CANS Assessment + PlanStreet: A Smarter Way to Drive Child and Family Outcomes

The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool, developed by the Praed Foundation under the Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM) framework, has become a nationally recognized standard for assessing the needs, strengths, and well-being of children and families. CANS is the most popular measurement tool in the System of Care (SoC), expected to generate 1.9 million evaluations annually in the US.

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At PlanStreet, we recognize the powerful potential of the CANS framework to drive data-informed decision-making, personalize services, and strengthen family and community engagement. Our case management platform is built to fully support the implementation, integration, and utilization of tools like CANS, helping providers streamline workflows, improve service coordination, and drive better outcomes.

What Is the CANS Tool and Why Does It Matter?

CANS provides a structured approach to identifying actionable items that support individualized care planning. It's built on a philosophy of strengths-based, trauma-informed, and person-centered care, making it ideal for use in child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice, education, and integrated systems of care.

Key features of the CANS tool include:

  • Easy-to-use ratings system to evaluate strengths and needs
  • Structured around domains like behavioral/emotional needs, risk behaviors, strengths, and caregiver resources
  • Designed for shared decision-making and collaboration
  • Supports consistent language across providers and systems

Using the CANS tool helps organizations track progress over time, allocate resources effectively, and ensure families receive the right support at the right time.

CANS is also adaptable. States and local agencies often tailor the tool to reflect better community-specific challenges or populations, such as youth involved in foster care, juvenile justice, or experiencing trauma. Its flexibility is part of its power, and with a tool like PlanStreet, these adaptations can be configured easily within digital workflows.

For example, San Diego County utilizes a combination of the CANS assessment and the PSC-35 (Pediatric Symptom Checklist) for a comprehensive look at cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems alongside family actionable needs and useful strengths.

How PlanStreet Enhances CANS Implementation

Implementing the CANS tool is more effective when organizations have a platform that supports seamless assessment, tracking, communication, and reporting. PlanStreet offers robust features that align with TCOM's core principles and the functional needs of CANS-based systems.

1. Integrated Digital Assessments

PlanStreet's customizable form builder allows agencies to digitize the CANS tool directly within the platform.

Assessments can be:

  • Completed electronically during intake or periodic reviews
  • Auto-scored for rapid analysis
  • Used to trigger follow-up workflows based on results

This eliminates manual data entry, streamlines documentation, and ensures that assessment results flow into case plans in real time. With digital audit trails and version histories, providers can easily track when changes occur, reinforcing accountability and oversight.

2. Dynamic Case Planning and Service Coordination

PlanStreet translates CANS insights into personalized case plans. When needs or strengths are identified through CANS, corresponding activities, referrals, or goals can be auto-assigned to caseworkers, who can then:

  • Set measurable goals aligned with CANS domains
  • Track progress and update plans dynamically
  • Connect needs to the available services and supports

This kind of automation ensures that actionable data doesn't just sit in a file; it drives the next step in care. Organizations can establish care pathways that adapt as a young person's circumstances evolve.

3. Data Visualization and Outcome Tracking

One of CANS' strengths is its ability to show change over time. PlanStreet leverages that through analytics and reporting dashboards that:

  • Track improvements or deterioration in each domain
  • Show trends at the individual, program, or agency level
  • Highlight service gaps and inform strategic planning

Through PlanStreet's advanced analytics engine, agencies can extract meaningful insights that improve both frontline practice and strategic decision-making. Staff can demonstrate that those services are being delivered and they are having a measurable impact.

4. Collaboration Across Teams and Systems

PlanStreet promotes a shared language and communication flow consistent with TCOM values. However, sensitive data must be protected, ensuring that only authorized individuals have access to client data. Role-based access allows your team to choose who has access to which parts of the platform, helping:

  • Families and caregivers to be part of the planning process
  • Cross-functional teams to coordinate care seamlessly
  • Stakeholders to access only what they need while maintaining data privacy

Interoperability features can also allow integration with electronic health records, education databases, and other platforms, breaking down silos that often hinder service delivery.

5. Compliance and Quality Assurance

PlanStreet ensures that assessments and care plans tied to the CANS tool are auditable, time-stamped, and securely stored.

Our platform:

  • Offers reminders and alerts for reassessments
  • Supports FERPA, HIPAA, and 42 CFR Part 2 compliance
  • Enables supervisory review and approval of CANS assessments and plans

This safeguards the integrity of the assessment process and supports quality assurance efforts. Supervisors can track compliance and fidelity to protocols, reducing liability while improving service delivery.

Real-World Applications of CANS with PlanStreet

Organizations across the U.S. are using the CANS tool to transform care delivery. Whether in state-run foster care systems, community-based behavioral health centers, or school-based mental health programs, PlanStreet empowers these organizations to:

  • Implement CANS tools at scale
  • Align service delivery with family-centered values
  • Improve fidelity to the TCOM framework

Here are several examples of how the CANS tool has improved outcomes, and how integration with PlanStreet can amplify these results.

Indiana’s Behavioral Health System

Indiana used the CANS tool statewide to improve mental health services. Their Child Welfare Screening and Early Identification Initiative found that after increasing the number of children screened for mental health problems, youth with identified risks were more likely to receive treatment.

PlanStreet can help replicate this success by ensuring assessments are digitized, linked to real-time workflows, and translated into service delivery goals.

California's Integrated Practice Model with CANS

Through the Continuum of Care Reform, California embedded CANS into Child and Family Team meetings. It helps guide conversations among the CFT (Child and Family Team) about the children and youth they're working with by:

  • Identifying their strengths and needs
  • Informing and supporting care coordination
  • Helping with case planning
  • Guiding placement decisions

With PlanStreet, these assessments can be automatically tied to dynamic care plans and tracked across interdisciplinary teams.

Illinois' Trauma-Informed CANS Model

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) utilized the 139-item trauma-informed CANS tool to improve:

  • Information integration and collaboration
  • Service and treatment planning
  • Progress and outcomes management
  • Case decision making
  • Family engagement

PlanStreet supports this by linking domain-level scores to targeted interventions, ensuring fidelity to trauma-responsive approaches.

These case studies demonstrate that implementing the CANS tool within a supportive digital ecosystem can unlock even greater value, turning static assessments into dynamic, person-centered care plans. With PlanStreet, data moves beyond compliance and becomes a real-time decision support engine.

Agencies can configure PlanStreet to reflect local variations of the CANS tool and ensure consistent implementation while allowing flexibility based on the population served.

Turning Insights Into Action

CANS is a transformative tool, but its impact is magnified when paired with a powerful case management platform. PlanStreet helps bring the CANS tool to life, translating assessment data into action and delivering tools that caseworkers, supervisors, and families can rely on.

Together, CANS and PlanStreet advance the vision of transformational care by:

  • Reducing administrative burden
  • Increasing stakeholder engagement
  • Supporting better outcomes for children and families

To learn more about how PlanStreet supports TCOM-aligned care models and CANS implementation, reach out for a free, live demo.