Child-Maltreatment-Research-L (CMRL) List Serve

Message ID: 10573

Date: 2020-01-17

Author:Amburgey, Vanessa

Subject:RE: Child centered outcome measures

There is a version of a CANS based tool called the UFACET (Utah Family and Child Engagement Tool) that you can look at here: https://sites.google.com/a/utah.gov/homeworks/ufacet John Lyons has approved this format, and it is in use in several states. It is not exactly an outcomes tool, but it does have a system for measuring the status several of the things you mention below. Utah is expanding the tool and it can be used with children in foster care and those receiving home-based services. It also can gather contextual information from other key persons involved in caregiving for the child. The friendly folks in Utah are usually happy to talk about the tool, I recommend Kyla Clark if you want to know more. From: bounce-124283034-82426089@list.cornell.edu On Behalf Of Chen, Lijun Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2020 9:53 PM To: Child Maltreatment Researcher List (CMRL) Subject: RE: Child centered outcome measures Hi Rich, I wonder whether you know the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment tool developed by John Lyons. John used to work as a colleague at Chapin Hall, now with University of Kentucky. CANS has been used in some states as an assessment tool for children being investigated or to be placed in out of home care. It has modules for different domains of child well-being and for different age groups. You can contact John to learn more about CANS. I hope this is helpful for your efforts. Lijun Chen, Ph.D. Senior Researcher Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago 1313 East 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637 Office Tel.: 773 2565140 www.chapinhall.org From: bounce-124262866-9885936@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-124262866-9885936@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Sent: Friday, January 10, 2020 1:33 PM To: child-maltreatment-research-l@list.cornell.edu Subject: Child centered outcome measures Greetings Everyone, We are starting a conversation in Minnesota about measuring outcomes at the child level. We have in mind to get baseline measures when children come into the system, using existing validated instruments, that would include an assessment of trauma, physical and mental development, and behavioral and mental health. The idea is that over time, if the system is doing its job well, all of these metrics will improve. We recognize this is not a small undertaking but we want to get started thinking about it. The hypothesis is that by rolling up these measures, de-identified of course, at the worker, supervisor, unit, County and state levels, it will become more clear how well children are doing. Also, following the principle that “what gets measured is what it’s done”, measuring child-centered outcomes would focus on child well-being in ways that add an important dimension to the current (though also important) process-oriented child welfare metrics such as timeliness of response, frequency of social worker visits, length of time in care etc. Is anyone aware of efforts underway to measure child-level outcomes in any counties or states? Thanks for whatever help you can provide. Rich Gehrman Executive Director Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota 651-303-3209 www.safepassagemn.org

There is a version of a CANS based tool called the UFACET (Utah Family and Child Engagement Tool) that you can look at here: https://sites.google.com/a/utah.gov/homeworks/ufacet John Lyons has approved this format, and it is in use in several states. It is not exactly an outcomes tool, but it does have a system for measuring the status several of the things you mention below. Utah is expanding the tool and it can be used with children in foster care and those receiving home-based services. It also can gather contextual information from other key persons involved in caregiving for the child. The friendly folks in Utah are usually happy to talk about the tool, I recommend Kyla Clark if you want to know more. From: bounce-124283034-82426089list.cornell.edu On Behalf Of Chen, Lijun Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2020 9:53 PM To: Child Maltreatment Researcher List (CMRL) Subject: RE: Child centered outcome measures Hi Rich, I wonder whether you know the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment tool developed by John Lyons. John used to work as a colleague at Chapin Hall, now with University of Kentucky. CANS has been used in some states as an assessment tool for children being investigated or to be placed in out of home care. It has modules for different domains of child well-being and for different age groups. You can contact John to learn more about CANS. I hope this is helpful for your efforts. Lijun Chen, Ph.D. Senior Researcher Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago 1313 East 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637 Office Tel.: 773 2565140 www.chapinhall.org From: bounce-124262866-9885936list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-124262866-9885936list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Richard Sent: Friday, January 10, 2020 1:33 PM To: child-maltreatment-research-llist.cornell.edu Subject: Child centered outcome measures Greetings Everyone, We are starting a conversation in Minnesota about measuring outcomes at the child level. We have in mind to get baseline measures when children come into the system, using existing validated instruments, that would include an assessment of trauma, physical and mental development, and behavioral and mental health. The idea is that over time, if the system is doing its job well, all of these metrics will improve. We recognize this is not a small undertaking but we want to get started thinking about it. The hypothesis is that by rolling up these measures, de-identified of course, at the worker, supervisor, unit, County and state levels, it will become more clear how well children are doing. Also, following the principle that “what gets measured is what it’s done”, measuring child-centered outcomes would focus on child well-being in ways that add an important dimension to the current (though also important) process-oriented child welfare metrics such as timeliness of response, frequency of social worker visits, length of time in care etc. Is anyone aware of efforts underway to measure child-level outcomes in any counties or states? Thanks for whatever help you can provide. Rich Gehrman Executive Director Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota 651-303-3209 www.safepassagemn.org