The resources on this page focus on tools and instruments to measure and assess child, caregiver, and family well-being.
Assessing and Measuring Well-Being
Capacity Building Center for States (2015)
Provides an overview of well-being instruments by jurisdiction and includes an interactive discussion among session participants of their experiences with administering those instruments and using additional sources of well-being data. A free login is required to access this information.
Assessing Well-Being in Child Welfare (PDF - 170 KB)
Institute for Child and Family Well-Being (2016)
Provides an overview of the importance of assessing child 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 Well-Being: Constructs to Measure Child Well-Being and Risk and Protective Factors That Affect the Development of Young Children (PDF - 987 KB)
ChildTrends (2017)
Explains the domains of child well-being; support services to promote well-being; community, environment, and family promotive and protective factors; and measures to evaluate and build upon strengths. The study concludes with implications for the field and measurement challenges that require further research.
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 <http://www.cebc4cw.org/cebc-webinars/cebc-sponsored-webinars/screening-assessment-in-cw-cebc/> on how utilizing these tools can help child welfare workers better identify and address the needs of youth.
Measuring Child Welfare Outcomes: A Compendium of Standardized Instruments (PDF - 870 KB)
James Bell Associates (2015)
Outlines common child, caregiver, family, and organization-level instruments that have been used to measure changes in child welfare-related outcomes. The document serves as a resource for evaluators and presents instruments organized by categories and set up into a table of information.
Well-Being Dashboard
Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
Explains a tool for measuring, assessing, and tracking child and family well-being at the individual and systems level.
Well-Being Indicator Tool for Youth (WIT-Y)
Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare
Presents a tool to gauge well-being for youth and young adults ages 15–21 with child welfare involvement. The tool includes an online assessment, a visual representation of an individual’s well-being indicators after the assessment, and a planning document for youth to use to improve in specific areas.
Well-Being Outcome Measures and Instruments
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Children's Bureau (2017)
Offers a list of screening and assessment instruments compiled by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation to measure child and adolescent well-being and trauma.