Family Assessment Training
PRIDE Mutual Family Assessment
In the PRIDE Program, family assessment is done "with" (not "to," "for," or "on") prospective resource families. The process involves identifying strengths and needs pertaining to the family's past and current functioning in relation to the five competency categories. This leads to an informed decision about the family's willingness and ability to participate as part of the professional child welfare services team.
The mutual assessment process leads to the following informed decisions:
- The family has the ability, willingness, and supports to foster or to adopt, and the agency is willing and able to work with them. The family is invited to select into the program.
- The family does not have the ability, willingness, and/or supports to foster or to adopt and selects out of the program.
- The family decides they do not have the ability, willingness, and/or supports to foster or to adopt, and, although the agency may disagree, the family selects out of the program.
- The family decides that they do have the ability, willingness, and would like to foster or to adopt but the agency disagrees. In this case, the family is not invited to select into the program and is counseled out.
The philosophy of PRIDE is that the process is mutual. However, the final decision to select in, select out, or counsel out may not be mutual. The family always has the right to decline the invitation based on its own self-assessed strengths and needs. The agency has the right to extend (or not) the invitation, based on its legal mandate to protect and nurture children, and strengthen families.
Mutual Family Assessment Training
This training program is designed to assist child welfare licensing workers with the implementation of the PRIDE Model's mutual assessment process. Participants learn how to use the PRIDE assessment tools to mutually assess a family's ability and willingness to fulfill the five PRIDE competency categories. The subject matter of the assessment is designed to coincide with the content of the nine PRIDE Pre-service training sessions.
The process involves identifying strengths and needs pertaining to the family's past and current functioning in relation to the five competency categories. This leads to an informed decision about the family's willingness and ability to participate as a part of the professional child welfare services team.
Training Contact
Jason Moug
UND CFSTC Training Coordinator
701.777.3443
jason.moug@UND.edu