271539 Creating accountability for youth outcomes in residential care: Is the child and adolescent needs and strengths (CANS) the right tool?

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM

David Price , Policy Studies Inc, Denver, CO
Anita Saranga Coen, LCSW , Focus Research & Evaluation, Denver, CO
Skip Barber , Colorado Association of Family and Children's Agencies, Denver, CO
Beth Miller , Shiloh House, a residential treatment facility, Littleton, CO
     
The Colorado Association of Family and Children's Agencies, in collaboration with the Colorado Health Foundation, 12 residential treatment providers, the state Division of Child Welfare and two evaluators implemented a multi-year effort to (1) build/implement an outcomes tracking system for youth in residential care, (2) capture longitudinal information, and (3) assess outcomes.

Research Objectives: The study objective was to examine the effectiveness of behavioral health services for children in residential care. The goals were to (1) describe the resident population (e.g., demographic characteristics, problem severity); (2) improve services for youth/families; and (3) inform state policy.

Methods: (1) design/select instruments to capture data and report outcomes; (2) develop/implement a web-based system to capture/manage data; (3) provide user training on the tools and system, (4) export/merge data for analysis from the system and the State of Colorado's SACWIS, and (5) analyze data and report findings.

Findings: (1) significant improvement in youth functioning from admission to discharge, (2) significant improvement in child strengths, but not in caregiver strengths, and (3) reduction in SACWIS–based out-of-home placement days after residential care.

Learning Areas:
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
(1) describe why providers chose the CANS, (2) share key findings, (3) identify challenges to outcomes measurement, and (4) identify strategies providers and state policy makers can use to build and use relevant outcomes systems.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have directed and served as senior researcher on local, state and national evaluation projects in health and human services and in courts throughout the United States since 1984. Funding has come from government, non-profit, and private sources.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3056.0: Children's mental health: Accountability, collaboration and continuity