What is the Kinship Strengths Assessment – Professional Version™ (KSA-PV)?
The goal of the Kinship Strengths Assessment – Professional Version™ (KSA-PV) is for a jurisdiction or private provider agency to acquire a better understanding of the trends and drivers that are impacting their current kinship care programming and/or the development of future kinship-related programming.
These trends and drivers are uncovered by a systematic exploration of the jurisdiction or private provider agency’s internal and external environments. This systematic exploration is accomplished through an environmental scan that is guided by a rubric.
Following the environmental scan there is a subsequent interpretation of the trends and drivers discovered in the internal and external environments. The entire process lays the foundation for a high quality, strategic approach to kinship care practices and programming.
What is an environmental scan?
An environmental scan is similar to a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis. Rather than being conducted internally for self-examination, our team works with your staff in identifying areas of strength, weakness, opportunity and threat, as they related to kinship care.
Our environmental scan is a collaborative process where we value your input and respect your culture. The process is interactive and seeks to collect data and qualitative information that represents various perspectives on kinship care. Methods used include: interviews, focus groups, a desk-review and self- assessment.
What is a kinship care readiness rubric?
Our kinship care readiness rubric is a measurement tool that articulates expectations that are reflective of best practices in kinship care. The best practices are categorized so that they construct criteria that can be used to express levels of competency and quality in kinship care. The rubric examines macro-criteria such as family value but utilizes a micro-lens to assess criteria such as licensing and permanency.
Although the rubric is an evaluative device, it is also designed to promote thinking and learning. It is a two-way, strengths-based tool that communicates expectations, provides feedback and identifies levels of capability and capacity.
The kinship care readiness rubric is not a checklist or a rating scale. The rubrics have two important characteristics; criteria and descriptors of performance levels. A checklist or rating scale typically lacks any descriptions of performance quality.
Is the use of a kinship care rubric an isolated event?
Our kinship care rubric is designed to be used as both an assessment and monitoring tool. After its implementation for assessment purposes, it remains an effective monitoring tool in that it can guide, communicate and set expectations related to kinship care programming and administration.