Description:
The ITFI helps family service providers assess
the well-being of children 6 months to 3 years of age and
their families. It consists of four sections: the Caregiver
Interview, Developmental Map, Checklist for Evaluating Concern,
and the Plan for the Child and Family. The Caregiver Interview
has 35 items related to home and family life, child health
and safety, and family issues and concerns. The interview
is conducted with the parent(s) or primary caregiver(s). The
Developmental Map is an observation of infant-toddler behavior
in the areas of gross and fine motor development, social and
emotional development, language development, and coping and
self-help development. It involves informally observing the
child’s behavior and interaction with others, as well
as playing with the child using an established set of testing
materials. The Checklist for Evaluating Concern is completed
by the interviewer after the visit in order to assess the
family in the areas of home and family environment; child
health, development and safety; and stressors in the child’s
life. The interviewer rates concerns on a scale of 1 (low)
to 10 (high) and prioritizes concerns based on these ratings.
The Plan for the Child and Family determines what steps may
need to be taken in order to address the interviewer’s
concerns about the needs of the family.
Uses of Information: Family service providers can use the
ITFI as a supplement to other assessments of child and family
strengths and needs, specific child symptoms and stressors,
and the caregiver’s ability to meet their child’s
basic needs. It also helps service providers work with families
to develop a support plan for meeting their needs.
Reliability: None described.
Validity: None described.
Method of Scoring: Scoring is done on the three-part Checklist
for Evaluating Concern, after the family service provider
leaves the family’s home. The checklist summarizes the
family provider’s impressions of family and child needs
and strengths based on information from the Caregiver Interview,
the Developmental Map, and observations of the caregiver-child
interaction and the home environment. For each item in the
checklist, the provider indicates whether the condition is
present, is of concern, or if the provider is unsure of its
presence.
Interpretability: The interviewer uses the Checklist for
Evaluating Concern Summary Sheet to rate the level of concern
for the child and family from 1 (low) to 10 (high) and to
list the family’s strengths and weaknesses. The ratings
of concern from the Checklist for Evaluating Concern may determine
how detailed a support plan is, when it is put into action,
and how intense services should be. After the service provider
has considered all of the information from the summary sheet,
he or she is able to prioritize the concerns while keeping
the child’s health, development, and safety as a top
priority. The manual provides general guidelines and case
studies on how to use information collected with the ITFI
that can be used to prioritize needs and develop service plans.
The guidelines are kept general to allow agencies and programs
to incorporate the ITFI into their own protocol, purpose,
and service.
Training Support: “Brookes on Location” professional
development seminar, Using ITFI to Evaluate Young Children
and Their Families, is available through the publisher.
Adaptations/Special Instructions for Individuals with Disabilities:
None described.
Report Preparation Support: Case study examples are provided
in which a case is presented, family strengths and vulnerabilities
are highlighted, and an action plan for intervention is developed. References:
Apfel, Nancy and Sally Provence. Manual for the Infant-Toddler
and Family Instrument (ITFI).
Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2001.
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