Dear Collaborative: CANS/ANSA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does it mean to determine action levels for "the person, not the person in care"?
Question 1: I'm confused about how to determine action level ratings for my 11 year old child client on their annual CANS. They just returned from spending the summer at a therapeutic outdoor camp for kids with special needs. It was a perfect setting for them and they seem to be doing so well! Do I select action levels based on how they are now or how they were doing the last time I saw them before the summer break?
 
Answer 1: This is a great example of services for a client potentially masking their needs. The following video from the Praed Foundation provides an excellent explanation of the principle of determining action levels for a person separate from the care that they have been receiving:
It's About the Person, Not the Person in Care | TCOM Heuristics - YouTube

Two Caregivers?! A simple solution for determining action levels for caregivers with different needs

Question 2: What happens if I need to select an action level for two Caregivers in the CANS and they're both in different places?

Answer 2: Action level ratings for multiple caregivers should reflect the level of action that is needed within the entire caregiver system. That means that if one caregiver has no mental health needs, but another caregiver has actionable mental health needs (let's say a '2'), you will indicate the highest level of need among them and mark a '2' for Caregiver Mental Health. This demonstrates that there is action needed to support the mental health of at least one caregiver in the family system.

5 Reasons to take a Live Zoom Certification Class
Question 3: What are the pros and cons of taking the Live Certification course versus taking the online Alameda 0-24 course?

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Answer 3: There are some perks to taking an online-only certification course, such as being able to self-pace or customizing the focus areas for your learning needs. But before you jump into those 67 steps, here are 5 reasons we think a Live Certification course is superior:

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1. Community: Live Certification trainings give you access to meet other providers in Alameda County who also use this tool. It's possible you may one day get to collaborate with a fellow classmate through your work. In the meantime, you get to learn about how providers in other agencies operate and understand more about their services and expand your connection within this complex behavioral health system.
   
2. Getting to ask questions while you're learning: This may not seem like a necessary element until you are learning the TCOM tools and realizing you have encountered common sticking points such as  timely ratings within a 30-day window, or scoring tricky vignettes that will make you wish there was a seasoned instructor who could answer your question live
3. Skip to the test: You can bypass the online course (~67 steps) and go directly into test-taking after the lecture portion of the live course.
4. Supported testing: There is coaching available during your certification exam. While the exam is always open-note and open-book, having access to the trainers and other participants during the testing portion means being able to receive support and guidance during the test while simultaneously practicing one of the valued TCOM tenets-Collaboration.
5. Tech support & troubleshooting: Having trouble creating an account, accessing the course, or navigating the site?

Our trainers are skilled at troubleshooting most access issues that trouble new users in Alameda County. If you are having any difficulty accessing or navigating the tcomtraining.com website, join the next live training or an Office Hours session for some live technical assistance.

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