In the Dear Collaborative column, we answer YOUR questions about TCOM and the TCOM tools (CANS, ANSA-T, ANSA).
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Have questions and want answers? Submit your questions through the Contact page. Submissions are confidential.
  
Q1: What do I do as a clinician if there are A LOT of action items or needs identified on the CANS and I can’t address all of them in treatment at this time?
A1: This is one example of when the collaborative nature of the CANS can be a helpful tool in determining where the highest needs are and who can address them. If you are addressing one set of needs and another provider is addressing another, you can work in collaboration and provide this context in your clinical documentation (e.g., clinical formulation and treatment plan). Additionally, it can be helpful to categorize needs as either background needs (typically more static, underlying needs that may be driving current behaviors, such as “Living Situation”) and target needs (identified with a "2" or "3" and intended to be addressed in treatment, such as “Self-Harm”). For target needs that are believed to share the same root cause, you can cluster them together and select interventions that address the whole cluster. By addressing target needs, you may also impact background needs. Similarly, you can categorize strengths into useful strengths and strengths to build. This is helpful when incorporating strengths into the treatment planning process. The process of clustering needs and strengths in order to focus treatment can not only help you as a clinician, but also the client, family, and treatment team to reach consensus and work toward common goals.

Q2: When completing the ANSA, who is considered the caregiver when assessing caregiver needs?
A2: For adult services, the “caregiver” is generally any person the recipient identifies as their caregiver. This could be a friend, a family member, or a spouse. When completing the CANS/ANSA certification exam, it will be made explicit who the caregiver is, both in the vignette and at the top where it reads “rate [name] as caregiver.”

Q3: There’s a lot to remember regarding the CANS and ANSA tools. Is there a one-pager with key points?
A3: Yes! Praed Foundation created the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) User Tip Sheet and the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment (ANSA) User Tip Sheet. Both tip sheets include a description of the tool, guiding principles, questions to consider and a quick action rating guide. Both serve as a great snapshot. If you’re interested in digging deeper, check out our Manuals & Scoresheets and Engagement & Planning Tools resources .
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Each newsletter features top questions submitted to the Alameda TCOM Collaborative. If you have an urgent or critical CANS-related question, you can contact your agency's CANS/TCOM Coordinator or one of the Collaborative Members at any time.

One of the important questions that agencies ask about the State-wide CANS implementation is how to use the data collected to support improvement of client care. In order to respond to the need for expanded information on this topic, a comprehensive guide has been developed for administrators and supervisors to help generate data reports for their programs utilizing Objective Arts (OA).

The Objective Arts Key Reports: User Manual for Alameda County details four reports with direct agency usefulness for basic compliance tracking, as well as examining service efficacy. The user manual provides step-by-step instructions with illustrations for each of the four key reports, including the creation of customized report templates, how to run reports, and report interpretation.

The Objective Arts Key Reports: User Manual for Alameda County will be available to download online starting in late Spring.

Have you ever been asked to score something on a number scale? How sure were you that your number rating meant the exact same thing as the person asking for the rating? With communimetrics, the number scale is not subjective because each number is clearly linked to a specific concept but you may still find yourself in need of more support in order to effectively bring the CANS/ANSA into supervision and the treatment planning process across your agency within Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services

We are here to help with that! There are a variety of NEW tools on our website that are now available for you to print and utilize which can help to guide engagement with your clients and families. Erin Rosenblatt, from Westcoast Children’s Clinic created these new tools with the intention of “enhancing [the] provider’s practice when using the TCOM tools (CANS/ANSA). While many who are new to using the CANS/ANSA focus on proficiency with the tool, these new tools will help providers understand how to integrate the principles and practices into work with clients, families, and in supervision.”

We would “encourage anyone that is looking to know how to further integrate the CANS/ANSA or TCOM into their practice to explore and see what tools resonate” and align most with their current space and processes. The updated documents can be found in the following sections:

• Manuals and Scoresheets
  
• Engagement & Planning Tools
• Supervision

“I think people will be surprised about how much they already are doing and how easy it can be to integrate these aspects into their day to day work with clients.”- Erin Rosenblatt

On May 15, the Praed Foundation relaunched the Collaborative Training Website on a new platform. The new website includes changes in appearance, navigation and reporting capabilities. Important changes to the content structure will allow visitors to learn to use the TCOM tools more effectively.

The new training website is at https://www.Schoox.com/login.php

Notable changes include:

• Certification is now tied to completion of ALL steps in a course and not just to passing a final exam; however, if you attend an in-person training with the BHCS CANS/ANSA Provider Collaboratives you will be able to bypass the online course content and go straight to the test
• For recertification, you can review the materials or go directly to the final exam by scrolling to the bottom of the course and selecting ‘Certification Exam’.
• You will no longer be locked out after 3 unsuccessful attempts at a final exam.

There are also a lot of small changes that make the learning experience more effective. To login to the new platform for the first time, follow these steps:

1. Go to: https://www.Schoox.com/login.php
2. Username: the email you used in LearnerNation (old training site)
3. Password: password (yes, the word ‘password’ is your temporary password)
4. You will be prompted to reset your password using 6 alphanumeric characters
5. You will be prompted to select your agency by using the following filters
   1. Country
   2. Regional Designation (California)
   3. Unit (Agency; Start Typing your agency name and it will auto populate)

The Provider Collaborative, your agency’s trainers, and the Praed Foundation are still available to provide coaching and feedback. You can contact an agency coach through the Collaborative Partners page or email the TCOM Training team directly at support@TCOMtraining.com.

The TCOM Alameda Collaborative has launched an online training calendar.  The calendar is designed to provide information on the training sessions provided by Partner agencies.

Partner agencies host on-going training sessions for practitioners. There are several trainings available every month covering topics from basic CANS/ANSA certification to more nuanced topics like incorporating the CANS/ANSA into treatment planning.  The calendar is available in the Training Resources page.  From the calendar, training registration is just a click away!  

Does your agency provide training on these tools? Add your training dates and information using the form at the bottom of the Training Calendar page.