Familias
Definition
Open-source kinship LR software developed in Norway, the reference platform for ISFG kinship workshops and used operationally by forensic labs in Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, and many other countries.
- Type
- Open-source kinship likelihood-ratio software
- Origin
- Developed in Norway
- Standing
- Reference platform for ISFG kinship workshops
- Used by
- Labs in Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Poland and others
Common questions
What does Familias actually calculate?+
It computes likelihood ratios comparing alternative pedigree hypotheses, such as father versus unrelated, from STR or other marker genotypes, letting an analyst evaluate paternity, sibling, or complex kinship claims rather than only simple one-to-one comparisons.
Why is Familias significant for missing-persons casework specifically?+
Missing-persons identification often relies on distant or partial family reference samples rather than a direct parent, and Familias handles the pedigree modelling needed to compute a valid likelihood ratio across those more complex family structures.
Related terms
- Combined Paternity Index (CPI)
- The product of all individual paternity indices across all marker systems tested. Assumes independence of the marker systems. The CPI is a...
- Duo / Motherless Case
- A paternity test in which the mother's profile is unavailable; the PI denominator must integrate over all possible maternal allele contributions from...
- Inbreeding Coefficient (F)
- The probability that two alleles at a locus in an individual are identical by descent, reflecting population consanguinity. Non-zero F values affect...
- NamUs
- National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (US), a national database cross-matching PM profiles of unidentified remains against AM kinship reference profiles; has...
- Paternity Index (PI)
- A likelihood ratio that compares the probability of the observed serological profile if the alleged father is the biological father to the...
- Sibling Likelihood Ratio (SLR)
- Likelihood ratio comparing the probability of the observed genotype data if two persons are full siblings versus unrelated. Values much greater than...
- Track Child
- India's Missing Persons and Children portal managed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and NCRB, the domestic framework through which...