Question 1 (Q1): Should I take the practice exam?
Answer 1 (A1): This is entirely up to you.  You are given 2 hours to test and if you pass the practice exam, it will not count towards your certification so this will likely double the amount of testing time which is why many people opt to move directly to the real exam.  No one gets penalized for taking the test more than once and there is no limit on the number of times that you can take the test.  One benefit to taking the practice exam is that it will show you which answers that were incorrect so that you can figure out where to adjust your thinking or seek consultation to help support your efforts to pass the certification test.

Q2: What do I do if I work in 2 Counties?
A2: Email support@tcomtraining.com and ask for help registering your account under both Counties.

Q3: Do I have to take multiple certification exams if I serve multiple age groups of people?
A3: No, if you pass the certification exam for any age group (CANS or ANSA), you are certified to complete any of the CANS/ANSA versions.

Q4: How do I know what caregiver to rate in the exam when there are multiple referenced in the test vignette?
A4: The name of the caregiver that you should rate during the test is listed at the top of each vignette but make sure you ONLY rate the caregiver within the caregiver needs domain.  The rest of the ratings in the CANS/ANSA should be based on the strengths and needs of the youth/young adult/adult who is officially the identified client/patient.

Well it is your lucky day!  We have created a version of the new and improved CANS 0-24, with all the changes embedded and highlighted through different symbols including new items, name changes, and description changes. The changes were based on the following:

• Item analysis;
• Integration of the ANSA-T;
• Consolidation of and updates to the 0-5 and 6-17 versions of the CANS so they more closely align with the CA-50;
• The county's desire to reduce documentation requirements; and
• A need to improve the visual look of the tool to better align with training and typical Electronic Health Record (EHR) structures.

In the new virtual environment, we’ve all had new challenges added to our already sometimes difficult jobs. Some of these challenges are as simple as technical barriers. Alameda County CANS/ANSA users are issued a variety of devices to use for their work. You could be on a phone, laptop, desktop, Chromebook, or iPad and all of these have large or small screens that make work easier or harder depending on what you’re doing. We also often don’t have printers available at home the way we might have at the office to print big documents like the CANS or ANSA manuals. This can negatively impact some people’s learning as well. Your goal when testing on CANS/ANSA is to pass the test and we want to support you with some suggestions:

1. Try to test on as big of a screen as possible so you can keep multiple tabs or even multiple screens available to you.
   
2. Open the manual in another screen, tab or even browser so you can reference it as you think about each item on the score sheet. You can press "Ctrl" and "F" at the same time to use the "Find" function and enter item names in order to locate those items faster within the electronic manual.  We suggest you DO NOT test without your manual available online or on paper.
   
3. Copy and paste the vignette into a word document so you can highlight or underline content electronically or print out the 1-page vignette, if you have a printer available, and underline or highlight content manually. If you have it in a separate electronic document, you can use a split screen or open it in another tab. This ensures that as you scroll through the ratings items you can easily refer to the vignette without scrolling to the top again on the testing screen and losing your place within the test.
   

A little prep goes a long way. If you don’t know how to do some of these things, like split your screen or use multiple tabs, use google or more tech savvy friends to learn how to do these BEFORE testing. We hope these simple tips assist you to test more confidently.

The Alameda County Behavioral Health CANS/ANSA Collaborative is currently offering the following live online trainings on an ongoing basis:

• CANS/ANSA Live Certification Overview Course (offered monthly & includes at least 2 hours of optional testing support at the end of the training)
• Treatment Planning with CANS/ANSA (2 hours)
  
• Engagement with CANS/ANSA (2 hours)

The following are the dates for forthcoming offerings of these trainings:

• 11/18 from 1-3pm: Treatment Planning with CANS/ANSA
• 11/30 from 9am-4pm: CANS/ANSA Live Certification Overview
• Date/Time to be determined: Engagement with CANS/ANSA
• 12/18 from 9am-4pm: CANS/ANSA Live Certification Overview

To enroll in one of these trainings, click on the link below to go to the Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM) Website and follow the additional steps described below.

1. Login on the website (If you do not have an account, please create one. If you need assistance in creating and account or if you do not remember the login information for your account, email support@tcomtraining.com).
2. Once you are logged in, at the top of the page you will see “training”.  Hover your cursor over “training” and from the drop down click “courses.”
3. In the “type of search” field, type the name of the course. 
4. Click on the title of your course.
5. Once in the course, click the “ENROLL NOW” button (If you are taking the live Alameda County CANS/ANSA Live Certification Overview course, pick the date you want to attend).
6. You will receive an email from no-reply@Schoox.com confirming your enrollment.  Please promptly log into the Training website, go to the course, and follow the instructions in Step 1 of the course. This includes ensuring that you register for the zoom session in step 3 of the course that applies to you.

 
If have any issues with this process, try using the guide below or email support@tcomtraining.com.

Are you interested in learning how to utilize the CANS or ANSA in the Treatment Planning Process? Did you know that if you conduct the CANS or ANSA collaboratively that the treatment plan essentially writes itself? The "Treatment Planning with CANS/ANSA" training explores how to effectively use CANS and ANSA tools and TCOM (Transformative Collaborative Outcomes Management) principles in the service planning process. Participants will learn about developing a shared vision with clients and explore how to translate this into CANS/ANSA scores that support and guide ongoing collaborative treatment planning activities and documentation. Participants will learn how to prioritize and address CANS/ANSA items in service planning activities. The training includes  group activities, vignette work, and service planning examples that align with Alameda County Quality Assurance guidelines. The next training will be November 18th from 1-3pm.