CA Data Resource List_Public.xlsx


1	Dataset Name	Topic	Geography	Description
2	Federal and National
3	United States Government Open Data	General Federal Data	Federal, State, Local	Summary: This open data site provides users with government data. The site is nearing 300,000 datasets and dataset collections, harvested from more than 100 organizations. Suggested Use: Anything government-related, from local to federal, can likely be found on this site. If there is something that seems like the government might track, on various levels of government, it is probably here.
4	US Census Bureau	Population and Demographic Data	Federal, State, Local	Summary: The main site to locate anything demographic-related. Suggested Use: Any efforts that require demographic information can utilize this resource to understand race, poverty, and more in different locations. Commonly-used datapoints (last updated Sept. 2024): For California as a whole, through S1701 "Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months," which is from the latest 2023 "ACS 1-Year Estimates Subject Tables," we can determine there are 10,424,510 individuals at 200% of FPL in the state, and at 5,910,134 at 125%, for 2023, the most recent data. Tip: Use "Geos" on the top toolbar to narrow your search, such as to a specific county or set of counties within California. This enables users to pinpoint how many eligible people there are in their service area.
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7	Kids Count Data Center	Education; Juvenile	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Premier source of data on children, youth and families, with indicators for the nation, states, etc. Suggested Use: Utilize this resource for anything youth-related.
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9	Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Datasets	Housing	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Site gives access to the original datasets generated by the Office of Policy Developement & Research (PD&R)-sponsored data collection. This includes the American Housing Survey (AHS), median family incomes and income limits, and microdata from research initiatives on topics like housing discrimination. Suggested Use: Use these datasets to engage with an array of housing-related topics.
10	HUD GIS Storefront	Housing	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Different from the datasets provided above, the "HUD-eGIS Storefront" gives users a place to search for HUD's geospatial datasets as well as web-based mapping tools and application programming interfaces (APIs). Suggested Use: Users can tap into this "storefront" to look at geospatial datasets that could be relevant to their work. These datasets can be used whenever there is something at the intersection of housing and geography that a user wants to know more about or reference.
11	Princeton Eviction Lab	Housing	Federal, State, Local	Summary: The go-to reference for eviction data. Specifically, it provides a map covering all 50 U.S. states & D.C., from 2000 to 2018. Users can search by county, compare data across regions, interact with demographic characteristics, and create local reports. Commonly-used datapoints (last updated Sept. 2024): California eviction data: Eviction Filing Rate: 2.2%. Eviction Filings: 133,000. Poverty rate: 10.4%. Suggested Use: Utilize this site for any eviction-related information. Tip: Use the top toolbar to narrow your search, such as to a specific county or set of counties within California. A user can then view the eviction filing rate, eviction filing numbers, and the poverty rate for that place.
12	Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) Data	Housing	Federal, State, Local	Summary: The most comprehensive, publicly-available information on mortgage markets. The data and reports can also be used with Census demographic information. The data on the main page are HMDA data collected in or post-2017, but other years are available too. Suggested Use: Utilize this site for mortgage-related information.
13	HUD Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Data	Housing	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Provides users with CHAS (Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy) data via an application programming interface (API). Suggested Use: Utilize this site for housing affordability-related information.
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15	FEMA Reports and Data	Disaster	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Provides users with reports and data related to disasters. Suggested Use: Use this site for disaster-related information.
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17	USCIS Immigration and Citizenship Data	Immigration	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Provides users with reports and data related to immigration and citizenship. Suggested Use: Use this site for immigration-related information.
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19	National Crime and Victimization Survey	Family/Domestic Violence; Miscellaneous: Criminal Victimization	Federal, Subnational Estimates	Summary: Primary source of information on criminal victimization. Respondents provide information about themselves and whether they experienced victimization.
20	Debt Collection Lab	Consumer/Finance	Federal, State, Local	Summary: The Debt Collection Lab is a interdisciplinary team of researchers and scholars studying debt, debt collection, and courts. They produce original research papers and briefs studying the impact of debt collection lawsuits on consumer and the courts.
21	National Network to End Domestic Violence	Family/Domestic Violence; Miscellaneous: Criminal Victimization	Federal, State	Summary: NNEDV has an annual report since 2006 called Domestic Violence Counts that tracks the noninvasive, unduplicated count of adults and children who seek services from US domestic violence shelter programs during a single 24-hour survey period.
22	CDC Disability & Health U.S. State Profile Data for California	Disability; Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	Federal, State	Summary: This page provides different datasets surrounding disability impacts in California like functional disability type, experiences of adults with disabilities, costs, and more.
23	SSA Open Data	Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	Federal	Summary: Since 2009, SSA has been identifying data of interest to the public. Their data is about people, wages, employers, and more. This page allows a user to search through dataset categories like equity data, health information technology, and disability programs.
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25	California Departments and Other California Data Sources
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27	California Open Data Portal	General State Data	State, Local	Summary: The CA Open Data Portal provides government data. It separates information into groups like transportation, health and human services, COVID-19, and more. It also provides popular datasets and new and recent datasets.
28	Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS)	Housing	State, Local	Summary: HDIS is a statewide data warehouse that compiles and processes data from all 44 CA Continuums of Care (CoC) regional homelessness service coordination and planning bodies. Each CoC collects data about the people it serves, permanent housing interventions, and a range of other strategies aligned with CA Housing First objectives. It provides a number of research and graphics from HDIS data.
29	California Interagency Council on Homelessness	Housing and Homelessness	State, Local	Summary: Through the CA open data portal there is a dataset from the CA Interagency Council on Homelessness, responsible for overseeing the implementation of Housing First guidelines and regulations, identifying resources, benefits, and services to prevent and end homelessness in CA. There is yearly statewide data on people receiving homeless response services by age, race, and gender.
30	CA Housing and Community Development Data	Housing and Homelessness	State, Local	Summary: On this site users can find interactive maps and graphics to learn about and track progress on homelessness and the planning and construction of affordable housing. Users can explore open data tools like grants and funding, land use and planning, housing needs, annual progress reports, and more.
31	CA Department of Education Data Quest	Education	State, Local	Summary: This site gives users data and statistics about California's TK/K-12 public educational system. Users can engage with these data in the form of summaries as well as detailed data reports for multiple subject areas at the school, district, county, and state levels. Suggested Use: Anything education related, including advocacy, development, or for litigation.
32	Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Consumer Complaint Database	Consumer/Finance	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Gives users access to a database of financial product and service complaints to see how companies respond to consumers. Suggested Use: Anything related to financial product and service complaints therein.
33	CA Department of Social Services Research and Data Portal	Social Services	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Provides users with data intended to inform the public about social services programs and policies. Suggested Use: Research or other work pertaining to CDSS' programs, such as adult programs, CalFresh, CalWORKs, and more.
34	California Child Welfare Indicators Project	Child Welfare	State, Local	Summary: Collaborative effort between UC Berkeley and the CA Dept. of Social Serviecs, housed in the School of Social Welfare at Berkeley, the project provides agency staff, policymakers, researchers, and the public with access to outcome information on California’s child welfare system. Suggested Use: Anything related to the child welfare system.
35	CA Department of Social Services Program Data	Health and Long-term Care	State, Local	Summary: IHSS program data (updated monthly) includes program information such as recipient/consumer, provider, county, and statewide data. Files include accessible navigation features, selectable terms linked to a glossary, and consumer characteristic data for the month listed in the title and is listed by the month/year. Suggested Use: Research or other work related to in-home supportive services programs.
36	CA Department of Social Services Disability and Adult Programs	Disability; Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	State, Local	Summary: CDSS provides data from the County Welfare Departments and state agencies pertaining to caseloads, costs, and services for adult and disability programs. Suggested Use: Research or other work related to adult and disability programs.
37	CA Department of Social Services State Hearings Data	Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	State, Local	Summary: CDSS provides data related to state hearings. Suggested Use: Research or other work related CDSS state hearings statistics.
38	CA Health and Human Services Open Data Portal	Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	State, Local	Summary: Open data portal related to HHS, including healthcare, workforce, and environment. Suggested Use: Understanding HHS-related topics.
39	CA Employment Development Department Data	Employment, Income Maintenance	State, Local	Summary: Employment-related data, in terms of California industries, occupations, employment projections, wages, and labor force. Suggested Use: Understanding employment-related information in the state.
40	CA Data Dashboard for Aging	Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	State, Local	Summary: Aging-related data, including in regard to the Master Plan for Aging. Suggested Use: Understanding aging-related information in the state.
41	CA Department of Aging Data	Health and Long-term Care; Income Maintenance	State, Local	Summary: Aging-related data. Suggested Use: Understanding aging-related information in the state.
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43	California Courts
44	California Court Statistics Reports	Court Data	State, Local	Summary: These reports provide detailed 10-year statistical caseload and trend data from the court system.
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46	Access to Justice, Nationally and in California
47	California Justice Gap Data (2024)	Civil Legal Needs	State	Summary: In 2019, the State Bar released its inaugural comprehensive study of the California justice gap, which explored the disparity between the civil legal needs of Californians and the resources available to address those needs. The "justice gap" is defined as "the difference between Californians’ civil legal needs (problems that could be addressed through civil legal action) and the legal help people receive to address those needs. For this study, the justice gap is defined as not receiving any or enough legal assistance to address a civil legal problem." The findings indicated that the justice gap was extensive, deep-rooted, and complex. The 2024 California Justice Gap Study expands on this research by evaluating the current justice gap affecting Californians at all income levels, as well as the availability of attorneys and legal services to fulfill these legal needs. The report concludes with a series of recommendations. Suggested Use: To understand or describe the "justice gap" in California. Commonly-used Datapoints: In the past year seven in 10 California households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, with an average of six problems per household (similar rates for lowest- and low-income: lowest-income households reported an average of 7 and low-income Californians an average of 8 problems). One in four households experienced a civil legal problem that substantially impacted their lives (34% for lowest-income and 29% for low-income). Californians are currently seeking legal help for just 18 percent of their problems overall (similar rates for lowest- and low-income: 17% and 20%, respectively), and 29 percent of problems that substantially impact them (similar rates for lowest- and low-income: 26% and 30%, respectively). Californians do not receive any or enough legal help for 85 percent of their civil legal problems (for the lowest- and low-income Californians, this number is virtually the same, at 86% and 84%, respectively). Californians do not receive any or enough legal help for 77 percent of problems that substantially impact their lives (for the lowest- and low-income Californians, this number is virtually the same, at 79% and 76%, respectively). Consumer issues and health care problems are the most common problems among all income groups (41% and 36%, respectively), including low-income Californians. For consumer issues, this was 46% and 44% for lowest- and low-income Californians, respectively; for healthcare, this was 36% and 40% for lowest- and low0income Californians, respectively). The most common consumer problems reported included compromised personal information (45 percent), contracts (23 percent), and personal injury (19 percent). The most common problems reported by California households overall included health insurance not covering needed services (20 percent), being billed incorrectly for medical services (18 percent), and having unpaid medical debt (15 percent). Just 25 percent of California’s legal market serves individual clients. Over half of California attorneys did not provide pro bono services in 2022. Between 2019, when the first California Justice Gap Study was conducted, and 2024, the amount of State Bar funding to legal services organizations increased by over $100 million, a 134 percent increase. In 2023, there was one legal aid attorney per 5,338 indigent Californians (defined as living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level). This ratio is a significant improvement (approximately 28.5 percent) from 2019, when there was one legal aid attorney per 7,466 indigent Californians. Between 2019 and 2023, State Bar-funded legal aid organizations achieved 656,365 legal outcomes for their clients. These outcomes include obtaining court orders, negotiating settlements, winning monetary awards, and more. Housing (130,687), family/domestic violence (62,430), immigration (42,802), disability rights (42,077), health and long-term care (37,186), and income maintenance (31,599) were the top areas of law where outcomes (i.e., substantive results that benefited the client) were achieved. Legal aid organizations served an additional 764,861 people through self-help clinics and fielded 571,629 hotline calls during that same period. Hotline calls, in particular, showed a tremendous increase over time, with 65,089 in 2019 compared to 166,810 in 2023 (156 percent increase).
48	LSC "By the Numbers" (2023)	Civil Legal Needs	Federal	Summary: The Legal Services Corporation's 2023 overview of the yearly data provided to them by their grantee organizations. Suggested use: Information about the national need for civil legal aid, the aggregate impact of organizations offering these services, and the characteristics and specific needs of individuals requiring this civil legal assistance. Commonly-used data points: Over 51.3 million people were income-eligible for LSC-funded civil legal aid in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. Approximately 1.9 million people, across all surveyed households, were served in LSC-eligible cases closed in 2023. Organizations closed over 771,006 cases (including nearly 50,000 by pro bono attorneys) and provided 1,182,860 with legal information or education. Housing cases made up the largest percentage (39.5%) of cases closed by LSC-funded organizations in 2023, followed by Family cases (25.8%) and Income Maintenance cases (8.8%). The Individual Rights and Juvenile problem categories experienced the greatest percent change in cases closed from 2022 to 2023, increasing by 24% and 15.7%, respectively. Of individuals whose cases were closed by an LSC grantee organization, 38.8% identified as white, 32% identified as Black, and 17.4% identified as Hispanic. An additional 2.8% identified as Asian or Pacific Islander, 2.2% identified as Native American, 4.1% identified as another racial/ethnic identity, and the racial/ethnic identity was unknown for 2.7% of clients. English was the preferred language of the majority of named clients in these cases (88.4%), followed by Spanish/Spanish Creole (8.4%), other Pacific Island languages (0.6%), and other Asian languages (0.3%). The majority of named clients in cases closed in 2023 identified as women (70.9%), and 21.3% of clients in cases closed were age 60 and over. 4.4% of all households served by LSC grantees in closed cases were veteran households.
49	LSC Justice Gap (2022)	Civil Legal Needs	Federal	Summary: The seminal national report on access to justice and the justice gap. Suggested Use: National data on the access-to-justice crisis and the justice gap as well as the impact of legal aid. Commonly-used Datapoints: Low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems. Three in four (74%) low-income households experienced one or more civil legal problems in the past year. Two in five (39%) experienced five or more problems and one in five (20%) experienced more than ten problems. Most common types of civil legal problems: consumer issues, health care, housing, income maintenance. One in two (55%) low-income Americans who personally experienced a problem say these problems substantially impacted their lives – with the consequences affecting their finances, mental health, physical health and safety, and relationships. One in four problems: They seek legal help for only one out of every four (25%) civil legal problems that impact them substantially. One in two (46%) of those who did not seek legal help for one or more problems cite concerns about cost as a reason why. One in two (53%) does not know if they could find and afford a lawyer if they needed one. LSC-funded organizations do not have enough resources to meet the current demand for civil legal aid in the communities they serve. Low-income individuals go to LSC-funded organizations for help with an estimated 1.9 million civil legal problems in a year. One in two requests turned away (49%): These organizations must turn away one out of every two (49%) requests they receive due to limited resources. Even when they can provide some assistance, these organizations have the resources to fully resolve only one out of every two (56%) problems. All in all, LSC-funded organizations are unable to provide any or enough legal help for an estimated 1.4 million civil legal problems (or 71% of problems) that are brought to their doors in a year.
50	National Center for Access to Justice, Justice Index	Civil Legal Needs	Federal/State	Summary: NCAJ engages in research and advocacy on a number of major issues. In regard to data, their primary tool is the "Justice Index," which is a resource articulating the degree to which each US state has adopted the best policies for ensuring access to justice for all people according to NCAJ. Suggested Use: To compare California to other jurisdictions, especially in terms of fines-and-fees and consumer debt civil issues.
51	California Justice Gap Data (2019)	Civil Legal Needs	State	Summary: The State Bar of California and NORC at the University of Chicago partnered on this survey examining the civil legal needs of Californians. The goal of the survey was to evaluate the "justice gap," which the researchers defined as the "difference between the civil legal needs (problems that could be addressed through civil legal action) of Californians and the legal help they receive to address those needs." They looked at in terms of the number of civil legal problems that people get help with, the number of problems for which the help they do get is insufficient to resolve their legal problem, and the rate at which poeple get non-legal help for those problems. Suggested Use: To understand or describe the "justice gap" in California. Commonly-used Datapoints: 55% of Californians experienced at least one civil legal problem in their household in the past year. 60% of Californians in households at or below 125% FPL experienced at least one civil legal problem in their household in the past year. 13% of Californians reported six or more household problems. Those at or below 125% FPL were more likely to experience a greater number of problems than those above 125% FPL (23% vs. 11%). In terms of civil legal problems, health, finance, and employment issues were the most commonly reported among those in households below and above 125% FPL. Californians sought legal help for only 32% of the civil legal problems they experienced, with reasons to not seek legal help including deciding to deal with it on their own, uncerctainty whether the issue was a legal issue, concerns about the cost of legal help, and fear about pursuing legal action. Those at or below 125% FPL sought legal help for 29% of civil legal problems they experienced, similar to the 33% among those above 125% FPL. Californians received inadequate or no legal help at all for 85% of their legal problems, with rates being similar among Californians at or below 125% FPL (86%) and those above 125% FPL (84%). Almost half of all problems experienced by Californians were resolved, regardless of whether or not they received legal help. According to the Intake Census of State Bar-funded legal aid organizations, these organizations report being able to fully address 30% of the problems presented to them by low-income Californians. Legal aid organizations provided services to Californians most often for problems related to housing, immigration, and health. State Bar-funded legal aid organizations were projected to receive over 450,000 requests for assistance in 2019. California’s legal aid organizations estimate that they will be able to fully serve approximately 30% of problems presented to them and they will be unable to serve, or only partially address, 63% of requests (of that, unable to serve 41%). For 33% of the problems for which they were fully served, Californians received help such as legal information, advice, or self-help resources. They received ongoing assistance like complex legal research or representation in court for 26% of their problems. Clients received more limited services, like help preparing straightforward documents, for 41% of their problems.
52	Attorney-to-Eligible Client Ratios (on file with LAAC)	Civil Legal Needs	State	Summary: LAAC utilizes State Bar and US census data to make this calculation. Suggested Use: To identify the gap between number of lawyers available and the number of people eligible for legal aid (based on income). Commonly-used Datapoint (last updated Sept. 2024): As of 2023 data, there are 5,089 eligible clients based on income (at or below 200% of FPL) per full-time legal aid attorney in California.
53	Making a Difference: California Legal Aid (2019)	Civil Legal Needs	State	Summary: The Bar reported on data collected from legal aid grantees for services provided to low-income Californians, regardless of source of funding. Suggested Use: To understand the impact that legal aid makes. Commonly-used Datapoints: Top areas of law (cases closed): Housing (22%), immigration (14%), and family/DV (12%). $134 million recovered and $43.3 million saved for clients; $114.5 million in pro bono services provided; 4,874 restraining orders issued to protect survivors from domestic violence; 4,895 families stayed in their homes; 10,672 clients assisted with consumer protection or financial abuse issues.
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55	General (Beyond Access to Justice)
56	Kaggle	General Research Data	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Data science community that includes tools and resources related to data science.
57	ProPublica Data Store	General Research Data	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Access to the raw data behind ProPublica's work, including data products and custom data services.
58	Google Dataset Search	General Research Data	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Users can access an array of general datasets and research sources.
59	Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC)	Immigration	Federal, State, Local	Summary: Provides users with reports and data related to immigration. Suggested Use: Use this site for immigration-related information.
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