New Blog Post – Tell Me Your Story

Most workers understand the “why” of Structured Decision Making^® (SDM) assessments—to increase consistency and accuracy in decision making, target scarce resources to higher risk families, identify appropriate interventions—but more often than not, we are asked, “how?” How do you ask families about sensitive topics such as child maltreatment, substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence?

Most workers understand the “why” of Structured Decision Making^® (SDM) assessments—to increase consistency and accuracy in decision making, target scarce resources to higher risk families, identify appropriate interventions—but more often than not, we are asked, “how?” How do you ask families about sensitive topics such as child maltreatment, substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence? A recent training with the Tlingit and Haida Tribal TANF case managers in Juneau, Alaska, was no exception.

In this blog post, NCCD’s Jennifer Cotter discusses how tribal TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) case managers assess families using an actuarial risk assessment to determine the likelihood that a family will have future child protection involvement as part of the SDM Family Prevention Services model.