ECO Resources: Family Outcomes Survey

Overview

In the Fall of 2003, the Office of Special Education Programs within the U.S. Department of Education, funded the Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center to promote the development and implementation of child and family outcome measures for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities which could be used in local, state, and national accountability systems. Through an iterative process which included extensive input from stakeholders, five family outcomes have been identified:

  • Families understand their child's strengths, abilities, and special needs.
  • Families know their rights and advocate effectively for their child.
  • Families help their child develop and learn.
  • Families have support systems
  • Families access desired services, programs, and activities in their community.

Following this process, researchers at the ECO Center constructed the Family Outcomes Survey, an instrument for parents to rate the extent to which they have achieved each of the five outcomes. Several versions of the survey are now available to download here.

Recent Work

Over the past few months, the ECO Center staff have collaborated with colleagues in Illinois and Texas on expanding the Family Outcomes Survey. There were 2 main goals of this work: (1) develop additional items to ensure the survey was adequately measuring each of the 5 family outcomes and the 3 OSEP program indicators, and (2) address formatting issues that have been raised by states, such as the multiple-page layout and the confusion over “blanks” in the response categories. In May and June, we solicited input from states that are currently using the Family Outcomes Survey and we are in the process of finalizing an updated draft of the survey. We will collect pilot data in August and September and conduct psychometric analyses of the updated survey. Analyses of the pilot data also will include comparisons between the 3 original OSEP indicator items and the expanded indicator items. Please stay tuned – results will be posted on the ECO web site later this fall.

Although recent work has involved revisions to the Family Outcomes Survey, The ECO Center will continue to provide assistance related to earlier versions of the survey even after a revised version is released. For those states that choose to use the new version, we will provide guidance and recommendations on the potential implications for target setting and expected changes in results.

Community of Practice

The ECO Center has also formed a Family Outcomes Survey (FOS) Community of Practice as a way for interested individuals to share experiences with the Family Outcomes Survey. The group has focused on issues of process as well as analysis and interpretation of the Family Outcomes Survey. In some instances, issues discussed may be broadly relevant to those using many different types of family surveys. When those topics are discussed, participation from those using other family surveys will also be welcomed. The group meets via conference call several times a year and in person, when possible, at national meetings. State Part C and Section 619 staff are invited to participate; to join please let us know at staff@the-eco-center.org . Other interested individuals should contact their Part C coordinator or Section 619 coordinator to request permission to participate.

 

Survey Versions

Family Outcomes Survey: Versions for Children with Special Needs.

Please note: Surveys are now available in Rich Text Format. This format is compatible with most word processing programs such as Microsoft Word and WordPerfect.

Part C

Part B/ 619 (Preschool)

* This version is nearly identical to that posted in November, 2006. The only change occurs in some text revised in the instructions for greater clarity.

Family Outcomes Survey: Versions for All Children

Birth to 3

Preschool


Additional translated versions of the Part C Family Outcomes Survey are available with Minnesota's state-developed family outcomes materials, available here.

ECO Publications

ECO Publications

Raspa, M., Bailey, D. B., Nelson, R., Robinson, N., Simpson, M. E., Guillen, C., Olmsted, M., & Houts, R. Measuring family outcomes in early intervention: Findings from a large-scale assessment (in press). Exceptional Children.

This study reports data from a large scale assessment using the Family Outcomes Survey with families participating in early intervention. The study was designed to determine how families describe themselves with regard to outcomes achieved, the extent to which outcomes are interrelated, and the extent to which child, family, and program factors are associated with outcomes. Families reported positive outcomes but there was variability in their responses. Factor analysis revealed that outcomes clustered in two areas: (a) family knowledge and ability, and (b) family support and community services. Hierarchical linear models indicated race/ethnicity, income, time in early intervention, perception of early intervention, and family-centered services were related to family outcomes. Recommendations for how to best use survey data are discussed.


Raspa, M., Hebbeler, K. & Bailey, D. (August, 2009). A Guide to Analyzing Data from the Family Outcomes Survey.

The Family Outcomes Survey provides a way for state and local programs serving young children to assess the extent to which families have achieved a variety of outcomes. This document provides suggestions on how to analyze the data from the survey; the analyses in turn can be used to plan for program improvement.


Bailey, D., Hebbeler, K., Olmsted, M., Raspa, M., & Bruder, M. (2008). Measuring family outcomes: Considerations for large-scale data collection in early intervention. Infants & Young Children, 21 (3), 194-206

Early-intervention programs are increasingly being asked to provide data showing effectiveness. Usually this means proving benefit for children, but here we argue that documenting benefit for families is also important. A recent national effort has led to the identification of 5 desired outcomes for families whose children participate in early-intervention programs. This article discusses issues and considerations in documenting family outcomes in the context of large-scale assessments, and describes the initial development of a survey instrument that could be useful in such efforts.


Bailey, D. B. Jr., Bruder, M.B., Hebbeler, K., Carta, J., Defosset, M., Greenwood, C., Kahn, L., Mallik, S., Markowitz, J., Spiker, D., Walker, D., & Barton, L. (2006). Recommended Outcomes for Families of Young Children with Disabilities. Journal of Early Intervention, 28, 227-243.

This article describes five outcomes by which the effectiveness of services for families could be assessed: (a) families understand their child's strengths, abilities, and special needs; (b) families know their rights and advocate effectively for their child; (c) families help their child develop and learn; (d) families have support systems; and (e) families are able to gain access to desired services and activities in their community. These outcomes provide a framework for documenting whether early intervention and preschool programs are providing demonstrable benefits for families, and provide the basis for developing systems to measure such benefits.


Bailey, D. B., Bruder, M. B., & Hebbeler, K. (April, 2006). Guidance for States in Documenting Family Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education.

This paper addresses the range of decisions states need to make related to collecting family outcome information, including assessment selection and logistical issues such as survey distribution and timelines, use of ID numbers, and methods for increasing return rates.


Bailey, D. B. (February, 2006). Family Outcomes Survey: Overview and Status.

This paper describes the preliminary work done on the Family Outcomes Survey, including the initial scale development, field testing with families, and revisions.

Additional Resources

State Approaches to Family Outcomes Measurement

Information on states' plans for meeting the OSEP reporting requirement is available on the State Approaches page. Documents include a color-coded map of family survey approaches and an Activites Table outlining family survey tools used, populations included, and criteria for representativeness reported by each state.

The State Activites and Materials section also includes a page for state-developed resources related to family outcomes.

Collecting and Using Family Survey Data

The ECO Center has had several presentations on issues related to family outcomes measurement. Recent materials include:

Informing Families About Outcomes Measurement

A number of states have developed materials to inform parents about child and family outcomes requirements, how outcomes measurement systems will be implemented in their state, and how the requirements will affect them and their children. Links to these materials are available on the Informing Families page.

Additional Publications

The ECO Center has links to other publications and reports related to general Family Outcomes topics, as well as publications focusing on Family Outcomes Measurement.