For use with at-risk families of children from birth to 3 years of age, the ""Life Skills Progression (LSP)"" is the only reliable, field-tested tool that provides the critical data home visiting programs need to demonstrate their effectiveness and receive support and funding. Generating a broad, accurate portrait of the behaviors, attitudes, and skills of both parents and children, the LSP helps professionals establish baseline client profiles, identify strengths and needs, plan interventions, and monitor outcomes to show that interventions are working. Home visitors use the LSP to measure a variety of family competencies. The tool is comprehensive and easy to use - in just 5-10 minutes, an experienced professional familiar with the family can record information on 43 scales in key categories, namely relationships with family and friends, relationships with children, physical health care, basic needs, education and employment, mental health and substance abuse, infant/toddler development and temperament. Home visitors rate each competency from 1 to 5 on a simple form, where they can also record important case data such as how many visits have been attempted or completed. No judgment of family choices is implied - the LSP is used only to track the progress of children and parents, and can be repeated every six months until the child is 3. Everything professionals need to use the LSP is contained in this all-in-one manual, which includes information on the tool's development and field testing, best practices in the field, detailed instructions on proper use, and the photocopiable tool itself. For easy printing of additional copies, the companion CD-ROM includes the entire tool and the instructions chapter. Ideal for social workers, public health nurses, mental health care providers, and other home visitors, this essential tool will help professionals identify the needs of the families they serve, monitor their improvements, and vividly demonstrate the effectiveness of home visiting programs.
