Family Directed Assessment
The Bottom Line
This section of the IFSP includes a summary of information gathered from the family, specifically their concerns, priorities and resources to enhance the development of their child.
A family directed assessment is only needed after a child has been found eligible for Part C services.
This assessment must be conducted prior to the child’s first IFSP meeting (both of these must occur within 45 days of the date of the referral).
Go-To Tools
These are your day-to-day useful tools. The rest of this page (below this section) is guidance.
Click on the image above for a blank copy of an EcoMap
Explanation
Family directed assessments under Part C must be designed to determine the resources, priorities, and concerns of the FAMILY and to identify the supports and services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental needs of their child.
Participation in a family directed assessment is voluntary on the part of the family.
If a family directed assessment takes place the assessment must:
be conducted by qualified personnel;
be based on information provided by the family through an (1) assessment tool and also through a (2) personal interview with family members who participated in the assessment;
and incorporate the family's description of its resources, priorities, and concerns related to enhancing the child's development.
Documentation
After completing the interview:
Record a summary of the family’s concerns, priorities and resources in the space provided.
Then check the box titled, “This information was gathered by family members through an assessment tool and through a personal interview with those family members who elected to participate in the assessment.”
List the assessment tool used to gather the information.
✋ FAQ: The FDA is VOLUNTARY. What do I document in the FDA section of the IFSP if a parent declines?
In the event that the family does NOT agree to participate in a family directed assessment, check the box “Family Member(s) Declined.”
Do not delete the family assessment component in the event a family declines. This section must remain on the IFSP to document that a family directed assessment was offered to the family as a part of the IFSP development process.
Purpose and Benefits of Gathering Information from Families
The information obtained through the family directed assessment is vital to helping other team members understand family dynamics, routines, and activities in order to assist the family. Whether and how much information a family chooses to share is voluntary.
However, it will have more meaning to families and the team if the service coordinator explains to the family how this information will guide the team’s intervention work. The more insight the team has about the family along the way, the better the team will be able to link strategies to support outcomes.
This information can be helpful in addressing or identifying any unmet medical needs or needs for community services and supports. This information also highlights strengths and supports that the family already has in place that will be helpful later in developing outcomes. Keep in mind that you can update this information at any time as the family’s needs and circumstances change.
EXAMPLE: A family identifying that they would like more information about their child's diagnosis could be a potential outcome in the Child and Family Outcomes section of the IFSP.
EXAMPLE: A family identified the need for childcare assistance, the service coordinator may identify this in the Needed Medical and Other Services section of the IFSP, along with steps taken to link the family to the identified program or support.
Recommendations for Gathering Information from Families
Routines-Based Interviews
The Routines-Based Interview (RBI) is a semi-structured interview that helps you examine the day to day activities of children within the context of their family and community settings. The RBI can be used in a care-based/school setting, as well as in interviews with the family.
The goals of the RBI are to begin to:
develop a relationship with the family and/or caregivers,
obtain a rich description of how the child functions within their daily activities, and
create a list of functional child and family outcomes that are based on the family’s priorities and concerns.
Examples of Routines-Based Interviews:
Watch this 3-minute video to learn more about Routines-Based Interviews
EcoMapping
EcoMapping helps the provider determine the family's informal, intermediate, and formal supports.
The people living with the child are drawn in the innermost square or circle. The thickness of the lines connecting the family to the supports indicates three levels of support: extremely supportive, quite supportive, and present. Dotted lines represent stress.
The EcoMap is important for indicating to the family that we care about more than only the child in early intervention. It is also important because informal supports are a big predictor of child and family well-being. Finally, early interventionists "whip out the EcoMap" as the first resource when helping families arrive at solutions.
Making the Family Directed Assessment Meaningful
Identifying Outcomes
Identifying the family concerns and priorities helps the IFSP team:
develop functional outcomes and
identify the services, supports and strategies to accomplish those outcomes.
The identification of family resources helps the team:
know what family supports and strengths are already in place to address the identified outcomes.
Determining Services and Supports
Because children learn best in the context of everyday activities, families are asked to describe their daily routines and activities in terms of what interests and engages their child (favorite people and preferred toys and activities), what's going well and what challenges they face. This will help the providers and parents determine the:
routines in which to embed interventions and learning opportunities
personalize learning opportunities that will be highly motivating and engaging, and build on the child's strengths.
EXAMPLE: If a child loves bath time, it may be a natural opportunity to encourage the learning and use of more words, improving balance, reaching for and grasping toys, etc.
Community Resources and Supports
Often families would like to participate in new activities or use community resources but need help to include their child with special needs. Providers can help families engage in new activities that will have natural learning opportunities for their child by :
Accompanying the family on an outing
Problem solving with families
Preparing and supporting community providers are examples of ways