Screening and Assessment Tools for Child Welfare
Description / Purpose:
The NCFAS was developed to assess family functioning in the domains of Environment, Parental Capabilities, Family Interactions, Family Safety, and Child Well-being.
Target Population: Families targeted for Intensive Family Preservation Services and other high-risk, multi-problem families.
Intended Users: Programs providing Intensive Family Preservation Services and other programs for high-risk, multi-problem families.
Time to Administer: 39 items, administration time approximately 30 - 40 minutes.
Completed By: Family service workers following home visits.
Modalities Available: Paper and pencil, database.
Scoring Information: Scoring information for the NCFAS may be obtained from the National Family Preservation Network.
Languages Available: English, Spanish — the rating for the measure is based solely on the English version of the measure.
Training Requirements for Intended Users: There is no minimum degree or license requirement to administer the scale.
Availability: The NCFAS and accompanying training material may be purchased from the National Family Preservation Network
Contact Information
- Company: National Family Preservation Network
- Website: nfpn.org
- Name: Priscilla Martens
- Title: Executive Director
- Email: director@nfpn.org
- Phone: (888) 498-9047
Summary of Relevant Psychometric Research
This assessment has received the Assessment Rating of "A – Reliability and Validity Demonstrated" based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The assessment must have 2 or more published, peer-reviewed studies that demonstrated that the measure is reliable and valid. Please see the Assessment Rating Scale for more information.
Reed-Ashcraft, K., Kirk, R. S., & Fraser, M. W. (2001). The reliability and validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 11(4), 503-520.
Sample:
Participants — 288 people drawn from family protective services (FPS) services in North Carolina
Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
Summary:
The analysis looked at internal reliability of scale items within the areas of well-being measured by the NCFAS and at concurrent validity using correlations with scales intended to measure similar domains, including the Child Well-being Scales, the Family Inventory for Resources Management, and the Index of Family Relations.
The analysis supported the NCFAS as a measure of overall environment, child well-being, overall family interactions, and family safety. The NCFAS correlated well with other similar measures currently in use.
Kirk, R. S., Kim, M. M., & Griffith, D. P. (2005). Advances in the reliability and validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 11(3/4), 157-176.
Sample:
Participants — 1279 families involved in Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS).
Race/Ethnicity — Not Specified
Summary:
Improved family function is hypothesized to be related to prevention of placement. The predictive validity of the NCFAS was assessed using the relation of NCFAS family functioning scores to placement at end of services. Analysis showed that ratings in the strengths range at follow-up on the NCFAS were associated with non-placement at end of service and at one year, with the exception of the Overall Parental Capabilities. The analysis suggests that the NCFAS is a valid tool for assessing areas needing service and that the scores on assessment domains are related to later family outcomes.
Date Reviewed: June 2009