Conducting surveys and assessments with program participants is an important part of program evaluation. At the same time, how do we ensure that program evaluation does not become a burden on families? How do we ask meaningful questions that honor the strengths and lived experiences of families?
In 2024, Best Starts for Kids and The Capacity Collective launched the Culturally Responsive Measurement Tool – Protective Factors (CRMT-PF), a strengths-based survey designed for early learning programs in King County to assess five key protective factors:
- Family Resilience
- Knowledge of Parenting & Child Development
- Social Supports
- Concrete Supports
- Caregiver/Practitioner Relationship
Research shows that protective factors are directly linked to better well-being for children, their families, and their communities. Because existing tools to measure protective factors lacked cultural responsiveness, we developed the CRMT-PF and translated it into multiple languages with the support of a community advisory council.
Villa Comunitaria’s experience
To give organizations insight into what it may look like to implement the CRMT-PF, we sat down with Cindy Chibertoni, Children and Family Development Program Director at Villa Comunitaria, and The Capacity Collective, who is available to provide Capacity Building support to organizations interested in implementing the CRMT-PF.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
Why was your organization interested in the CRMT-PF?
Cindy: I love working with our families and some of them are tired of all the questions we ask of them to continue receiving services. This is especially true when they’re enrolled in more than one of our programs and are being asked the same questions multiple times. I want to collect and report data in a respectful way. I don’t want families to feel like we’re being invasive or cross the line of asking too many questions.
Additionally, some of our programs are expanding and we’ll be enrolling more families next year. That’s why it’s important to make sure we have the right tools to approach families when it comes to data collection and evaluation.
Why is the CRMT-PF beneficial?
The Capacity Collective: A lot of the assessment tools we use in early learning were created by academics in white-dominated universities and tested on white, middle-class families. The CRMT-PF was created by community, for community, and has been validated with providers and families representing many cultural and linguistic groups in King County. The CRMT-PF is a strengths-based tool that measures protective factors, rather than risk factors, so that it helps programs look at family situations holistically. The CRMT-PF is also available in multiple languages.
How did you get started with the CRMT-PF and what was your experience like?
Cindy: I attended an information session to learn about the CRMT-PF and submitted a request to meet with The Capacity Collective. I shared with them our needs to: have more advanced skills when it comes to managing and collecting data; process and track a large volume of new families in the next year; make internal referrals; and track each families’ journey through our organization. The Capacity Collective suggested that we pilot a new data system as a first step. I have been meeting with them for one-hour, once a week to get the new data system setup. We will soon begin integrating the CRMT-PF into our new data system.
What advice would you give to an organization that isn’t sure if they’re ready to explore or implement the CRMT-PF?
Cindy: It’s okay to not know what you need. At the beginning, I was just thinking about data collection in general and The Capacity Collective talked with our team, listened to what we needed, and helped identify options – such as setting up a new data system – before even thinking about implementing the CRMT-PF.
The Capacity Collective also has fluent, native Spanish speaking consultants on their team. This is very helpful because it allows us to work together in Spanish and ask difficult questions. It has been a great experience working with them and the team is very responsive.
The Capacity Collective: We understand that it may be overwhelming to add in a whole new assessment tool. If you are already collecting data on protective factors, we could have a 30-minute meeting to see if your current plan is meeting your needs. If you don’t yet collect data on protective factors, we can meet to discuss if the tool might or might not be a good fit. Afterwards, if you decide to continue, we can work at your pace and capacity, and we will do our best to set you up for success at every step. Whether you work with us or not, the tool is freely available in multiple languages, and it will become available in more languages later this year.
Learn more about the CRMT-PF and get support
Read our previous blog post to access CRMT-PF resources and evaluation reports. We also have training videos that provide an overview of the tool and how to administer it.
If you have any questions or want to access implementation support from The Capacity Collective, please email bsk.data@kingcounty.gov.
