Collaboration is the ongoing process of bringing different perspectives together into a shared vision of where a situation is currently, where it needs to be, and how the team will achieve that goal together. Collaboration is the basic principle of the CANS-NY and the structure of the Technical Assistance Institute. This principle is also key to the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team’s vision for care of children and families through Children’s Health Homes: comprehensive care through effective teaming and service coordination.
At its core, the CANS-NY is a collaborative communication tool for families and providers. Each item was selected for its relevance to care planning, with ratings that translate elements of a child/family’s story into an action level. With action levels clearly identified for each aspect of that child’s story, families, providers, and administrators can have a shared understanding about the needs/strengths of a child. Moving forward with a shared understanding helps all involved coordinate a thoughtful and responsive plan of care.
This same core principle of collaboration and action-oriented planning underlies the structure of the CANS-NY Institute. These collaborative workgroups drive the activities of the Institute through:
- Introductory and supervisory trainings on the CANS-NY
- Targeted trainings to advance care managers’ skills in use of the CANS-NY with families
- Relevant coaching supports for certification in the CANS-NY
- Data analytics to support best practices in training, coaching, and use of the CANS-NY
Collaborative workgroups occur at nearly every level of the Institute. These workgroups bring together stakeholders with different perspectives on improving training, coaching, and data use supports.
- The Institute’s Leadership is a collaboration between the NYS Department of Health’s HHSC Program Team and Chapin Hall. The team brings together leaders with a depth of experience in training and implementation support, as well as data analytics.
- The Provider Collaborative Workgroup brings four lead agencies (Hillside, Astor, Northern Rivers, and Collaborative for Children and Families) together under the direction of New York Department of Health and Chapin Hall to offer trainings and a network of regional coaches to CANS-NY users. This workgroup meets twice a month to discuss and develop shared support resources, based on each lead agency’s substantial experience with effective CANS-NY use.
- The Learning Needs Workgroup brings together clinical experts and data analytics staff from the Institute to review data collected from statewide learning needs assessments. This workgroup connects providers with relevant data to support evidence-informed training and coaching resources.
- The group of CANS-NY Certified Coaches meet every month to share their coaching experiences and advance their mentoring and coaching skills under the direction of Dr. Suzanne Button.
For more information about the TCOM perspective on collaboration, check out www.tcomconversations.org!