There have been long-standing questions about a lack of comprehensive and reliable information on consumer bankruptcies. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (Bankruptcy Reform Act) required the fed. judiciary's Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to collect and report certain additional bankruptcy statistics and required the U.S. Trustee Program, which oversees bankruptcy case admin., to develop uniform final reports that provide certain specified data about each case. This report examines the: (1) availability and accessibility of data from the personal bankruptcy system; and (2) potential benefits and limitations of the new data requirements of the Bankruptcy Reform Act in addressing these issues. Illus.