The HOME Inventory attempts direct, relatively standardized measurement of environmental and interaction factors believed to be associated with adequate
child welfare services. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory is designed to measure the quality and quantity of stimulation and support available to a child in the home environment. The focus is on the child in the environment and the child as a recipient of inputs from objects, events, and transactions occurring in connection with the family surroundings.
The initial version of the Inventory is called the Infant/Toddler (IT) HOME. It is designed for use during infancy (birth to age 3). It is composed of 45 items clustered into 6 subscales: 1) Parental Responsivity, 2) Acceptance of Child, 3) Organization of the Environment, 4) Learning Materials, 5) Parental Involvement, and 6) Variety in Experience.
Three more versions of the Inventory have been developed since that time:
The Early Childhood (EC) HOME is designed for use between 3 and 6 years of age. It contains 55 items clustered into 8 subscales: 1) Learning Materials, 2) Language Stimulation, 3) Physical Environment, 4) Parental Responsivity, 5) Learning Stimulation, 6) Modeling of Social Maturity, 7) Variety in Experience, and 8) Acceptance of Child.
The Middle Childhood (MC) HOME is designed for use between 6 and 10 years. It contains 59 items clustered into 8 subscales: 1) Parental Responsivity, 2) Physical Environment, 3) Learning Materials, 4) Active Stimulation, 5) Encouraging Maturity, 6) Emotional Climate, 7) Parental Involvement, and 8) Family Participation.
The Early Adolescent (EA) HOME is designed for use from ages 10 to 15. It contains 60 items clustered into 7 subscales: 1) Physical Environment, 2) Learning Materials, 3) Modeling, 4) Instructional Activities, 5) Regulatory Activities, 6) Variety of Experience, and 7) Acceptance & Responsivity.