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Grant Precedent

Free instruments

Tier 2 measures ask for a reported change. Each instrument below has a form you can link to and a license sentence quoted from its publisher. Check the quote before you rely on it.

Cleared instruments, best rights class first 4

SCORE-15

Public domainLicense wording

“freely available; permission not required for use.”

The publisher or author says no permission is needed.

15 scored; ancillary questions separate items5-10 min (estimated)

Family functioning/change

Scoring
Reverse negative items 2,4,5,7,8,9,11,12,13,14 using 6 minus the response; mean all 15: 1-5, higher = worse functioning.
Named by funders
NIH PhenX catalogue; no grant mandate verified.
Validity
Stratton et al., 2014, J Family Therapy 36:3-19; 584 participants/239 families, sensitivity over three therapy sessions (primary abstract).
Caveat
EN verified; translation forms unverified. Evidence is particularly relevant to systemic family/couple therapy.

Protective Factors Survey, original PFS

Public domainLicense wording

“You may download and use the PFS free of charge.”

The publisher or author says no permission is needed.

20 core items10-15 min

Family strengths; parenting protection

Scoring
Reverse according to manual; calculate four protective-factor subscale means. No overall total; Knowledge of Parenting items are analyzed individually.
Named by funders
ACF/CBCAP, through FRIENDS technical assistance/development.
Validity
Counts et al., 2010, Child Abuse & Neglect 34:762-772; reliability and construct/criterion evidence (developer technical evidence).
Caveat
EN; validated Spanish adaptation. Staff/demographic sections are optional for scale validity, keeping the core within the length limit. Published timing corroborated by CEBC.

Parental Stress Scale (PSS)

Free, with conditionsLicense wording

“The PSS is in the public domain”

Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.

18 items<10 min

Parenting stress

Scoring
Reverse 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 17, 18; sum 18-90, lower = less stress.
Named by funders
OJJDP-funded National Mentoring Resource Center resource; not a grant mandate.
Validity
Berry & Jones, 1995, J Social and Personal Relationships 12:463-472; later construct-validity qualifications.
Caveat
EN; translations. The source also requires permission for adaptations or derivatives and asks users to register use with the author; treat those conditions as operative. Different from the paid Parenting Stress Index and from Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale.

Family APGAR

Free, with conditionsLicense wording

“in the public domain and can be used without further permission”

Free to use under stated conditions; read the quoted license before using it.

5 items1-2 min (estimated)unverified

Satisfaction with family functioning

Scoring
For this form, sum five 0-2 responses: 0-10, higher = greater satisfaction.
Named by funders
None named in the sources opened.
Validity
Smilkstein, Ashworth & Montano, 1982, J Family Practice 15:303-311. IFNA also documents conflicting construct-validity findings.
Caveat
EN; Spanish, Chinese, Japanese. Developers should be acknowledged. This statement comes from IFNA's measure review, not an opened original-owner license. Measures perceived satisfaction; it should not be treated as a definitive diagnosis of family dysfunction.

Looks free, is not 15

Each of these circulates widely and carries a licensing restriction. The wording is quoted from the publisher's page.