Ensuring Accountability

Programs and systems taking a protective factors approach need to ensure that their efforts are effective, making a difference for families, and making good use of the funds invested in them. CSSP and other partners have developed tools for measuring the protective factors through parent self-report.

Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF)

The Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors is a strengths-based measure to assess the presence, strength and growth of parents’ self-reported beliefs, feelings and behaviors that are regarded as indicators of the Strengthening Families protective factors. It is intended for parents of young children (birth – 8). Results of the assessment can be used to engage a parent as a partner in mobilizing resources to strengthen adult capabilities and to provide a family environment that promotes optimal child development and reduces the likelihood of negative child and family outcomes.

Protective Factors Survey (PFS) and PFS-2

The FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention is a key national partner supporting implementation of Strengthening Families in states. FRIENDS worked with the University of Kansas to develop and disseminate the Protective Factors Survey, a pre-post evaluation tool for use with caregivers receiving child maltreatment prevention services or participating in other child and family-serving programs implementing Strengthening Families. In 2018, FRIENDS released the PFS-2, an update and revision. Get both the PFS and the PFS-2 here.

Strengthening Families Online Data System

Our national partners at Mosaic Network provide an online data system where programs can complete the self-assessments, collect data from the Protective Factors Survey and a staff survey, and complete an action plan. The system is designed to help programs track and analyze their self-assessment results and support state-level administrators in aggregating data across many programs.