Data Collection

Use of NEILS Instruments:

We encourage the use of items from NEILS instruments. We request that interested individuals acknowledge NEILS as the source of the items or instruments in their reports. Please send us the citation for the report when it is completed. Thank you.

Recruitment for the NEILS sample was completed on November 30, 1998. A total of 3,338 children were enrolled. The following instruments are the sources of information about NEILS children and families.

Where indicated, the instruments are available in "pdf" (portable document format). Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read the pdf format and is available free from Adobe. Click here or go to http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html to download the reader. After downloading the reader, click on the instrument you wish to view below.

Family Interview.  Telephone interviews were conducted with families to obtain information about child and family characteristics, child functioning, and families' perceptions of services. Families were interviewed when their children entered early intervention, annually on the anniversary of their entry, when their children were 3 years old, and again when they enter Kindergarten. Thus far, the number of interviews conducted is

• 2,959 enrollment interviews (completed).


• 2,357 interim interviews (completed).


• 2,616 transition interviews (completed).


• 2,223 Kindergarten family interviews (completed).

Family Enrollment Interview

Family Interim Interview

Family Transition Interview

Service Record.  Every 6 months, an early intervention professional completed a questionnaire on the early intervention services provided to the NEILS family, including information regarding the transition out of early intervention. A total of 6,809 service records have been completed.

Version A of the service record was used for each six-month period the child was in early intervention until version B of the service record was used.

Service Record A

Version B of the service record was used to gather information for the six-month period preceding 36 months of age and included questions on transition.

Service Record B

To thank service providers for their timely completion of these forms, a gift certificate is sent once a month to a randomly selected provider who returned a completed form that month. Thirty-one providers have received appreciation gifts thus far. Click here to see the cities of those who were selected to receive appreciation gifts.

Service Provider Survey.  Early intervention professionals working with the children and families during the first 6 months of early intervention completed a mail survey about their backgrond, training, and the ways they deliver services. A total of 2,827 service provider surveys have been returned.

Service Provider Survey

Program Director Survey.  Directors of programs serving the children and families during their first 6 months in service complete a mail survey on the characteristics of their programs such as the number and types of clients served, the service providers employed, and where services are provided. A total of 641 program director surveys have been returned.

Program Director Survey

Kindergarten Teacher Survey.  In the Spring of children's Kindergarten year, teachers are sent a two-part questionnaire that asks about the child's performance kindergarten. The first-part asks about the child's educational progress, social skills, literacy and mathematics knowledge, parent-involvement, the child's transition into kindergarten, and whether the child receives special education services as a preschooler. The second section is only for children with an IEP or 504 plan and asks about the child's disability classification and the nature of the services being provided. So far, a total of 581 surveys have been returned.

Kindergarten Teacher Section A

Kindergarten Teacher Section B