This study was carried out in rural Arkansas to examine the feasibility and usefulness of a universal screening tool--the Family Map Inventory (FMI)--to assess family strengths and needs in a home visiting program. The FMI has been used successfully by center-based early childcare programs to tailor services to family needs and build on existing strengths. The FMI was designed to be used in home visits as a one-on-one interview by early childcare educators and is available in three versions (prenatal, birth to 3 years, and 3–5 years.) This study used the FMI for children ages 3–5 years. The FMI takes about an hour to complete and includes both a structured interview and observational items covering 12 domains that are broadly grouped into (1) family climate and context, (2) parental characteristics, and (3) physical and social conditions children directly experience. The FMI is structured to allow parent and interviewer to immediately identify responses that may be a risk for the child. For each indicator, the presence or absence of a risk is identified.
In this study, home visiting coordinators (N = 39) participated in implementing the FMI, and a total of 70 families who enrolled in a Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program were screened by the coordinator. HIPPY is an international program for children between the ages of 3 and 5 years and is designed to promote school readiness through parent involvement. HIPPY educators provide materials to parents with a focus on literacy.
The results of this study showed that the FMI provided meaningful information about the home and parenting environment. Overall, most caregivers provided high levels of school readiness and parental warmth and low levels of family conflict and parenting stress. On the other hand, many families did not provide adequate food quality, exhibited chaotic home environments, and practiced negative discipline. This study demonstrated that the FMI is a feasible and useful option to assess comprehensive family needs in home visiting programs. It also demonstrated that the FMI provided home visiting coordinators a system to measure family strengths and needs. This could provide a useful means for assessment of program effectiveness and changes in the family's environment over time.