The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) version developed for the Illinois Department of Children andn Family Services (IDCFS) is a combination of the comprehensive version developed initially in New Jersey and the trauma version developed by several collaborating sites in the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, a SAMHSA funded group of scholars and practictioners around the country who are focused on developing evidence-based practices for children who experience trauma.
The manual provides anchored definitions for the items of the CANS. But remember, the CANS is about translating assessment into action. You can always use the 'action trumps' if the anchor definitions do not fully describe the child or family.
