Measuring family outcomes - Considerations for large-scale data collection in early intervention

Early-intervention programs for infants and toddlers are increasingly being asked to provide data showing that they are effective. 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 involving many families and describes the initial development of a survey instrument that could be useful in such efforts.