Fourteen domains, scored in conversation

Holistic Review Working prototype Open full screen ↗ All domains on one page ↗

The Colorado Family Support Assessment 2.0, Part A — the instrument our Office of Community Services already administers, built as an advocate's field companion. Every domain's criteria, definitions and Prevention Line come straight from the form; the app parses them from the transcribed source rather than restating them.

Who holds the phone

The other two prototypes are answered by the client. This one is not. The instrument is explicit about it:

“Anchors are written as behavioral criteria rather than questions. This is an interview-administered rubric: the advocate assigns the score, the family does not self-select an option.”

So the app is built as an advocate's field companion — criteria to score against during a conversation, not questions to hand someone.

How it is scored

Fourteen domains — eight forming an Economic Self-Sufficiency scale, two a Health scale, four standalone.

Five levels, 5 down to 1 — behavioral criteria, not questions. The source gives the levels no names, so neither do we.

The Prevention Line between 3 and 2 — scores of 1 and 2 fall below it. Drawn in every domain.

N/I and N/A — “not enough information” everywhere; “not applicable” on the three domains that define it.

What it deliberately does not do

No composite or average score — the source defines none, so the score sheet reports domains, not a total.

No invented level names — “In-crisis / Thriving” labels are common in other matrices but absent here.

No self-administration — reliable scoring assumes a trained interviewer and Motivational Interviewing practice.

Holistic review

Colorado Family Support Assessment 2.0

Fourteen domains, each scored 5 down to 1, with a Prevention Line between 3 and 2.

Anchors are written as behavioral criteria rather than questions. This is an interview-administered rubric: the advocate assigns the score, the family does not self-select an option.

Already in use here

Our Office of Community Services administers the CFSA 2.0 today. The open question is not whether to adopt it, but how a Tier 3 assessment connects to whatever we build upstream — which is why it sits in this series beside the two self-service tools.

Definitions are scoring rules

“Full-time = at least 30 hours per week.” “Truancy = 4 unexcused absences.” “Families receiving public assistance for food should not score higher than a 3.” An advocate cannot score correctly without these, so they sit open beside the criteria rather than behind an info icon. Provenance and local notes are what the i holds.

Colorado, translated

The instrument names Colorado programs. The app carries the local notes with it: CCAP maps to Virginia's Child Care Subsidy Program; CHP+ and CCIP map to FAMIS and Cardinal Care. The substance-abuse domain carries a 42 CFR Part 2 flag that has to be settled before it is fielded in any new platform.

The whole instrument on one page

Scoring one domain at a time is the advocate's view. To read the rubric as a whole — all 14 domains, their definitions and every anchor from 5 down to 1 — there is a print-style sheet.

Open the full sheet →