Resources for screening and assessing parental mental health.
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised
Center for Epidemiologic Studies
Provides a 20-item screening tool used to assess the severity of depressive symptoms in adults. The site includes a hotline phone number for those in crisis as well as a link to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website and a phone number to its National Hopeline Center.
Free, Brief, and Validated: Standardized Instruments for Low-Resource Mental Health Settings
Beidas, Stewart, Walsh, & Mandell (2014)
Cognitive and Behavioral Practice
Reviews evidence-based assessments and screening tools for youth and adult with the most prevalent mental health disorders. The article promotes evidence-based practice through guidance on and references for the selection and use of assessment tools.
Guidelines for Expert Evaluations in Child Abuse/Neglect Proceedings (Mental Health) (PDF - 79 KB)
Child Abuse and Neglect Mental Health Evaluation and Treatment Advisory Group (2012)
Outlines expectations and best practices for mental health evaluations provided by experts in child welfare and child protective services proceedings.
Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters
American Psychological Association (2013)
Describes the purpose of psychological evaluations in child protection. The webpage provides general and procedural guidelines for preparing for a child protection evaluation and conducting psychological evaluations during child welfare investigations.
Online Assessment Measures
American Psychiatric Association (2017)
Lists assessment tools for cross-cutting symptoms for adults to help draw attention to symptoms that are important across mental health diagnoses. The webpage includes a link to a measurement tool of a relative child’s somatic symptoms.
Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) Depression Scale
University of Washington, Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions Center (2017)
Presents a tool that assesses mental health symptoms and functional impairment to make a tentative depression diagnosis. The PHQ-9 scale provides a severity score to help select and monitor treatment for depression.
Public Health Approaches to Child and Parent Screening: Implications for Child Protection
Smith (2012)
Journal of Law and Policy
Examines the potential benefit of child and parent mental health screenings to State- and community-level child protection efforts.
SEEK Parent Questionnaire
Safe Environment for Every Kid (2016)
Provides information on a one-page mental health assessment for parents that screens for prevalent psychosocial problems that are risk factors for child maltreatment and/or jeopardize children's health, development, and safety. The webpage includes link to the questionnaire in English, Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.