Toddler CARE-Index – Seattle – 2026

The Toddler CARE-Index (TCI) is a screening tool for relationship risk in young children and their parents. It can also guide and even be part of the intervention (see Crittenden et al, 2024). The TCI uses 5-minute video-recorded play interactions (made on a cell phone) and can be recorded anywhere (home, clinic, park, etc.). The TCI is suitable for children from 15 months to 5 years old. A coded TCI permits professionals to estimate children’s strategy for coping with adults’ use of authority. The TCI is suitable for mothers, fathers, grandparents, etc., including professionals. TCIs must be coded by trained coders; coding takes about 20 minutes. This course prepares professionals to use the TCI and take the TCI Reliability Test.

Course dates:

• Residential & on-line: November 4, 5, 6: 8:30am- 5pm
• On-line only: Nov 9, Nov 17, Dec 2: 12-2pm PT, 3-5pm ET see Courses – Family Relations Institute for times of meetings.

Course location: Seattle, WA, USA & online.

Language: English

Facilitator Guided practice: Due Sundays: Dec 13, Jan 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 with weekly facilitator feedback.

Prerequisites: Attachment, Neurodevelopment, & Treatment; Infant CARE-Index (ICI)

Cost: $850 pp, $750 if paid before Sept 15. See ‘registration’ below. Discounts of 10%-40% when 2 or more register together.

Reliability Test: By invitation only, January 2027 (not included in course fee)

The TCI can be used with other family information to:

• Screen dyads for services
• Assist parents to understand and modify their infant’s behavior
• Estimate children’s attachment strategy
• Guide decision-making around placement, fostering, and adoption

The TCI assesses adults on sensitive, controlling, and unresponsive scales and infants on cooperation, compulsive, threatening, and disarming scales. The scales are relevant to deciding what kind of intervention to offer. The adult scales are related to the toddler scales as follows: adult sensitivity with toddler cooperation, adult control with toddler compulsive compliances, adult mixed patterns with coercive toddlers, and adult unresponsiveness with toddler compulsive caregiving or depression.

Trainers: Patricia M. Crittenden, PhD

Dr. Crittenden is a developmental psychopathologist who trained under Mary Ainsworth at the University of Virginia. She has published research and applications for more than 40 years.

Further information can be found on the FRI website: www.familyrelationsinstitute.org.

Registration: To enroll, please e-mail pmcrittenden@gmail.com. If there is space available, you will be sent details regarding class times & payment. Registration is not confirmed until payment is received. There are no invoices, refunds or transfers.

Crittenden, P., Farnfield, S., Spieker, S., Landini, A., Oxford, M., Robson, K., Johnson, H., Ellis, V., & Ash, Z. (2024). Alternatives to Foster Care. In Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the 21st Century. Marco Carotenuto (Ed.). London: IntechOpen.