Family Resource Center and respite programs ... annual report pursuant to session G.S. 143B-152.15

              FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER GRANT PROGRAM
FEDERALLY FUNDED FAMILY SUPPORT PROGRAM
2000 ANNUAL REPORT
Pursuant to Session G. S. 143B-152.15
December 21, 2000
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
Map of Family Support Programs in North Carolina (separate file on web)
Introduction 4
Statement of Purpose for Family Support Programs 5
Evaluation Criteria for Family Support Programs 6
Goals and Outcomes for Family Support Services 7
Definition of Family Support Programs/Family Resource Centers 8
Premises and Principles of Family Support 9
Core Services of Family Support Programs 10
Training Initiatives/Program Refinements 12
Measuring Outcomes of Family Support Services 13
North Carolina’s Family Support Database 15
Presentation of Findings 16
Demographic Information on Program Participants 17
Types of Family Support Services Provided 19
North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale Results 20
Conclusion 23
Appendix A Types of Service Offered by Individual Programs 25
Appendix B FY 1999-2000 Allocations to FS/FRC Programs 49
Appendix C North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale 51
Appendix D NC Family Support Outcome Scale User’s Guide 53
Appendix E Explanation of Family Support Database Data Loss 58
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Executive Summary
Family Support Services and Family Resource Centers in North Carolina have
continued to demonstrate their ability to help strengthen families. During State Fiscal
Year 1999-2000, forty-six counties received funding from Department of Health and
Human Services/Division of Social Services (DHHS/DSS) to provide Family Support/
Family Resource Center (FS/FRC) programs to county residents. Approximately 8,700
participants were served through these FS/FRC programs. The three primary goals for
Family Support Programs in North Carolina are:
·  Families will establish safe and supportive environments for their children.
·  Programs will support the healthy development of their children.
·  Programs will establish and maintain family involvement in program planning.
Data collected through the North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale
(NCFSOS) shows that programs are meeting the goals outlined in the legislation that
allocated funds for Family Support activities. The results are particularly noteworthy in
the following areas:
·  Results of the NCFSOS indicate that the types of services that are most heavily
emphasized by FS/FRC programs show the most positive results.
·  Child Development and Academic Success Programs make up almost half of the
services provided at FS/FRC programs. Participants in these two service areas
exhibit increases in strengths on all items in the Child Functioning Domain.
·  FS/FRC programs also emphasized services to increase the skills of parents. These
types of services comprised 25% of all service provision.
·  In the Parent Functioning Domain of the NCFSOS, which would reflect the
strengthening of parent functioning, almost 75% of parents exhibited an increase in
strengths while involved in FS/FRC programs.
·  Two challenges for families highlighted by the NCFSOS data are economic self-sufficiency
and developing connections to other family-oriented assistance. Local
DSS offices offer many resources, and FS/FRCs may need to make a renewed effort
to create links with DSS and other agencies to improve access to these resources.
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Introduction
This 1999-2000 Annual Report details the activities of the Federally funded
Family Support Programs, the State funded Family Resource Center Grant programs, and
the Federally funded Community Based Family Resource and Support programs. These
programs will be collectively referred to as Family Support/Family Resource Center
(FS/FRC) programs. This is the second consecutive year that the end of year evaluations
for these programs have been merged into a single report. All of the programs included
in this report record their activities through the Family Support Management Information
System, an online database. Each Family Support/Family Resource Center program in
North Carolina is responsible for tracking all program activities by updating the database
on a continuing basis.
During State Fiscal Year (SFY) 1999-2000, forty-six counties received funding
from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social
Services (DSS) to provide FS/FRC services to county residents. These FS/FRC services
were provided through sixty Family Resource Centers and twelve Family Support
programs (Appendix B).
Because FS/FRC programs in North Carolina receive funding from different
sources, it was important to establish overarching goals for FS/FRC programs that met
the requirements of each funding source. In order to do this effectively, the goals and
related outcomes for the programs were derived from the original legislation allocating
resources for FS/FRC services. The following tables provide a comparison of the
legislative intent of each allocation source, as well as the evaluation requirements for
each program:
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Statement of Purpose for the funding of Family Support Programs
Family Resource Center
Grants Program (State)
Title IV B, Subpart 2 of the
Social Security Act (Federal)
Community Based Family
Resource & Support Grants
(Federal)
(a) “The purpose of the program is to
provide grants to establish family
resource centers that provide
services to children from birth
through elementary school age
and to their families that:
1. Enhance the children’s
development and ability to
attain academic and social
success;
2. Ensure a successful
Transition from early
childhood education
programs and child-care to
the public schools.
3. Assist families in achieving
economic independence
and self-sufficiency; and
4. Mobilize public and private
community resources to
help children and families
in need”.
(b) “to encourage and support
broad-based collaboration
among public and private
agencies and among people
who reflect the racial and
socioeconomic diversity in
communities…”
(c) “this program shall be targeted
to those neighborhoods that
have disproportionately high
levels of (i) children who
would be less likely to attain
educational or social success,
(ii) families with low incomes,
and (iii) crime and juvenile
delinquency.”
Four goals are identified:
1) The safety of all family members
must be assured.
2) These programs should serve to
enhance parents’ ability to create
safe, stable, and nurturing home
environments that promote
healthy child development.
3) To assist children and families to
resolve crises, connect with
necessary and appropriate
services, and remain safely
together in their homes
whenever possible.
4) To avoid the unnecessary out-of
–home placements of children,
and help children already in out-of-
home care to be returned to,
and be maintained with, their
families or in another planned,
permanent family.
The child and family services plan
must develop a planning process that
includes:
1) Broad involvement and
consultation with a wide range
of appropriate public, private,
and community-based
organizations, parents who have
experience with the child
welfare system, and others;
2) Coordination of the provision of
services under the plan with
other federally assisted programs
serving children and families;
and
3) Collection of information to help
determine vulnerable or at-risk
populations or target areas.
Local Program Requirements:
1) Assess community assets and
needs through a planning process
that involves parents and local
public agencies, local nonprofit
organizations, and private sector
representatives.
2) Develop a strategy to provide,
over time, a continuum of
preventative, family-centered
services to children and families,
especially to young parents and
parents with young children,
through public-private
partnerships.
3) Provide-a)
Core family resource and
support services;
b) Other core services, which must
be provided to the extent
practicable;
c) Access to optional services;
4) Other core services, which must
be provided to the extent
practicable;
5) Develop leadership roles for the
meaningful involvement of
parents in the development,
operation, evaluation, and
oversight of the programs and
services;
6) Provide leadership in mobilizing
local public and private resources
to support the provision of needed
family resource and support
program services; and
7) Participate with other community-based,
prevention-focused, family
resource and support programs in
the development, operation and
expansion of the Statewide
network.
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Evaluation Requirements for Family Support/Family Resource Center Programs
Family Resource Center
Grants Program (State)
Title IV B, Subpart 2 of the
Social Security Act (Federal)
Community Based Family
Resource & Support Grants
(Federal)
(a) The Department of Health and
Human Services shall develop and
implement an evaluation system
that will assess the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Family
Resource Center Grant Program.
The Department shall design this
system to:
1. Provide information to the
Department and to the
General Assembly on how to
improve and refine the
programs;
2. Enable the Department and
the General Assembly to
assess the overall quality,
efficency, and impact of the
existing programs;
3. Enable the Department and
the General Assembly to
determine whether to modify
the Family Resource Center
Grant Program; and
4. Provide a detailed fiscal
analysis of how State funds
for these programs were used.
(b) The Department shall present an
annual report on the
implementation of the program
and the results of the program
evaluation.
(c) Agencies that receive a grant shall
demonstrate the extent to which
the local family resource center
has met the local needs, goals, and
anticipated outcomes as set forth
in the grant application.
Each state must prepare and make
available to the public, an Annual
Progress and Services Report which
must include the following:
1. A report on the specific
accomplishments and progress
made in the past fiscal year
toward meeting each goal and
objective, including improved
outcomes for children and
families, and a more
comprehensive, coordinated,
effective child and family
services continuum;
2. Any revision in the statement
of goals and objectives, if
necessary, to reflect changed
circumstances;
3. A description of the family
support services to be provided
in the upcoming fiscal year;
and
4. Information on activities in the
areas of training, technical
assistance, research,
evaluation, or management
information systems that will
be carried out in support of the
goals and objectives in the
plan.
A. Grantees shall submit annual
performance reports, which will
contain information of the
following:
1. Demonstration of the effective
development, operation and
expansion of a Statewide
network of community-based,
prevention-focused, family
resource and support programs;
2. An inventory and description of
the services provided to families
by local programs;
3. Demonstration of the expansion
of existing services to address
unmet needs;
4. Description of the number of
families served, and the
involvement of a diverse
representation of families in the
design, operation, and evaluation
of the family resource and
support programs;
5. Demonstration of a high-level of
satisfaction among families who
have used the family resource
and support programs;
6. Demonstration of the
establishment or maintenance of
innovative funding mechanisms
that blend Federal, State, local,
and private funds for the
enhancement of community-based,
prevention-focused,
family resource and support
programs.
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Goals and Outcomes for Family Support Services
In order to address the goals of the various FS/FRC funding sources and to
develop and maintain an integrated Family Support/Family Resource Center Network,
State level program administrators developed a set of unifying goals and related
outcomes:
GOAL 1: Families will establish safe and supportive environments for their children
Related Outcome: 80% of all ratings on the North Carolina Family Support Outcome
Scale will demonstrate an increase in strengths for program
participants in at least one of the following areas:
·  Overall Child Functioning
·  Overall Parent Functioning
·  Overall Family Functioning
·  Overall Community Functioning
·  Overall Individual Functioning
GOAL 2: Programs will support the healthy development of their children
Related Outcome: 100% of the Family Support programs will provide an ongoing
parent education program using a state or nationally recognized
model that focuses on one or more of the following areas:
·  Child/Youth Development Needs
·  Appropriate discipline skills/strategies
·  Parent-child communications
·  Parent-child relationships
·  Parental behavior as role models for children
·  Budgeting/money management
·  Stress Management
·  Time Management
·  Leadership Skills
GOAL 3. Programs will establish and maintain family involvement in program planning
Related Outcome: 100% of the Family Support programs will have a governing body
that meets two (2) standards:
·  A minimum of four to six (4-6) meetings a year.
·  A minimum of four (4) consumer/family
representatives on the board, of whom two will be in
attendance at each meeting.
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Definition of Family Support Programs and Family Resource Centers
Family Support:
Family support is best defined as a conceptual approach to strengthening and
empowering families and communities so they can foster the most favorable development
of all family members. Rather than following a particular intervention design, family
support programs attempt to address the specific needs of the community in which they
operate. This flexibility encourages grass-roots program development and collaboration
with families and other local interests in the program planning process.
Because of the grassroots, community-based orientation of family support
programs, there are significant variances between different programs. Many family
support programs are far-reaching and make available an array of social, educational, and
recreational activities. Other family support programs are designed to provide a single
service such as after-school tutoring. Some examples of intervention components for
family support services in North Carolina include adult education, tutoring, employment
training, school-based/linked programs, respite care, health screenings, support groups,
parent education/training, and family recreation. Appendix A gives a complete listing of
activities offered through each family support program in the state.
Family Resource Centers
The family support service model most commonly used is the Family Resource
Center. Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are a centralized source for family services and
are located within the communities they serve. These centers provide services to children
from birth through elementary school age and to their families. Having a centralized
service location allows Family Resource Centers to provide ongoing services, such as
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child health and dental check-ups, recreational activities, and a wide variety of social and
educational programs. Family Resource Centers also serve as a base of operation for
outreach and in-home services. As with other family support models, FRCs operate
prevention-focused programs that seek to help families and children develop in healthy
ways, prevent dysfunction, and help families develop support networks in their own
community.
Premises and Principles of Family Support Practice
In 1996, Family Support America published Guidelines for Family Support
Practice, which describes the premises of family support and the principles of family
support practice. FS/FRC programs in North Carolina have closely followed these
guidelines for family support practice, as these guidelines meet legislative intent (as seen
on page 5) and establish a firm conceptualization of effective family support services.
Premises of Family Support
1. Primary responsibility for the development and well-being of children lies
within the family, and all segments of society must support families as they
rear their children.
2. Assuring the well-being of all families is the cornerstone of a healthy society,
and requires universal access to support programs and services.
3. Children and families exist as part of an ecological system.
4. Child-rearing patterns are influenced by parents’ understandings of child
development and of their children’s unique characteristics, personal sense of
competence, and cultural and community traditions and mores.
5. Enabling families to build on their own strengths and capacities promotes the
healthy development of children.
6. The developmental processes that make up parenthood and family life create
needs that are unique at each stage in the life span.
7. Families are empowered when they have access to information and other
resources and take action to improve the well-being of children, families, and
communities.
(From: Guidelines for Family Support Practice (1996) (Chicago:Family Support America)
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Principles of Family Support Practice
1. Staff and families work together in relationships based on equality and
respect.
2. Staff enhance families’ capacity to support the growth and development of all
family members-adults, youth, and children.
3. Families are resources to their own members, to other families, to programs,
and to communities.
4. Programs affirm and strengthen families’ cultural, racial, and linguistic
identities and enhance their ability to function in a multicultural society.
5. Programs are embedded in their communities and contribute to the
community-building process.
6. Programs advocate with families for services and systems that are fair,
responsive, and accountable to the families served.
7. Practitioners work with families to mobilize formal and informal resources to
support family development.
8. Programs are flexible and continually responsive to emerging family and
community issues.
9. Principles of family support are modeled in all program activities, including
planning, governance, and administration.
(From: Guidelines for Family Support Practice (1996) (Chicago:Family Support America)
Core Services of Family Support Programs
FS/FRC Core services are programs and services which address state and federal
legislative mandates. These core services are offered based upon the needs and resources
assessment conducted in the target community. Unlike one-time workshops or forums,
core services are offered on a regular basis and form the cornerstone of family support
programs in North Carolina.
The Division of Social Services, Children’s Services Section, Resource
Development Team has identified the following ten core services offered by State Funded
FS/FRC programs: Academic Success/Tutoring; Adult Literacy/Adult Education; Child
and Youth Development; Community Building; Health Services/Health Education;
Family Services Coordination; Career Development; Parent Education; Parent/Child
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Participation Programs; and Transportation/Child Care Support Services. A description
of each core service follows:
Academic Success Programs/Tutoring
This service encompasses all programs whose primary purpose is to foster the
academic achievement of children and youth. Examples include after-school and
summer education programs, lending libraries, and out-of-school suspension
programs.
Adult Literacy/Adult Education
Included in this service are one-on-one and group literacy classes for adults. The
philosophy behind these classes is that adult literacy enhancement will provide
important education for parents, modeling for children and will increase resources
available for family development.
Child and Youth Development
The emphasis of these programs is the social and psychological development of
children and youth, in addition to educational enrichment. Examples include
guided play programs; mentoring programs; recreation programs and camps;
programs aimed at increasing self-esteem; and substance abuse awareness
programs.
Community Building
These services are intended to help strengthen the communities in which families
live. Examples include community policing program, efforts to clean up
neighborhoods and repair homes, mediation services, and collaboration with
housing and economic development agencies.
Health Services/Health Education
These services are designed to promote the physical and mental health and well
being of community residents. Examples include immunizations, WIC
distribution, health education programs, and basic health screenings.
Family Services Coordination
These services respond to specific family issues as identified by the family
members themselves. Comprehensive case management, including goal setting,
counseling, problem solving, material assistance, and referral to other resources is
provided.
Career Development
The purpose of these services is to provide adults with the job skills and resources
needed to obtain employment and become economically self-sufficient. Services
include job readiness programs, job placement counseling, computer skills
programs or other skill development programs, and resume writing classes.
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Parent Education/Parent Support Groups
These services are intended to empower parents to increase their effectiveness in
nurturing positive growth in their children. Included in this group of services are
formal parent skills training, support groups (i.e. teen parent or single parent
support groups), and education regarding effective discipline of children.
Parent/Child Participation Programs
These services are designed to enhance relationships between parents and their
children, with the goal of enhancing the development of both parent and child.
Examples include parent/child literacy programs and local Family Nights.
Transportation/Child Care Support Services
These services are offered on an on-going basis to parents and children who are
participating in FRC programs, activities and meetings. Transportation is also
provided to families in order to support career or educational development and/or
to access needed health care.
Training Initiatives/Program Refinements
Recently, North Carolina was named as one of the new participants in the Family
Support America/STATES Initiative (State Technical Assistance and Training for
Effective Systems). As part of this initiative, the Resource Development Team will take
the responsibility of supporting and training individuals, groups, and agencies in the use
of family support principles and practices to strengthen communities and families. To
meet this responsibility, a new Training Consultant was hired in August, 2000 to develop
a competency-based training program that will be integrated with other Children’s
Services training. For the current year (FY 2001), Bringing It All Back Home (BIABH)
will provide regional training programs that will serve as program specific supplements
to the Family Based Services curriculum. In an effort to better supply technical
assistance to individual FS/FRC programs, the Resource Development Team has
developed a regional system of consultation, allowing for more frequent communication
between DSS program consultants and individual service providers.
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Measuring Outcomes of Family Support/Family Resource Centers
There has been an increasing emphasis on developing outcome measures that
enable agencies to answer the question of whether the services being offered are both
successful in accomplishing their goals and cost-effective. Family Support programs
have been able to provide persuasive arguments about why their services are needed, but
until recently have had a difficult time providing objective, quantitative evidence
regarding the efficacy of their programs. In order to address the lack of adequate
outcome measures for family support programs, the Division of Social Services and the
Division of Child Development worked with consultants to develop the North Carolina
Family Support Outcomes Scale (NCFSOS).
As mentioned previously, there is a wide array of Family Support programs
across the state and, therefore, a wide array of different outcomes that these programs are
interested in measuring. In developing the NCFSOS, we tried to address as many of the
programs' stated outcome goals as possible. All of these outcomes are tied to the goals
and outcomes stated in the legislation allocating funds for FS/FRC programs. Family
Support literature helped us in summarizing the individual items on the NCFSOS into
five domains:
·  Overall Child Functioning
·  Overall Parent Functioning
·  Overall Individual Functioning
·  Overall Family Functioning
·  Overall Community Functioning
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The NCFSOS is included in North Carolina's statewide Family Support
Management Information System (MIS); an information system designed to track
program data from all FS/FRC programs across the state. Since the NCFSOS was
designed as the program outcomes part of the MIS, it is a global measure. Each item
addresses a very complex issue in a single global phrase. For instance, the item titled
"Parenting skills, knowledge, and attitudes" (item B-I) addresses a range of possible
outcome goals stated by parent education programs across the state: increasing positive
child discipline techniques, increasing parents' knowledge of appropriate developmental
behavior, improving parents' attitudes towards child-rearing and their children, and so on.
All of these outcome goals, each of which can be broken down into several factors or
issues, have been integrated into the global phrase "Parenting skills, knowledge, and
attitudes." While this measure lacks some precision, it does provide funding agencies
and individual programs with useful knowledge of the progress being made toward the
achievement of broad program goals. A copy of the NCFSOS and the user’s guide are
included in Appendix C and D, respectively.
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North Carolina’s Family Support Database
The Division of Social Services, in conjunction with The Human Services Smart
Agency of the University of North Carolina School of Social Work, Chapel Hill,
developed an Internet based data management system for the purpose of monitoring
individual and statewide family support program performance. This data management
system allows the Division to track the information required by the agencies funding the
FS/FRC programs. The Family Support Database records the type of services offered,
the demographic information of individuals and families receiving services, and the
outcomes of services as measured by the North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale.
Also included on the Family Support Database web page is an area that allows the
Division to update programs on important administration issues related to FS/FRC
programs. The Family Support data management system allows programs to retrieve
statistics for individual program components and for overall program summary reports.
These statistics can be used to aid programs in obtaining additional funding and in future
program planning. In the fall of 2000, the responsibility of maintenance and further
development of the database was transferred to Appalachian State University (ASU).
The Division will continue to work with programs and ASU to refine the Family Support
Database, in order to optimize the ability to monitor and improve program performance.
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Presentation of Findings
As stated above, data for all FS/FRC activities are recorded in the Family Support
Database through the Internet. On March 1st of 2000, all data that had been previously
entered into the database was lost. An explanation of this data loss can be found in
Appendix E. In order to recover the lost data, the Resource Development Team worked
with the FS/FRC programs to re-enter as much data as possible. The end result was that
much of the lost data was recovered. There was, however, a small, but significant,
amount of unrecoverable data from the first 3 quarters of the year, as some programs used
the database as their sole record-keeping source. All program activities that occurred
after April 1, 2000 are fully represented in the database. In order to adequately account
for lost data, all findings regarding the effectiveness of FS/FRC programs will be
presented on a statewide level. The impact of the lost data is small when viewing all
programs as a whole, but could be quite significant on the individual program level.
The demographic information available outlines the characteristics of the families
who participated in FS/FRC activities. Programs served family members of all ages, with
slightly less than half (49%) of all family members served 18 years of age or younger.
Eighteen percent of the individual family members served were 40 years or older. This
wide variance in age of participants indicates that FS/FRC centers are working on the
principle that the entire family needs to be involved in the change process, rather than just
the child. Approximately two-thirds of the family members served were women, which
appears to suggest that females are still taking on much of the child-rearing
responsibilities for families. Ethnicity information reveals an over-representation of
African American families (55%, compared to 22% in the general population of NC)
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among participants in FS/FRC programs. This is appropriate, as African Americans
have been shown to be at greater risk of school failure, poverty, and juvenile
delinquency, and agencies funding FS/FRC programs have specifically stated the need to
help vulnerable or at-risk populations. The following graphs provide demographic
information in greater detail.
ETNICITY OF FS/FRC CLIENTS
(FISCAL YEAR 2000)
AFRICAN
AMERICAN
56%
OTHER
EURO 2%
AMERICAN
33%
HISPANIC
5%
NATIVE
AMERICAN
4%
AGE OF FS/FRC PARTICIPANTS, IN YEARS (FISCAL YEAR 2000)
0_5
12%
6_12
23%
13_18
13%
19_29
22%
30_39
13%
40_49
11%
50_59
3%
60+
3%
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In order to meet the most vulnerable populations, FS/FRC programs often must help
families meet basic needs. It is only after these basic needs are met that families are then
able to address other core issues related to the development of their children and
themselves. Examples of basic needs are transportation and meals. Existing records
indicate that FS/FRC programs provided more concrete assistance in FY 2000 compared
to FY1999. In 2000, FS/FRC programs provided transportation to 13,893 program
participants, compared to 10,994 participants in 1999 (an increase of 25 percent). It is
worth noting that this increase may, in fact, have been greater if we had a complete data
record of FS/FRC services. In addition, Family Resource Centers provided 38,732 meals
to program participants in 2000. Child-Care is another basic need that has to be
addressed by families in order to take advantage of other services offered by Family
Support/Family Resource Centers. FS/FRC programs provided thousands of days of
child-care in order to assist families in accessing needed services.
Analyzing the type of programs offered at Family Support/Family Resource
Centers across the state, it is evident that the primary emphasis is on the social and
cognitive development of children and youth. Almost one-half of the services offered
(47.6%) were either academic success/tutoring programs or services focused on child
development. Service components directed toward increasing the ability of parents to
provide a better home environment for their families (Family Support, Career
Development, and Self-sufficiency), made up one-fourth (24.9%) of the services offered.
The remaining one-fourth of the services offered covered a wide range of other family
activities. A complete presentation of service types is shown on the following page.
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FS/FRC SERVICE TYPES PROVIDED (% OF TOTAL, FISCAL YEAR 2000)
23.8 23.8
15.7
8.8
5.8 5.7 5.3
4.1
2.6
1.3 1.0 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
Academic Success Programs/Tutoring
Child Development
Adult Education
Family Support
Career Development
Leadership Development
Parent/Child Participation
Other Services
Family Education/Skill Training
Health Education
Information & Referral
Client Advocacy
Individual or Family Counseling
Self-Sufficiency
Family Reunification
Respite Care
Adoption Promotion and Support
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North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale Results
The results of the North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale show that the
FS/FRC programs continue to make a significant difference in the lives of the families
they serve. There were 41,161 scale items completed both prior to receipt of services and
after services were completed (one client may be rated on multiple indicators), and
almost two-thirds of these indicators showed that positive growth occurred during the
service period. While each of the five domains being measured showed significant
growth, looking at the ratings within individual domains provides useful information
regarding the strengths and weakness of the FS/FRC programs across the state.
The first domain is Overall Child Functioning. There were 10,261 pre- and post-ratings
in this domain, or 80 percent of the number of ratings in 1999. When compared
to the 1999 data, the 2000 data shows an increase in positive ratings (1 or more points of
growth on a 10 point scale) and a decrease in the most unfavorable ratings (a loss of
strength). The greatest gain was in the scale item “Child’s Developmental Status”, where
there was a 5.8 percent increase in the number of ratings that showed a
2-point or greater increase in growth.
Decrease No Change 1 pt. Increase 2 pt. Increase 3+ pt. Increase
Overall Child Functioning 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999
Child's developmental status 1.36 1.60 29.35 32.60 30.63 32.70 19.61 17.40 19.04 15.40
Child's physical health 1.44 3.10 39.25 41.50 30.4 27.80 16.12 14.20 12.79 13.10
Child's mental health 1.42 2.40 36.6 37.70 31.78 30.40 18.46 16.00 11.75 13.30
Child's behavior 1.58 2.40 31.59 31.10 28.66 30.90 20.22 18.90 17.95 16.50
Child's school performance 1.63 2.20 28.98 25.30 28.98 33.50 22.47 19.10 19.95 19.60
Movement toward self-sufficiency 1.01 1.80 24.7 24.00 36.64 31.70 21.46 20.50 16.19 21.70
20
The next domain, Overall Parent Functioning, also showed a significant increase
in the proportion of ratings of positive growth. The Family Support Database contained
three-fourths as many ratings this year as it did in 1999 (5,865 in 2000 versus 8,039 in
1999). On four of the six items in this domain, there was a 10 point or greater shift from
a rating of ‘No Change’ to a rating of positive growth. The item showing the largest shift
toward more positive ratings was “Parent’s Educational Attainment”.
Decrease No Change 1 pt. Increase 2 pt. Increase 3+ pt. Increase
Overall Parent Functioning 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999
Parenting skills/knowledge/attitudes 1.15 1.60 22.53 33.30 35.03 30.20 20.31 18.90 20.97 15.80
Parent's sense of support 1.47 1.60 23.11 35.80 33.33 26.90 19.8 18.00 22.28 17.50
Parent's physical/mental health 2 2.50 30.78 39.14 33.3 28.36 16.91 13.98 17.02 15.94
Parent's educational attainment 2.37 2.40 31.68 44.60 32.54 23.40 14.76 13.60 18.64 15.80
Parent's leadership skills 1.52 2.00 29.55 37.10 32.9 26.80 18.07 17.00 17.97 17.00
Participation in community activities 1.05 2.00 25.16 30.10 35.05 29.40 16.86 17.10 21.87 21.20
The Overall Family Functioning Domain items present greater variance in
outcomes than the items in previous domains. Again, we were able to retrieve
approximately three-quarters of the number ratings as we did the previous year (7,456 in
2000 compared to 10,329 in 1999). There was a large increase (11.27%) in the number
of ratings indicating a 3 point or greater positive increase in “Parent-Child Interactions”.
The other items related to family dynamics showed a shift from large positive increase to
moderate (1 point) increase in strength. The ratings for the two items related to the
economic well being of families (“Family economic self-sufficiency” and “Ability to
meet basic economic needs”) indicated that there was a shift from a large increase in
strength to a more moderate increase or no change in strength.
Decrease No Change 1 pt. Increase 2 pt. Increase 3+ pt. Increase
Overall Family Functioning 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999
Parent-Child Interactions 1.64 1.20 28.66 34.30 24.96 30.00 15.58 16.40 29.17 17.90
Family communication 1.4 1.90 37.27 35.30 30.08 28.90 18.69 16.30 12.57 17.30
Family cohesiveness, support 1.43 1.90 38.26 35.90 29.8 26.10 18.59 17.40 11.92 18.60
Physical & emotional environments 1.69 1.30 35.95 33.10 32.57 27.50 16.89 18.70 12.91 19.10
21
Informal social support 1.71 1.80 39.02 38.10 29.02 23.80 16.59 17.60 13.66 18.50
Family economic self-sufficiency 1.71 1.90 42.48 38.00 23.71 24.90 21.14 15.80 10.95 19.30
Ability to meet economic needs 1.92 1.80 43.24 40.10 23.39 22.10 19.94 16.50 11.51 19.40
Ability to solve family disputes 1.92 2.90 39.51 35.20 30.18 23.20 17.14 17.40 11.25 21.00
The last domain, Overall Individual Functioning, is the only domain that received
more ratings (115%) in 2000 than in 1999 (12,757 in 2000 versus 11,115 in 1999). This
indicates that FS/FRC personnel are using this domain more often to rate the progress of
clients. As with the combined ratings for all of the domains of the NCFSOS,
approximate two-thirds of the FS/FRC program participants receiving a rating in the
Individual Functioning Domain demonstrated an increase in strengths during the course
of the program. There was a decrease in negative ratings in this domain, as evidenced by
the proportion of ratings showing a loss of strengths during the treatment period.
Decrease No Change 1 pt. Increase 2 pt. Increase 3+ pt. Increase
Overall Individual Functioning 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999
Skills, knowledge, & attitudes 0.8 1.40 38.05 29.40 25.11 28.90 21.68 18.80 14.35 21.30
Sense of support in parenting role 0.85 1.40 25.17 25.30 26.07 24.10 28.49 21.20 19.42 27.70
Individual's physical/mental health 1.35 2.00 39.14 36.10 22.99 26.80 21.68 16.00 14.83 18.80
Individual's educational attainment 1.54 1.80 38.4 33.90 20.7 23.60 24.11 18.90 15.24 21.60
Individual's leadership skills 1.07 1.40 33.97 27.40 23.38 26.60 28.94 18.90 12.64 25.50
Participation in comm. activities 0.98 1.60 30.08 27.20 24.68 24.40 28.3 18.30 15.96 28.40
Conclusion
The results of the North Carolina Family Support Outcome Scale show that the
individuals and families who participate in FS/FRC programs strengthen their functioning
during the period of time they are involved in FS/FRC programming. Additionally, the
types of services that are most heavily emphasized by FS/FRC programs show the most
positive results. Child Development and Academic Success Programs make up almost
half of the services provided at FS/FRC programs. It is in these services that there are
significant increases in strengths on all items in the Overall Child Functioning Domain.
22
Another area of emphasis for FS/FRC programs was to help increase the skills of parents
through Adult Education and Family Support. These two service components made up
an additional 25 percent of all services offered. On the Overall Parent Functioning
Domain, which would reflect the strengthening of parent functioning, almost 75% of
parents exhibited an increase in strengths while involved in FS/FRC programs. These
results are particularly impressive because FS/FRC centers work within a particular
community, meaning that there is a likelihood of many repeating participants from year
to year. Continuing to help families increase strengths after the initial ‘boost’ from
services is often quite challenging, but it appears that FS/FRC programs have been able
to help families stay on an upward growth trajectory.
There are concerns raised by the results of the NCFSOS. There is a decrease this
past year in the proportion of families displaying an ability to meet their basic economic
needs. This may suggest a need for additional resources aimed at meeting the concrete
needs of families. This may also suggest a need for continued efforts at collaboration
among community agencies, particularly with those programs in the community that are
focused on helping families with food, rent, and utility assistance. The ratings of
community functioning suggest the need for renewed focus on collaboration, centered on
creating a well-integrated, cooperative child welfare system that includes DSS, non-profits,
churches and other. The community functioning data may also reflect the
stabilization of resource awareness in local areas, as there have been many campaigns
aimed at increasing family awareness of resources in the past few years. Further study is
needed to make definitive conclusions regarding the cause of the lowered ratings for
community functioning.
23
In final summary, Family Support and Family Resource Center programs appear
to meet the goals mandated in the legislation that provided funding for these programs.
Family Support Programs and Family Resource Centers in North Carolina are, as a
whole, adhering to the Principles and Premises of Family Support Practice that make this
innovative service type an effective way to reach out to needy families in the state. Data
indicate that program participants are developing needed skills and strengths, and that
those families show positive growth during the time they are involved with FS/FRC
services.
APPENDIX B
Allocations to Family Support/Family Resource Centers/
Community Based Family Resource and Support Programs
State Funded Family Resource Center Grant Programs
County Contracting Agency Funding Amount
Alleghany Alleghany County Partnership for Children $ 77,500
Ashe Ashe County Partnership for Children $ 77,500
Brunswick Communities in Schools of Brunswick County $ 77,500
Carteret East Carolina Community Development $ 77,500
Cleveland Communities in Schools of Cleveland County $ 77,500
Davidson Fairgrove Elementary School $ 77,500
Gates Gates County Extension Service $ 77,500
Lenoir Young Women’s Outreach Center $ 77,500
McDowell McPals Endowment Fund $ 77,500
Moore Northern Moore Family Resource Center $ 77,500
Northhampton Choanoke Area Development Association $ 77,500
Orange Chapel Hill Training Outreach Project, Inc. $ 77,500
Richmond Richmond County Community Support $202,500
Vance Franklin-Vance-Warren Opportunities $202,500
Wayne Wayne Uplift Resource Association $202,500
TOTAL $1,537,500
Federal Funded Community Based Family Resource & Support – CBFRS
County Contracting Agency Funding Amount
Bertie Bertie County Board of Education $ 58,125
Brunswick Brunswick County Partnership for Children $ 77,500
Buncombe Family Services Center of Buncombe County, Inc. $ 58,125
Orange Chapel Hill Training Outreach Center $ 77,500
Wayne Wayne Uplift Resource Association, Inc. $ 26,625
TOTAL: $297,875
Federally Funded Family Support/Family Resource Centers
County Contracting Agency Funding Amount
Bertie Bertie County Board of Education $ 77,500
Bladen Bladen County Schools $ 77,500
Buncombe Children’s First of Buncombe County $ 77,500
*Caldwell Caldwell County Department of Social Services $ 18,750
*Cherokee Cherokee County Department of Social Services $ 77,500
*Clay Clay County Department of Social Services $ 77,500
*Cleveland The Cleveland Center $ 77,500
Columbus Columbus County Family CHAMPIONS $ 77,500
Cumberland Multicultural Community Development Services $ 77,500
Durham NC Cooperative Extension Services – Durham County $ 77,500
Edgecombe/Nash Down East Partnership for Children $155,000
*Forsyth Youth Opportunities, Inc. $ 77,500
Graham Graham County Schools $ 77,500
*Haywood Haywood County Department of Social Services $ 77,500
Hoke Methodist Home for Children $ 77,500
**Hyde Hyde County Schools $ 77,500
*Jackson Jackson County Department of Social Services $ 77,500
*Macon Macon County Department of Social Services $ 77,500
Martin Martin, Tyrrell, Washington District Health Department – (M) $ 77,500
McDowell Foothills Area Program $ 77,500
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services $ 77,500
New Hanover Bottom Neighborhood Association $ 77,500
Pitt Martin County Community Action $ 77,500
Robeson Robeson County Health Department $ 77,500
Rowan Paul L. Dunbar Family Resource Center $ 77,500
Sampson Methodist Home for Children $ 77,500
Swain Swain County Government $ 77,500
Transylvania The Family Center of Transylvania County $ 77,500
Tyrrell Martin, Tyrrell, Washington District Health Department – (T) $ 77,500
Warren Warren Family Institute $ 77,500
Wake Garner Road YMCA $ 77,500
Wayne Wayne Uplift Resource Association $ 35,000
Wayne W.A.G.E.S. $ 77,500
TOTAL 2,533,750
*These programs are not fully funded Family Support programs. A large portion of the funding is designated for Family
Preservation Services and Family Preservation outcomes for measured in the Family Preservation report.
**This agency did not provide services during SFY’ 1998-99.
APPENDIX C
Family Support Outcome Scale
Family Support – Outcome Scale Form
Type: Intake Intermediate Closure Client’s Name: ________________________________
Date: ____/____/____ Activity Name: ________________________________
Staff Member: _______________________________
This questionnaire addresses issues that may be important in supporting families. It is to be completed at least twice—once before
the intervention begins and once after it ends—by the same staff member. It is very important that the same staff member fill out
this assessment for the same family so the success of the intervention or service can be measured. Consider each item below in
terms of the family’s current situation. Rate each item on the 10-point continuum below, ranging from 0 (the item is “Not a
Strength” for the family or community) to 5 (Moderate Strength) to 10 (Clear Strength). N/A means Not Applicable for the family or
community. N/A can be the appropriate response for many items. To complete the Scale, circle the appropriate number to the right
of each item.
A. Overall Child Functioning Not a Strength Moderate Strength Clear Strength
1. Child’s developmental status (social, cognitive, etc.) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Child’s physical health 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Child’s mental health 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Child’s behavior 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Child’s school performance 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Teenager’s movement towards self-sufficiency 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B. Overall Parent Functioning Not a Strength Moderate Strength Clear Strength
1. Parenting skills, knowledge, and attitudes 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Parent’s sense of support 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Parent’s physical/mental health 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Parent’s educational attainment 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Parent’s leadership skills 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Participation in community groups and activities 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C. Overall Family Functioning Not a Strength Moderate Strength Clear Strength
1. Parent-child interactions, parent-child relationship 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Family communication 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Family cohesiveness, mutual support 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Physical, learning, emotional environments in home 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Informal social support (from friends, extended family) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Family economic self-sufficiency 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Ability to meet basic economic needs 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. Ability to solve family disputes without violence 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
D. Overall Community Functioning Not a Strength Moderate Strength Clear Strength
1. Accessibility of human services in the community 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Family’s knowledge of available human services 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Linkages between families and human services 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Relations between families and human services staff 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Support for Family Support program volunteers 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Family’s participation in FS program governance 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Number of community leaders in area 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. Number of organized communities in the area 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. Cultural and recreational opportunities in the area 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10. Cooperation, trust “we feeling” in the community 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
E. Overall Individual Functioning Not a Strength Moderate Strength Clear Strength
1. Individual’s skills, knowledge, and attitudes 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Individual’s sense of support 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. Individual’s physical/mental health 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Individual’s educational attainment 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. Individual’s leadership skills 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Participation in community groups and activities 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
APPENDIX D
North Carolina Family Support Outcomes Scale (NCFSOS):
A User's Guide
Introduction
The North Carolina Family Support Outcomes Scale (NCFSOS) is an assessment tool for Family Support
programs begun under the federal government's Family Preservation/ Family Support initiative of 1993. It
is the product of the Family Preservation/Family Support Evaluation Team. Although there is a wide array
of Family Support programs across the state, and therefore a wide array of different outcomes that these
programs are interested in measuring, we tried to address as many of the programs' stated outcome goals as
possible in the NCFSOS. All of these outcomes should be tied to the state goals and outcomes. Family
Support literature helped us in summarizing the individual items on the NCFSOS into five domains.
The NCFSOS will be included as part of North Carolina's statewide Family Support Management
Information System (MIS), an information system designed to track program data from all FS programs
from across the state. Since the NCFSOS was designed as the program outcomes part of the MIS, it is a
global measure. Each item addresses a very complex issue in a single global phrase. For instance, item B. I
("Parenting skills, knowledge, and attitudes") addresses a range of possible outcome goals stated by parent
education programs across the state: increasing positive child discipline techniques, increasing parents'
knowledge of appropriate developmental behavior, improving parents' attitudes towards child-rearing and
their children, and so on. All of these outcome goals, each of which can be broken down into several factors
or issues, have been integrated into the global, general phrase "Parenting skills, knowledge, and attitudes."
This global approach, which is necessary to keep the MIS as brief as possible, necessarily results in a lack of
precision or rigor within each individual item. This lack of precision is the trade-off for making the MIS
brief and manageable for both workers and state evaluators.
The purposes of the NCFSOS are as follows:
·  to provide before-and-after information about the families that receive family support
services through the FP / FS initiative;
·  to enhance the programs' outcome goals by specifying changes or progress in child,
parent, family, and community functioning;
·  to present a framework for addressing the strengths of each family for services
planning and intervention;
·  to provide a tool for family support workers and families to sit down and discuss the
similarities and differences in their ratings on the domains in the measure; and
·  to provide a uniform data base to complement the family tracking information system
that will be created as part of the FS evaluation.
The NC Family Support Outcomes Scale is organized around five broad domains intended to cover the
range of Family Support interventions. These domains are adopted from the literature on Family Support
interventions (especially Weiss & Jacobs, 1988). The five domains are as follows:
Ø Overall Child Functioning
Ø Overall Parent Functioning
Ø Overall Family Functioning
Ø Overall Community Functioning
Ø Overall Individual Functioning
Instructions for completing the NCFSOS:
1. The NCFSOS is to be filled out by the Family Support Worker for families participating in Family
Support interventions.
2. The NCFSOS is to be completed at least twice, once before the intervention has begun (or soon after it
has begun), and once after it has ended (or soon before it ends).
3. The same two people--the same Family Support Worker and the same family member--should complete
the NCFSOS both before and after the intervention.
4. To complete the four versions of the NCFSOS, workers and family members will detach the appropriate
version from the NCFSOS packet and complete it as indicated. For most interventions, "N/A" will be a
frequently circled response. The NCFSOS is designed to be extremely broad -- to cover as much as
possible of what Family Support Programs in North Carolina are actually doing in their programs, and to
cover as many of the programs' stated outcomes as possible. Since it is so broad, we are not expecting
any single program to address all, or even very many, of these outcomes. Indeed, it may be that a
particular program addresses only one or two items, and the rest are "N/A" (Not Applicable). If that is
the case, complete the measure for those one or two items, and leave the rest of the items blank. As
noted in the instructions, blank items will be coded as "N/A" in the statewide data set.
5. A note on the 0 - 10 scale: Another way to think about this scale, other than a range from Not a Strength
to Moderate Strength to Clear Strength, is to think of it in terms of percentages. Respondents might
think of the percent of time that each item is a strength. For instance, if a behavior is a strength about
half the time, respondents can circle "5'.
6. It is possible to use the NCFSOS more frequently than twice, to document progress or change over time
in more detail than a before-and-after assessment allows.
Administration of the NCFSOS
In an ongoing program, the NCFSOS should be completed within 1 - 2 weeks of a family's first contact with
the Family Support (FS) program, and then again within 1 - 2 weeks of a family's last contact. Since it is
often families who decide the duration of involvement in FS programs, however, programs may want to fill
out the NCFSOS periodically (i.e., biweekly, monthly, bimonthly) as seems appropriate given the intensity
and / or duration of each particular FS program. This way both workers and families would have an ongoing
record of the areas in which improvement is occurring, and the areas in which improvement is more
challenging.
The NCFSOS will probably work less well for one-time or "one-shot" Family Support (FS) programs. In
such programs, the NCFSOS should not be used as a pre post or before-and-after measure. For one-time
activities, programs should use the single event reporting form.
By completing the NCFSOS on the same family over time, families, workers, administrators, and state
evaluators will have crucial information about the progress of individual families and of Family Support
programs as a whole.
Overall Meaning of Scores
The 10-point scale is explained below:
0 = Not a Strength: there are no positive characteristics in a particular item or overall domain that have a
positive effect on the family or community.
1
234
5 = Moderate Strength: there are positive but moderate characteristics in a particular item or overall domain
that have a strengthening effect on the family.
6
78
9
10 = Clear Strength: there are positive and strong characteristics in a particular item or overall domain that
have a strengthening effect on the family.