A Review of Scales to Assess Family Needs

Public Law 99-457 requires an Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) rather than an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for families with children (birth to 2 years) who have developmental delays or who are at-risk for developmental delays. The importance of a family focus, however, extends beyond the infant and toddler population into the preschool and school-age population as well. One of the components that is specified as part of IFSP development is the assessment of family needs and priorities. This article presents a review and evaluation of published and unpublished assessment instruments that are currently available for assessing family needs. Fifteen scales that have been mentioned in the literature as possible instruments to use in assessing family needs were reviewed in terms of administration format, content validity, and psychometric characteristics.