Inventory and Resources
| Assessment Title | Assessment Description | AOG Review Status |
|---|---|---|
| Decision-Making Assessments | ||
| Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths-Family (CANS-F 2.1) | A Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM) Tool designed to support effective interventions to address the needs of families who are at risk of child welfare involvement. | Not yet reviewed |
| Casey Life Skills | Assesses the independent skills youth need to achieve their long-term goals (e.g. daily living and self-care activities; maintaining healthy relationships; and work and study habits). It aims to guide youth toward developing healthy, productive lives. | Not yet reviewed |
| Children’s Functional Assessment Rating Scale (CFARS) | Assesses cognitive, social and role functioning for youth who have higher behavioral needs and require intensive services and placement in Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP). | Not yet reviewed |
| Division of Licensing Resources-Child Protection Services (DLR-CPS) Risk Assessment | Used to assess child abuse or risk of neglect in a variety of facility types. It accounts for the current situation/people involved and the facility in general. | Not yet reviewed |
| Foster Care Rate Assessment | Determines how much to reimburse a foster parent based on how much support a youth requires from a caregiver, based on their physical, developmental, and medical conditions. | Not yet reviewed |
North Carolina Family Assessment (NCFAS) Materials are copyrighted | Assists case practitioners using intensive family preservation service strategies to effect family reunifications where children have been removed following substantiated abuse and or neglect, juvenile delinquency, or to receive mental health services. | Not yet reviewed |
| PCI Feeding-Teaching Scales Assessment | Gathers information about the parent-child dyad; assess parent-child interactions; and match to appropriate evidence-based interventions for parents with infants and toddlers age birth to three. | Not yet reviewed |
| Present Danger Assessment | Used in Family Assessment Response (FAR) cases to identify present danger and is required whenever a child is physically seen by a DCYF case worker. The tool guides staff response when there is an immediate, significant, and observable severe harm or threat of severe harm occurring. When present danger is identified, the worker takes an appropriate protective action while gathering relevant information on impending danger. | Not yet reviewed |
| Safety Assessment/ Safety Plan | Measures a child’s safety in relation to their caregiver and environment through identification of safety threats, safety planning, or (in cases where safety plan criteria are not met), request for removal and out of home placement recommendations. | Not yet reviewed |
Structured Decision Making Risk Assessment SDM(RA) Materials are copyrighted | A household-based assessment that estimates the likelihood that a child will experience abuse or neglect in a given household based on the characteristics of the caregivers and children. Law requires that if the risk score is moderately high, services may be offered and, if high, services must be offered. | Not yet reviewed |
Clinical Screening Tools | ||
Ages and Stages Questionnaire: ASQ-3 There are 21 different ASQ3’s depending on the age of the child. Materials are copyrighted | Administered during the Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) screening process to identify young children who may need further developmental evaluation. If developmental concerns are identified, the child is referred to the Early Support for Infants & Toddlers (ESIT) program or to the local school district. | Not yet reviewed |
Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ-SE2) There are 9 different ASQ-SE2’s depending on the age of the child. Materials are copyrighted | Used by both the Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) and Ongoing Mental Health (OMH) programs to gather information about a child in the areas of personal-social, self-regulation, compliance, communication, adaptive functioning, autonomy, affect, and interactions with people. Scores above the cutoff score indicate a need for a mental health assessment by a qualified professional. | Not yet reviewed |
| Commercial Sexual Exploitation Identification Tool (CSE-IT) – version 2.0 | DCYF is required by law to use a validated screening tool for labor trafficking and commercial sexual abuse when Child Welfare reports are made with allegations of commercial sexual abuse of a minor. Juvenile Rehabilitation staff use the tool to screen clients when there is reasonable cause to believe one has suffered commercial sexual abuse of a minor. | Reviewed – Not Supported (7/2025). Updated submission underway. |
Denver Developmental Screening Test (Denver II) Copyrighted (URL not available) | Used during the Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) screening process with infants, birth to one month old, to identify potential developmental issues in four areas: gross motor, language, fine motor-adaptive, and personal-social. If developmental concerns are identified, the infant is referred to the ESIT program for further evaluation/services. | Not yet reviewed |
Global Assessment of Individual Needs – Short Screen (GAIN-SS) Materials are copyrighted | Completed by youth ages 13-17 years to identify a need for a professional chemical dependency, mental health, or co-occurring assessment. The tool identifies internalizing, externalizing, and substance use concerns, in addition to suicidal ideation. Scores equal to or above the cutoff score (or suicidal ideation) indicate a need for a mental health assessment by a qualified professional. | Not yet reviewed |
Pediatric Symptoms Checklist 17 (PSC-17) Also see Pediatric Symptom Checklist | Used in both the Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) and Ongoing Mental Health (OMH) programs, is administered to children/youth ages 6-17 years old to assess for psychosocial problems. The PSC-17 has scales to identify externalizing, internalizing, and attention problems, as well as overall scoring. Scores equal to or above the cutoff score indicate a need for a mental health assessment by a qualified professional. | Pending |
| Plus 4 Trauma Related Screening Questions (Plus 4) | Used in both the Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) and Ongoing Mental Health (OMH) programs, is administered to children/youth ages 3-17 years old to assess for potential social-emotional and somatic symptoms related to trauma. Scores equal to or above the cutoff score indicate a need for a mental health assessment by a qualified professional. | Not yet reviewed |
| Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders Trauma Tool (SCARED) | Used in both the Child Health and Education Tracking (CHET) and Ongoing Mental Health (OMH) programs to screen for anxiety and post-traumatic stress. The screen is completed by each child/youth age 7-17 years old. Scores equal to or above the cutoff score on either subsection (Anxiety or Post Traumatic stress) indicate a need for a mental health assessment by a qualified professional. | Not yet reviewed |
Non-Decision-Making Assessments | ||
| Family Assessment Response Family Assessment (FARFA) | Compiles all information gathered during a Child Protection Services-Family Assessment Response case, prior to closure. When the FARFA is completed, there is a disposition listed to close or transfer the case. | Not yet reviewed |
| Family Reconciliation Services (FRS) Assessment | Used to determine family and youth strengths, needs and supports for family and youth (age 12-17) in crisis referred to DCYF or requesting FRS. | Not yet reviewed |
| Intake Structured Decision Making (SDM) Manual | For intake assists workers and supervisors in correctly screening intakes. The guide helps staff determine if the allegations meet sufficiency and walks them through the specific steps in determining whether the allegations meet the legal definition of Child Abuse or Neglect. | Not yet reviewed |
| Investigative Assessment (IA) | Compiles the information gathered during a Child Protective Services Investigation case. The findings letter, whether founded or unfounded, launches from the IA. When the IA is complete there is a disposition listed to close or transfer the case. | Not yet reviewed |
| Substance Abuse Wizard | Used by Licensing Division/Child Protective Services staff to assess for prior and current drug/alcohol issues of identified subjects in a child welfare investigation. It is based on self-disclosure. | Not yet reviewed |
| Visit Plan | Required for all youth in out of home placements to ensure visits are occurring with their parents, if not legally free, and with their siblings. | Not yet reviewed |
| Visit Report (Family Time Report) | Used by individuals providing visit supports to children who are in out of home care. | Not yet reviewed |
