The Illinois Model for Integrated Care for Children and Adolescents with Complex Needs (IM+CANS) is a cornerstone of the state’s initiative to revolutionize its publicly funded behavioral health service system. Born from the collaboration of the Illinois Departments of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), Human Services-Division of Mental Health (DHS-DMH), and Children and Family Services (DCFS), IM+CANS is continuously refined through stakeholder feedback via the IM+CANS Workgroup.
This comprehensive assessment provides a standardized, modular approach to evaluating the holistic needs and strengths of individuals seeking mental health treatment in Illinois. IM+CANS today encompasses several key components:
- A full suite of core and modular CANS items, addressing crucial areas like Risk Behaviors, Trauma Exposure, Behavioral/Emotional Needs, Life Functioning, and Cultural Factors.
- A seamlessly integrated assessment and plan of care framework.
- A Physical Health Risk Assessment (HRA) component.
- A population-specific addendum designed for youth involved in the child welfare system, ensuring personalized care.
At its heart, IM+CANS utilizes the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) and the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment (ANSA). These are communimetric tools employing a ‘0’ to ‘3’ scale to identify a customer’s strengths and needs. These tools are instrumental in care planning, level of care decisions, quality improvement efforts, and service outcome monitoring. To facilitate a fully Integrated Assessment and Treatment Plan (IATP), additional data fields were incorporated into the CANS items. This advancement positions mental health treatment in Illinois towards a customer-centric, data-driven methodology.
