What is CWS?
The Child Wellness Survey (CWS) is a survey for families with children aged 6 months to 11 years across Washington state that started in 2024. The survey explores how families are doing by asking about the health and development of their child, access to childcare, and other topics.
The survey will run every other year and will be administered by our contractor, Market Decisions Research. The project is funded through Foundational Public Health Services, which is a collaborative public health governance system between the State Department of Health, American Indian Health Commission, and Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials.
Survey questions
View a copy of the 2024 Child Wellness survey questions (PDF)
Why take part in the survey?
Parenting is hard work, and we hope that this survey will help us to learn how to best support families. Learning about your experiences as a parent, your child’s health, family strengths, and community support will help children in Washington State including your own to grow up to be healthy and happy.
How does it work?
The Child Wellness Survey is being conducted in two ways:
Randomly Selected Households: Eligible households with young children across the state are randomly selected from a list. Our contractor, on behalf of the Washington State Department of Health, will reach out to these families via mail, email, and/or phone. The survey can be completed online or by phone—there are no in-person or door-to-door interviews. Those who are randomly selected to complete the survey will also receive a $20 gift card.
All questions are voluntary. You can resume, reschedule, or end the survey at any time. If we call you at an inconvenient time or you are unable to complete the survey, you can schedule another time to complete it.
Community-Based Convenience Survey: This version of the survey is online only and now open to the public through March 2025. Please note that participation in this survey is not compensated. We encourage you not to take this survey if you were randomly selected and have already completed the Child Wellness Survey in 2024 or 2025.
Community-Based Convenience Survey
How will you keep my information secure and confidential?
Family and children cannot be identified. All names are removed to keep responses confidential and only summarized results will be shared publicly. Only trained staff have permission to work with confidential information and survey data is saved using secure technology.
We will never ask for you or your child’s:
- Social Security Number
- Credit card information
- Bank account information
- Money or donations
How long does it take?
The survey may take up to 20 minutes.
Thank you!
We greatly appreciate your willingness to take part in this important health survey. If you have questions, please contact the Child Wellness Survey team at child.wellness@doh.wa.gov.