Resources and information about assessing potential foster families' ability to provide care for children according to State laws and policies.
Assessing Families for Permanency: Guidance From Research
North Carolina Division of Social Services (2013)
Provides information on the assessment process for finding permanent placements for children in foster care, including key assessment areas and questions to consider when determining whether potential permanent families have the necessary flexibility to maintain connections with birth families, coping skills and social supports to meet the realities of parenting, and realistic expectations about the behaviors and reactions that can overwhelm adoptive parents.
Family Interview Guide: A Guide for Foster and Adoption Assessors (PDF - 1,000 KB)
Institute for Human Services (2015)
Provides an overview of the domains that should be explored during an interview and offers sample questions to help child welfare workers conduct interviews with prospective foster caregivers, kinship care families, or adoptive parents and assess their ability to provide care.
Foster Family Assessments
Casey Family Programs
Free tools for agency workers and foster parents to help with the foster family assessment process.
How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents: Chapter One: What You Need to Know Before You Begin Interviews
National Association of Social Workers (2017)
Explores evidence-informed practices on how to assess the appropriateness of an individual or couple to become foster parents, including building a safe home study and standards of care for foster parents. The chapter also includes a home study interview model and detailed instruction on conducting the interview.
Identifying the Essential Competencies for Resource Parents to Promote Permanency and Well-Being of Adolescents in Care
View abstract and Document
Patterson, Day, Vanderwill, Willis, Resko, Henneman, & Cohick (2018)
Children and Youth Services Review, (88)
Identifies and explains core competencies that are essential for resource parents to prosper. It also prioritizes the competencies to be included in training.
Key Factors and Characteristics of Successful Resource Parents Who Care for Older Youth: A Systematic Review of Research
Day, Willis, Vanderwill, Resko,Patterson, Henneman, et al. (2018)
Children and Youth Services Review, (84)
View Abstract and Document
Identifies characteristics, skills, and abilities of resource families that promote permanency and stability.
Kinship Care: Model of Practice (PDF - 41 KB)
Child Welfare League of America
Provides best practice guidelines for child welfare professionals working with kinship families.
Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education: About the PRIDE Model (PDF - 92 KB)
PRIDE Digital Curriculum (2012)
Examines the PRIDE model for the development and support of resource families, which provides a standardized framework for recruiting, assessing, preparing, and selecting foster and adoptive parents. The model uses family assessment and group training to provide an accurate assessment decision that reduces the likelihood of placement disruptions.
Structured Analysis Family Evaluation (SAFE)
Consortium for Children (2011)
Provides information on the SAFE home study assessment process, which allows child welfare agencies to evaluate prospective families for foster and adoptive placement using a uniformed guide. The site provides an overview of and information on implementation and uniformity as well as user comments and news about the assessment.