ABSTRACT
This chapter describes some of the instruments most widely used to measure family functioning in treatment programs. Assessment of family functioning for case planning purposes clearly goes well beyond assessment of risks to the safety and well-being of the children and includes assessment of the family’s environment, relationships, resources, and interactions. Measurement of family functioning is a technology very much under development. The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales were developed from theory and research and posit two basic dimensions of family functioning: cohesion and adaptability. The Beavers Family Systems Model of Family Functioning is predicated on family systems theory and is based primarily on practice experience with families. The health/competence dimension differentiates different levels of functioning ranging from optimal to severely dysfunctional. Family functioning measures provide both descriptive data on families receiving services and analytic data on the impact of services.
