Q: Will an Emergency Response (ER) worker be able to access the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS) in CWS‑CARES from a referral, or only after a case is opened, and does a CANS need to be fully completed and supervisor‑approved before a case plan can begin?
A: The CWS-CARES Project is currently finalizing its supervisor approval functionality; Currently, CANS is not accessible in a referral. The user would need to promote the referral to a case to include CANS accessibility, which an ER worker will be able to access in CWS-CARES. Including CANS accessibility in referrals will be a future development consideration.
Furthermore, cases plans can begin prior to a CANS being fully completed, but you cannot enter a case plan’s objectives with CANS being completed. This means you can document everything else such as the people involved, permanency goals, visitation plans, agency responsibilities, and Objectives for the Parent/Legal Guardian/Indian Custodian which are based on the Safety Threats identified from the Structured Decision Making (SDM) Safety Assessment. Objectives must be added for the Focus Child(ren) prior to submitting for supervisor approval, so this is the point where a user will be blocked without a CANS Assessment completed. The CANS will also need supervisor approval.
Furthermore, cases plans can begin prior to a CANS being fully completed, but you cannot enter a case plan’s objectives with CANS being completed. This means you can document everything else such as the people involved, permanency goals, visitation plans, agency responsibilities, and Objectives for the Parent/Legal Guardian/Indian Custodian which are based on the Safety Threats identified from the Structured Decision Making (SDM) Safety Assessment. Objectives must be added for the Focus Child(ren) prior to submitting for supervisor approval, so this is the point where a user will be blocked without a CANS Assessment completed. The CANS will also need supervisor approval.