Program Outcomes for Children

MEASURES: Family Involvement / Accommodation & Adaptation


Measures for many of these indicators can be developed at the local level so that they more closely reflect the local intervention.  Some instruments designed for research may also be useful references as local program managers seek to design their tools.  The following standardized assessments are provided only as examples of measures that may be useful for evaluation of community-based programs.  This listing is not comprehensive, and is not intended as an endorsement of any particular measure.  Some standardized assessment instruments are copyrighted, and require specific levels of training to administer.  Prices of measures are subject to change.  It is important to recognize that standardized measures, such as the ones listed below, are not the only appropriate ways to assess outcomes for children.  In fact, it is highly recommended that standardized measures be used in conjunction with other methods, including qualitative assessments, and other indicators which may be obtainable from existing records for some school-aged programs [Using Existing Data].
 

1. Family Resource Scale (FRS).  C. Dunst and H. Leet

Date:   1987

Subtests:   Not applicable

Available Through:

Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., & Deal, A. G. (Eds.) (1994). Supporting and strengthening families. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
Cost:   
May be duplicated without permission with proper citation and acknowledgment.
Target Audience:
Families of young children
Description and Comments:
The Family Resource Scale is a 30-item self-report measure asking parents to rate, on a five-point scale, the adequacy of resources available to meet the family's needs.  The range of physical/human resources includes access to food, shelter, financial resources, transportation, health care, time to be with family, child care, and time for self.  The FRS appears useful for program evaluations where it might be important to understand barriers to the family's involvement in their child's program, as families with unmet basic needs may not have time or energy to participate actively in the child's program.  Studies of reliability and validity are available, and the FRS appears to be quick and easy to administer. 
2.  Family Support Scale (FSS).   C. Dunst, V. Jenkins, and C. M. Trivette

Date:   1984

Subtests:

No formal subscales; factor analysis supports five categories of support:  Informal Kinship, Spouse/Partner Support, Social Organizations, Formal Kinship, and Professional Services.  School or community-based programs would likely fall into the Social Organizations or Professional Services categories.
Available Through :
1)  Family, Infant and Preschool Program 
Western Carolina Center 
300 Enola Road
Morganton, NC 28655   (Write for ordering information)    OR
2)  Copy of scale is in:   Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., & Deal, A. G. (Eds.) (1994). Supporting and strengthening families, Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
Cost: 
May be duplicated without permission with proper citation and acknowledgment.
Target Audience:
Families of young children with disabilities (but appears general enough for use with wide range of families).
Description and Comments:
The Family Support Scale is a brief 18 item self-report measure which asks parents of young children to rate, on a five-point scale, the helpfulness of various potential sources of social support.  The scale appears to lend itself well to program evaluations because it is very brief, easy to administer, and has demonstrated reliability and validity.  In program evaluations, the FSS might be useful as a pretest/posttest measure of perceived helpfulness of the program to the family (in relation to the family's level of involvement in the program).

3. Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS and QRS - Short Form).   J. Holroyd

Date:   1974 (QRS); 1982 (QRS - Short Form)

Subtests: 

15 subtests include:  Poor Health/Mood, Excess Time Demands, Negative Attitude, Overprotection/Dependency, Lack of Social Support, Overcommitment/Martyrdom, Pessimism, Lack of Family Integration, Limits on Family Opportunity, Financial Problems, Physical Incapacitation, Lack of Activities, Occupational Limitations, Social Obtrusiveness, and Difficult Personality Characteristics.
Available Through:
Clinical Psychology Publishing Company
4 Conant Square 
Brandon, VT  05733
Phone orders:  1-800-433-8234


Cost:   

Complete test kit (manual, test booklets, answer sheets, and scoring templates for 25) is approximately $70.  Call CPPC for current prices.  Sample kit available. 
Target Audience: 
Families who are caring for ill or disabled children 


Description and Comments: 

A somewhat specialized test for families of children with medical, developmental, or psychiatric disabilities.  This is a self-report questionnaire for parents, geared to a 6th grade reading level.  The test consists of 285 true/false items, and is completed in less than an hour.  It is hand-scored using separate templates, and raw scores are converted to standard scores.  The publisher reports internal consistency reliability of .96 for items, and the test was normed on parents of 107 normal children and 329 children with disabilities.  More extensive psychometric data is available in the test manual.

 
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