Family Assessment in Child Welfare - Center for Social Services ...
Family Assessment in Child Welfare - Center for Social Services ...
Family Assessment in Child Welfare - Center for Social Services ...
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In summary, of the seven most promis<strong>in</strong>g assessment <strong>in</strong>struments, the NCFAS, theNCFAS-R, and the FAF appear to be the most relevant <strong>for</strong> use <strong>in</strong> child welfare sett<strong>in</strong>gs, despitesome of their psychometric limitations. The NCFAS <strong>in</strong>struments utilize a strengths-basedorientation and have been extensively tested with child welfare populations. The FAF wasdesigned <strong>for</strong> child welfare sett<strong>in</strong>gs and has been used <strong>in</strong> several jurisdictions over the past tenyears. Software versions of the FAF offer benefits that should be of <strong>in</strong>terest to child welfaremanagers. The Darl<strong>in</strong>gton <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Assessment</strong> System (DFAS) also appears promis<strong>in</strong>g given itsmulti-system, multi-method approach, which mirrors the family assessment process <strong>in</strong> childwelfare by us<strong>in</strong>g multiple methods to ga<strong>in</strong> multiple perspectives <strong>in</strong> a case. It has excellentpsychometric properties and is comprehensive <strong>in</strong> nature. However, more research is needed toestablish its validity with child welfare populations and to evaluate its feasibility due to lengthyadm<strong>in</strong>istration time.Patterns of <strong>Social</strong> Interaction and SupportWe identified four measures <strong>for</strong> specialized assessment <strong>for</strong> use at multiple po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> thelife of the case that focus on patterns of social <strong>in</strong>teraction (<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the nature of contact and<strong>in</strong>volvement with others, and the presence or absence of social support networks andrelationships at multiple po<strong>in</strong>ts <strong>in</strong> the life of the case). As noted <strong>in</strong> Figure 5, these <strong>in</strong>struments<strong>in</strong>clude the McMaster Model, the <strong>Assessment</strong> of Strategies <strong>in</strong> Families-Effectiveness (ASF-E),the Circumplex Model, and the <strong>Family</strong> <strong>Assessment</strong> Measure III.Figure 5. Promis<strong>in</strong>g Measures of <strong>Social</strong> InteractionInstrumentIntake/Screen<strong>in</strong>g<strong>Child</strong> <strong>Welfare</strong> Decision/Stage of <strong>Assessment</strong>Investigation/DiagnosisCasePlann<strong>in</strong>gCont<strong>in</strong>u<strong>in</strong>g<strong>Services</strong>,Placement &Reunification/Monitor<strong>in</strong>g &EvaluationMcMaster Model X X X X<strong>Assessment</strong> of Strategies <strong>in</strong> Families-Effectiveness (ASF-E)X X XCircumplex Model X X X<strong>Family</strong> <strong>Assessment</strong> Measure III X XX = child welfare decision/stage of assessment <strong>for</strong> which <strong>in</strong>strument is used15
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