What Federal Data Purges Mean for State and Local Government

Data wranglers around the globe, at least briefly, found themselves without some of the currency they rely on: numbers. Rather than spreadsheets, error messages appeared on several federal websites after Jan. 31.

In order to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive orders, some federal websites were purged of a variety of data related to climate, health and racial/ethnicity demographics. Many websites and data sets initially taken down later reappeared, but it’s unclear what changed. Several agency websites still feature a statement at the top that the “website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.”

WHAT DATA IS IMPACTED?

At least one website link granting entry into a major data set remains offline as of Feb. 10, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index. The index describes the areas where communities are most socially vulnerable to disasters, using U.S. census data based on 15 social factors including poverty, lack of vehicle access, crowded housing and racial and ethnic minority population counts.
As Trump signed an executive order terminating diversity, equity and inclusion spending from the federal government last month, it’s possible that the federal government has determined the index violates that order.

It’s not clear if this data will ever return, which could make things more challenging for state and local governments navigating projects that may have relied on the index.

Some say the data turbulence sets a precedent of what may come as far as transparency of federal data.

“Pay attention. Keep an eye on those data sets,” said Tyler Kleykamp, who served as the first chief data officer in Connecticut from 2014 to 2019, in an interview.

Kleykamp advises anyone who relies on government data to download as much as possible now, even if it’s come back online, to ensure there’s a backup.

He currently works as chief data and impact officer for Connecticut Foodshare, where he uses racial and ethnic demographic data in an effort to provide culturally appropriate foods in the areas they serve. Past projects he’s worked on for the government have used similar data to shape and inform data-driven initiatives.

“[The missing data] prevents us from having a broader understanding of communities, what makes them thrive and what challenges they face,” he said. ”This makes our understanding more and more challenging.”

Meanwhile, survey data, such as the most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report, was also taken down in the initial purge, but has now been reinstated. The survey provides a peek into the teenage population’s sexual and mental health, then it compares that to how teens responded 10 years ago.
The survey asks teens about their sexual orientation, and for the first time ever in 2023, survey takers were asked if they identified as transgender. Trump signed executive orders proclaiming that the U.S. government will recognize only two genders. Therefore, it’s conceivable the federal government deemed this particular data set violates that order.

Former Indiana Chief Data Officer Josh Martin said it’s data removals from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveys that concern him the most, as the data didn’t originate in the states. He emphasized that state and local governments often use CDC survey data to shape health initiatives and policies.

“It’s not timely, and it’s not always great, but it helps you see where you’ve been and can help you track how you’re doing and how things are going,” Martin said.

Kleykamp noted that if some metrics, like sexual orientation or gender identity data, will no longer be collected, it could have a detrimental impact on the work governments are doing in the future.

“If you don’t have the data right to compare how one state’s doing to another, it really affects your ability to make effective public policy, because you’re just kind of guessing at that point,” Kleykamp said.

WHAT NOW?

According to Martin, there's a workaround for non-survey federal data that originates in states and then is aggregated to federal data sets. This offers state and local governments a chance to move past data hurdles by working together.

“If we’re going to lose that source, if they’re not going to be the coordinator of it anymore — talk to your friends in other states,” Martin said, recommending groups like the State Chief Data Officers Network. “We’re all in the same position in terms of trying to use data to not drive policy directives or for specialized interests, but to create better policy. To provide better citizen services. That’s the goal for everybody, whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, Libertarian or Independent.”

Kleykamp suggested another alternative; that workers get familiar with the Wayback Machine, a free tool that automatically takes snapshots of web pages at different points in time, operated by nonprofit Internet Archive.

However, he also questioned the legality of the federal government withholding data previously made public and suggested some of the removed data sets should be available through a public data request.

“Federal departments are required to identify their data sets, make them available,” said Kleykamp. “I don’t know that as it stands an executive order would trump that. It’s taxpayer funded data, it's one thing to say from this point forward we’re going to stop collecting it. But what’s already been collected has been deemed to be public information.”