All About the CANS

Which areas are assessed on the CANS?

• Youth Strengths

• Emotional & Behavioral Needs

• Trauma

• Cultural Needs

Answer explanation

All of the above! The CANS is a comprehensive assessment tool that assesses life domain functioning, child strengths, cultural needs, emotional & behavioral needs, risk behaviors, and caregiver needs and strengths!

All items on the CANS use a 0-3 rating scale.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

True! Each item on the CANS uses a 0-3 rating scale to determine need for action or intervention.

Clinicians should complete the initial CANS with the child and family within __ days of referral.

Only youth five and older should be referred for a CANS Assessment.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

False! We have two versions of the CANS - one for early childhood (birth to 4) and the standard CANS for youth ages 5 and older.

A CANS Assessment relies solely on the expertise of the practitioner who administers the assessment.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

False! The CANS is a collaborative assessment - it is a tool designed to combine the voices of many into a shared assessment.

The CANS should be updated every __ days.

Answer explanation

The CANS should be updated every 90 days to monitor and measure progress over time.