Family-Directed Assessment

DODD has developed a rubric to review and approve FDA tools. We will post all DODD-approved FDA tools, including county FDA tools, on the EI website (Provider tab, Family-Directed Assessment tile). For counties who have developed their own FDA tool and need to have their tool reviewed by their program consultant, you will have until December 31, 2019 to either choose a department approved tool or submit your county tool for approval by the department. All counties must use one of the department-approved tools listed no later than June 30, 2020.

FDA Rubric

Under 34 CFR 303.321(c)(2) and OAC 5123-10-02(I)(5), the Family Directed Assessment (FDA) must identify information about families’ resources, priorities, and concerns and the services and supports needed to enhance families’ capacities. Information is gathered through a process, which must include the family’s description of their priorities, concerns, and resources related to enhancing their child's development, as well as their overall well-being. As part of the process, each county must utilize a department-approved FDA tool to gather required information.

DODD developed the FDA rubric to determine whether submitted tools will allow assessment teams to collect all information needed to complete the assessment process, including meeting the federal requirements. Items on the rubric are rated as “Yes” (worth 5 points) or “No” (worth 0 points) to indicate whether each requirement was met. In order to be considered acceptable for use, each tool must score at least 65 points out of a possible 90 points, and must meet each of the federally required components (notated with an asterisk “*”).

FDA Scoring Tool

This document includes all of the items DODD will rate as we review an FDA tool.