This section links to resources for screening and assessing child well-being and behavior, including information on assessing attachment.
Assessing Well-Being in Child Welfare (PDF - 171 KB)
Institute for Child and Family Well-Being (2016)
Provides an overview of the importance of assessing well-being and the national movement toward prioritizing well-being in policy and practice in the child welfare system. The issue brief highlights the improved well-being screening and assessment program at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin that is integrated and coordinated with prevention and intervention services.
Child Wellbeing Assessment in Child Welfare: A Review of Four Measures
Rosanbalm, Snyder, Lawrence, Coleman, Frey, van den Ende, & Dodge (2016)
Children and Youth Services Review, 68
Examines the goals, strengths, and challenges of four well-being instruments currently used with child welfare populations: the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale, the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment Tool, the Child Behavior Checklist and related tools from the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment, and the Treatment Outcomes Package.
Measurement Tools for Child Welfare
California Evidenced-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare
Provides information on select screening and assessment tools that are commonly used to measure behavior and well-being in the child welfare system. The webpage also includes a webinar on how utilizing these tools can help child welfare workers better identify and address the needs of youth.
Screening, Assessing, Monitoring Outcomes and Using Evidenced-Based Interventions to Improve the Well-Being of Children in Child Welfare (PDF - 308 KB)
Conradi, Landsverk, & Wotring (2014)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau
Describes a process for trauma screening, functional and clinical assessment, evidence-based interventions, and progress monitoring in order to better achieve well-being outcomes for children involved in the child welfare system.
Screening Tools
American Academy of Pediatrics
Includes tools to assess developmental and social determinants of health in infants and children. This resource list includes tools such as the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire, and the Survey of Well-Being of Young Children.
A User’s Guide to the Working With Children and Youth With Complex Clinical Needs: Strategies in the Safe Reduction of Congregate Care Guide
Capacity Building Center for States (2019)
Provides an overview of Working With Children and Youth With Complex Physical Needs: Strategies in the Safe Reduction of Congregate Care, which focuses on safely reducing the need for congregate care in child welfare.
Assessing attachment
Mother and Infants: Screening for Maternal Relationships at Risk with the CARE-Index
Hautamäki (2014)
In The Routledge Handbook of Attachment
Discusses the measurement tools available to assess attachment in infants and children. The chapter includes sections on comparing assessment procedures and on cultural differences.
Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Reactive Attachment Disorder and Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (PDF - 222 KB)
Zeanah, Chesher, Boris, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Committee on Quality Issues (2016)
Reviews the current assessments and treatments of reactive attachment disorder and disinhibited social engagement disorder in children and adolescents. The Practice Parameter is a revision of a previous practice guide for medical and mental health professionals that was published in 2005.