The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare

This document was printed from the website of the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare (CEBC), which you can access at http://www.cebc4cw.org/

Georgia Comprehensive Child and Family Assessments (CCFA)

Note: The Georgia Comprehensive Child and Family Assessments (CCFA) was not responsive to the CEBC's request for information about their program. The following information was obtained from publicly available sources.

Scientific Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-5

Relevance to Child Welfare Rating:
NR
Not able to be Rated
See scale of 1-3

Brief Description:

Georgia Comprehensive Child and Family Assessments (CCFA) has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of Placement Stabilization, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given either a Scientific Rating or a Child Welfare Relevance Rating. Family assessments are used to assist decision-making regarding placement of children entering foster care. A formalized assessment known as the Child and Family Comprehensive Assessment (CCFA) is initiated soon after the child enters care. The child and his/her family, both immediate and extended, are engaged in the assessment process. Family-centered approaches such as Family Team Meetings and Multi-Disciplinary Team Staffings are effective ways to involve the family in assessment, planning and decision-making around the needs of the child. The Family Assessment is the foundation of the family case plan and will also assist judges, CASAs (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Citizen Panels, and other providers working with the child and family to gain a better understanding of the:

  • Degree of parent-child attachment and where the child feels a sense of belonging;
  • Child's extended family as a potential resource for support and/or the placement of the child;
  • Family's history and/or patterns of behavior; e.g., prior CPS involvement or foster care placements, past experience with handling crisis, problems with addiction, criminal behavior, etc.;
  • Strengths and resources from which the family can tap;
  • Core needs of the family which, at a minimum, must be changed or corrected for the child to be safely returned within a reasonable period of time;
  • Probability of the child returning home or the likelihood of an alternative permanency plan; and
  • Identified medical, emotional, social, educational and placement-related needs of the child.

Manual and Training section:
Information on training for the Georgia CCFA can be found on the Department of Human Resources website.

Relevant Research:
Georgia CCFA has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 - 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

There are currently no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Georgia CCFA.

References:
There are no published reference articles about Georgia CCFA.

Contact Information
Affiliation/Agency: Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Family and Children Services, Constituent Services
Phone: 404-651-9361

Date review compiled: July 2007