Clinical Guidance on the CANS

MassHealth Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI), Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS)

CANS User Guides

An essential reference that provides detailed guidance on the scoring rating of each CANS item.

Additional Resources

CANS Birth through Four User Guide

CANS Birth through Four User Guide

CANS Five through Twenty User Guide

CANS Five through Twenty User Guide

CANS Family Guide

A two-page document that explains the “what” and the “why” of the CANS to family members. We encourage providers to share this with families during the initial assessment period.

Additional Resources

CANS Family Guide

CANS Family Guide

CANS Una guía familiar

CANS: Una guía familiar

Assessing Child Outcomes with the CANS

This brief article provides some guidance on how to assess child outcomes with the CANS.

Additional Resources

Assessing Child Outcomes with the CANS

Assessing Child Outcomes with the CANS

CANS Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language Information

Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language Options (English, TXT 2.24 KB)

Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language Options (English, PDF 5.47 KB)

Introduction to Collecting Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language (English, TXT 2.22 KB)

Introduction to Collecting Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language (English, PDF 9.39 KB)

Best Practice on Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data Collection (English, PDF 1.47 MB)

Best Practice on Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data Collection (English, PPT 1.48 MB)