The caregiver and the practitioner work together to complete the CWL. The practitioner reads the questions out-loud to the caregiver. This encourages the caregiver to add other contextually relevant information, providing an opportunity for the parent to tell their family’s story.

The CWL is divided into two sections, one that assesses the child’s behavior and the other assesses the parent’s behavior. The “Skill Wish List for Your Child” includes items that ask the caregiver about the child’s compliance in the home. The “Skill Wish List for You” has items that ask the caregiver about his or her own parenting behavior. Both sections use a five-point response option.

After marking all the items, the caregiver is asked to describe, in their own words, their “top three wishes” – the things they would most like to change about their parenting approach. Typically, after parents have answered the CWL questions, they identify for themselves their parenting strengths and challenges, given the unique needs of their child. In the process, the parent has already begun to visualize specific behavioral changes they could make with the help of coaching.