confidence of its data providers. (https://www.usajobs.gov/job/741933400)

Note: This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies, as was also noted in the Twitter announcement from BJS on 8/21.

 The Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division at the Census Bureau is hiring for a number of positions. The division compiles and analyzes data on the socioeconomic characteristics of households, families and individuals including rates of home ownership and statistics on income, poverty and health insurance, family and fertility statistics, labor force participation, social program participation and measures of community resilience.

They are especially interested in candidates with strong social science skills in survey methodology and using large demographic surveys for research.

• GS 7/9 - ideal for those with a bachelor's or master's in sociology, demography, economics, public policy and other social science disciplines.

• GS 11/12 - ideal for those with a master's and some work experience, ABD, and PhDs

The current vacancy announcement at USAJOBS closes August 31. The next vacancy posting will not be until around October 2023. Several other areas at the Census may also use the same vacancy announcement for hiring.

If you or anyone you know are attending the American Sociological Association meeting in Philadelphia from Aug. 17-21, Census staff will be there and can share more information about their work in the main exhibit hall.

Interested candidates are also welcome to reach out to Lynda Laughlin, PhD, Chief, Industry and Occupation Statistics Branch (and former DCSS President) for more information (lynda.l.laughlin@census.gov)