Parenting Assessment Tools

Common Assessment Framework

• In the United Kingdom the standard assessment tool used with both parents and children is the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). The tool was devised by the Department of Health, and its aim is to establish a holistic overview of a child̵7;s home life. The CAF is a series of questionnaires based on extensive research. It covers topics such as strengths and difficulties, daily parenting hassles, parental health, recent life events, alcohol use and family activities. Not all the questionnaires are necessarily used with each family, allowing the practitioner a degree of flexibility in response to individual circumstances. The CAF assists health, education and family welfare practitioners in deciding how to best support families.

Parenting Cards

• Parenting cards is a relatively new tool that has received acclaim for its ease of use. The aim of the 52-card set, called ̶0;Kids Need,̶1; designed by social worker and therapist Mark Hamer, is to help parents and practitioners explore what individual children need and improve parental understanding of those needs. Each card illustrates a ̶0;need,̶1; such as own room, pocket money, criticism or mistakes, which parents and children place under headings of ̶0;Need, Sometimes Need and Don̵7;t Need.̶1; As the cards are visual, it is a useful tool when working with parents with literacy problems or learning difficulties, according to Kathy Shaw at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
  
  Chris Dyas, a child therapist, recommends the cards as a way of opening a dialog with parents in a non-confrontational way, or as a tool for children to challenge their parents during therapy sessions.

Parenting Programs

• Dr. Carolyn Webster-Stratton, professor and director of the parenting clinic at the University of Washington, offers the Incredible Years series of parenting assessment training courses. Her programs are used in 15 countries and are available in several languages. The parenting program series, aimed at therapists and child welfare workers, is focused on developing parental competence in the areas of confidence and positive discipline techniques, alongside encouraging parental involvement in a child̵7;s education in order to increase academic achievement and reduce behavior problems. The parenting series is grouped by child age and includes manuals and role-playing techniques. The programs, which are recommended by the American Psychological Association, provide professional practitioners with a support tool and parents with a tool for self-assessment.