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4 Drug Data Organization
Pages 124-136

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From page 124...
... In fact, the bulk of the data are collected by a much smaller number of agencies: the National Institute of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration. The Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics have also collected some drug-related data in connection with their broader statistical responsibilities.
From page 125...
... UPGRADING INDEPENDENCE AND PROFESSIONALISM Regardless of the organizational structure of data collection on illegal drugs, it is essential that the federal government set a goal of protecting and strengthening the statistical reporting practices, independence, and scientific integrity of organizations charged with collecting the data. This section presents some principles that can serve as guidelines for ensuring that the institutional structure of agencies that collect and report drug data reflects the best practices for statistical agencies and is conducive to the collection of high-quality data.
From page 126...
... Highquality statistical data collection cannot be an accident of activities carried out in support of some other mission such as providing treatment or apprehending violators. It is essential that statistical organizations report results regardless of their programmatic impact, and their work not be subject to review by agencies or officials whose success will be judged based on the actual outcome of the data collection.
From page 127...
... , the collection and reporting of statistical data on illegal drugs are not always free from such policy review. In fact, the release of major data series such as results from the Monitoring the Future survey and the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse has been the occasion for high-level press conferences and detailed prior review by policy makers.
From page 128...
... Others provide this material to researchers upon request. In some cases, to protect the confidentiality of sensitive material, statistical agencies have established special procedures to give researchers access while requiring confidentiality agreements that ensure the privacy of respondents.
From page 129...
... One approach would be to assign the tasks of designing, collecting, reporting, and validating statistical series on economic data, such as prices, expenditures, and consumption, to a newly constituted economic working group. This group would consist of professional statisticians located in economic statistics agencies, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as well as economists and statisticians with expertise in these methods who are working in an existing statistical unit of an agency focused on illegal drugs.
From page 130...
... The presentations, including comments from the chief statistician of the United States and from officials charged with reviewing data collection activities proposed by health and justice agencies, illuminated the roles of both OMB and the Office of National Drug Control Policy in overseeing data collection related to illegal drugs. The presenters noted that the decentralization of the federal statistical system is reflected in the many agencies that report statistics relevant to illegal drugs.
From page 131...
... In practice this procedure means that ONDCP is an influential part of the budget review process and can therefore require agencies to show how their budgets provide for the collection of needed statistical data. Alternatively, ONDCP can use this process to raise questions about the propriety of proposed data collection or its location.
From page 132...
... The subcommittee's 1999 report on drug control research data and evaluation contains a useful inventory of federal data collection projects that contain information relevant to drug control policy (Executive Office of the President, 1999~. ONDCP currently is the lead agency for coordinating data collection on illegal substances and drug control in the federal government.
From page 133...
... Other systems are more targeted to illegal drug-related issues, such as the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program of the National Institute of Justice and the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In the long run, the quality of the statistical data on illegal drugs will be enhanced if data collection efforts are consolidated into a smaller number of agencies that either conduct or sponsor the major data collection.
From page 134...
... Block grant money and other needed funds should be transferred to the lead statistical agencies using interagency transfers to ensure continuity of funding.
From page 135...
... The committee recommends that the Office of National Drug Control Policy place organizational improvements for data high on its agenda in the immediate future. If it does not move quickly to implement the changes required to improve statistical data the President and Congress should find other ways to ensure that the substantive and organizational changes are swiftly and effectively achieved.
From page 136...
... The most damning evidence can be found in the most recent "Fact Sheet" handed out by the White House Of lice of National Drug Control Policy.


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