Measuring Family Well Being: A Strengths Based ApproachFamily and Community Strengths Conference
University of Newcastle
December 2010
Measuring Family Well Being: A Strengths Based Approach
Family and Community Strengths Conference
University of Newcastle
December 2010
Professor Marianne Berry Chair and Director Australian Centre for Child Protection University of South Australia
The Australian Centre for Child Protection
Conducts sound research to meet the needs of children and families at risk of maltreatment and/or out of home placement, and those who work with them.
Provides knowledge and skills for workforce development with high risk communities
Focuses these research and workforce development efforts on building and sharing the evidence base
Demonstrate the Link Between
Family-Centered Assessment, leading to
Individualized Service Planning
Examine The Strengths and Stressors
What exactly does it assess?
Where and how does it fit into practice?
Using the Strengths & Stressors
What can be a Strength?
Skills
Supports
Resources
Personal Qualities
Coping Strategies
What is a Stressor?
A chronic condition or acute event that is perceived by the person to require more of a relevant strength than s/he possesses at that moment.
I can’t cope/deal with this right now.
You are getting on my last nerve.
Why me Lord?
“Broken shoelace” syndrome.
“That’s alls I can stand – I can’ts stands no more.” – Popeye, 1967.
In professional circles, this/these are called “chronic stress” and “trigger events.”
Types of Assessment Risk Assessment
Problem-focused
Actuarial, to predict child’s safety
Family, Safety and Needs Assessment
Individualized, so that services are appropriate
Assessment of Strengths and Stressors
Goes beyond safety to assess well-being
Helps to identify areas for focus / improvement
Logical Practice
Assess the critical conditions and NEEDS of the family and child at intake.
Talk with family about GOALS that will lead to desired OUTCOMES.
Build the family SERVICE PLAN around the NEEDS and GOALS identified at intake:
the problems,
the goals,
the strengths and resources needed, and
those already owned by families.
Re-assess these conditions periodically to identify progress toward OUTCOMES.
Criticisms of Family Assessment Tools Too long, take too much time
Problem focused, depressing, non-motivating
Require knowledge of detailed instructions in order to fill out correctly
Don’t address areas that are of special relevance to child welfare practice (such as poverty, the environment, and the community)
Capture a “snapshot,” and don’t track progress over time
Don’t readily inform case planning
Goals for a New Assessment Tool
Short and easy to complete
Evidence-based and evidence-informed
Relevant to child welfare families
Strengths-based, Motivational
Useful to assessment
Useful to service planning
Useful to tracking of progress
Useful to courts and other collaterals
S & S Instructions Who fills it out?
Completed by Family Consultant
Will be done in partnership with parent / caregiver
Can be the basis of difficult conversations
When should it be filled out?
Is filled out at least twice - at intake and closure
Intake ratings should be completed before services begin
Can be completed periodically to track change
Can be used as a tool to discuss family progress
The Assessment
There are six standard domains.
These six domains come from the evidence base regarding those things that are predictive of maltreatment or safety, and placement stability/instability.
The Environment section is the most crucial domain in predicting type of maltreatment (especially child neglect). Environment is seldom included in standard family assessment forms.
The Ratings
For each item, the family condition can be rated:
-3 = A Serious Stressor
-2 = A Moderate Stressor
-1 = A Mild Stressor
0 = Adequate or At Community Norm
+1 = A Mild Strength
+2 = A Clear Strength
The “community norm” allows ratings to be sensitive to different communities and cultures (see Community Norms idea sheet).
The Domains Physical Environment (A)
Social Support (B)
Parental Capabilities (C)
Family Interactions (D)
Family Safety (E)
Child Well-Being (F)
What can this tool tell me? When building a working relationship:
What are this family’s specific strengths? We can build on those.
What are the specific stressors that are affecting this family?
Where are the -3’s and -2’s?
Which strengths and stressors “pop off the page”?
Are they mostly environmental, parental, etc.?
Are they community-level or individual-level problems?
How can this tool help me make a Service Plan?
When developing a Service Plan:
Where do we need to focus services?
Utilize existing strengths
Identify key stressors so that you can focus services on them, rather than being distracted or drifting from the key issues
Mobilize services to address the key stressors
Can document the basis of an individualized Service Plan.
How can this tool help me with case closure?
Keep track of progress:
Periodic re-assessment that is quick and specific
Are things getting better (moving toward positive numbers)?
Are things getting worse?
Family members can graphically see their change in direction
I can document specific changes in behaviors and conditions to supervisors, judges, teachers, etc.
What can this tool tell my site? What are the primary strengths and stressors of the families who come to our program?
In what areas do families improve? Where do we see our greatest impact?
What kinds of services typically lead to what areas of improvement?
What can this tool tell my community?
Where do we do really well?
In what areas do families not improve? Where do we need more resources?
What kinds of assets/resources do families need to have to benefit from our services?
What specific family or environmental changes are associated with good or bad outcomes (like new maltreatment reports or child placement)?
Cautions and Challenges Terms in the S & S Tool
Work with your peers to agree on the meaning of terms like “emotional abuse” or “emotional stability.”
Subjectivity of Ratings
Given the fairly subjective nature of ratings, check in with your peers from time to time on how items are rated.
Work with families to assess levels of strength/stress, but Family’s Primary Worker remains the expert on critical risks.
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