Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths – San Bernardino (CANS-SB)

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

The San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) has systematically implemented the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool across children and youth mental health programs. The CANS is an international clinical tool that facilitates individual clinical services and assists in evaluating the aggregate impact of those services to aid in the assessment and treatment of children and youth. The CANS assists in the communication between clients, clinicians, supervisors, and managers and is used to ensure that clients and families are appropriately served and have a voice in treatment planning. The CANS also provides a consistent method for showing clients and families areas of concern and points for treatment. The DBH and Community Based Organizations (CBO) collaborated to modify the CANS to fit within the context of multiple programs throughout San Bernardino County. The DBH and CBO core staff have worked together since January 2014 to continue the development of the clinical and program utilization of the CANS. Clinical, administrative, and support staff working for 27 children’s mental health providers at 83 service units have entered approximately 21,600 CANS assessments for 9,333 children and youth between January 2014 and February 2015.