The Comprehensive Assessment and Planning System (CAPS)
CAPS is a systematic approach to the assessment of children and their families that are receiving child welfare services through BCF. CAPS is used to meet the treatment planning requirements of the West Virginia State Code §49-5D-3 that says "The department shall adopt a standard uniform comprehensive assessment instrument or protocol to be used by treatment teams."
Provider Requirements
The CAPS course is offered to assist potential providers of WV DHHR with the opportunity to learn more about the Comprehensive Assessment and Planning System (CAPS). this course will give a brief overview of the system's process, it's purpose, and the population served. It will also provide the legal basis as well as the practices and procedures necessary in the assessment and planning process. DHHR workers that need CAPS training can register themselves in the Blackboard system. However, if an agency/provider wishes to register for the CAPS training, they may email Mary Thompson at mary.c.thompson@wv.gov with the name and email address of the individual(s) wishing to be registered and she will email the name(s) to the DHHR Employee Development Technical Support email address and that unit will register the person(s) and then send a link and instructions.
Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS)
The first assessment in the CAPS process, the CANS, is designed for use at two levels--the individual child and family, and for the system of care. The CANS provides a structured assessment of children along a set of dimensions relevant to service planning and decision-making. In addition, the CANS will provide information regarding the child and family's service needs for use during system planning and/or quality assurance monitoring.
For an overview of CANS click here.
The CANS tool is also supported by the Praed Foundation.
Marshall University provides CANS and FAST training to DHHR, community partners and Marshall University classes.
Trainings can be done in person or virtually. Marshall also will provide train-the-trainer sessions twice a year. In order to keep WV up-to-date and to address training issues, recordings are available by clicking on the links below. Marshall University will keep the most up-to-date resources related to CANS and FAST trainings. Please click on the following link for more information.
https://www.marshall.edu/coefr/tcom
For questions or concerns:
Mary C. Thompson
Mary.C.Thompson@wv.gov
Billing questions can be directed to:
dhhrbcfpayment@wv.gov