Our Services

Training

CANS NY trainers/coaches provide monthly training to support the reliable use of the CANS NY. The training calendar and registration information can be found by clicking on the word Training.

Technical Assistance

Trainer/Coaches are available for live help Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm via help@CANSNYInstitute.org and provide assistance on many topics including: reliable use of the CANS-NY, understanding key concepts, domains, and items; technical support on tcomtraining.com, difficulties with CANS-NY certification and support for supervisors.

Coaching

Group coaching is a 90-minute virtual session. The CANS NY coaching team coordinates with supervisors to support their teams in the reliable use of the tool to support transformational change for children and their families.

Meet the CANS-NY Team

Sarah-Kane
Sarah Kane | Training Coordinator | Email: sarah.kane@northernrivers.org | Sarah (She/her) is the Training Manager for the CANS-NY Technical Assistance Institute as well as the Manager of Government Contracts in the SATRI Training Department at Northern Rivers Family of Services in Albany, NY. Sarah is a Licensed Masters Social Worker. Sarah was born and raised in NY State. She received both her Bachelors and Masters degrees from the University at Albany. Sarah has been working at Northern Rivers Family of Services for 16 years with time spent doing direct care for adolescents in Foster Care who were living in residential programs, clinical services for adolescents residing in an OMH run Residential Treatment Facility (where she completed the CANS-NY with adolescents and their families), and delivering trainings to internal and external staff. She has been a part of the CANS-NY Technical Assistance Institute for 5 years providing both coaching and trainings to NY CANS users across the state. Sarah is certified to train CANS-NY Trainings, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Teen Intervene, and DASA. In addition she also provides trainings for Continuing Education credits for Licensed Social Workers and Licensed Mental Health Counselors.
Dana-Soto-3
Dana Soto | Coaching Coordinator | Email: dsoto@astorservices.org | Dana (She/her) is a CANS-NY Trainer and Coach for the CANS-NY Technical Assistance Institute as well as a Care Manager and Care Manager Supervisor for the Health Homes program at Astor Services in Orange County, NY. Dana was born and raised in New York State where she received her Bachelor of Art (Psychology) from the State University of New Paltz. Dana has been a Care Manager for 7 years where she worked in several areas of Human Services such as OPWDD waiver programs, Foster Care services, and Immigration Advocacy services. In 2016, Dana started as a Medicaid Service Coordinator where she connected families to OPWDD waiver services and supports throughout the state of New York. Prior to that, for three years Dana worked closely with families as a Direct Support Professional where she found her love for social work and advocacy. As a Care Manager Supervisor and Bilingual Care Manager, Dana has also had the opportunity to work closely with the Hispanic-Latino Community to help connect families and youth with legal services and community resources throughout the Hudson Valley. For the past 4 years, Dana has utilized her knowledge and experience to help support families and other Care Managers with the usage of the CANS tool and has spent this past year coaching and training individuals all throughout New York State
Greyson-Burns-1
Greyson Burns | Trainer & Coach | Greyson (he/him, they/them) is a Trainer and Coach for the CANS-NY Technical Assistance Institute as well as the Project Coordinator for OCFS Trainings in the SATRI Training Department at Northern Rivers Family of Services in Albany, NY. Greyson is a Rochester, NY native who received his Bachelor’s degree from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, NH. Greyson has been working at Northern Rivers Family of Services for 12 years with time spent doing both direct work and supervising individuals working directly with children and adolescents and families in Foster Care who were receiving services in the home, community and school settings. Greyson has been a part of the CANS-NY Technical Assistance Institute for 1.5 years providing both coaching and trainings to NY CANS users across the state.
Leigh-Van-Swall-3
Leigh Van Swall | Trainer & Coach | Leigh (she/her) is a training coordinator at the Sidney Albert Training & Research Institute (SATRI), she draws on her coaching and facilitation background working with both children and adults to provide training to internal and external audiences. She is a certified trainer in American Red Cross Community First Aid and CPR, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and is a certified Myers-Briggs Indicator Facilitator. Leigh joined Northern Rivers member agency SATRI in early 2018 as a Senior Trainer. She previously worked in foster care services with Berkshire Farm Center and Services for Youth and worked with a number of public and independent schools in a variety of teaching and facilitation capacities. Leigh Van Swall graduated from the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA) with a BA in East Asian Studies and is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She is certified as a Holistic Health Counselor by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, a Reiki Master and a certified career coach. Leigh received a Masters of Education from the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA) in Social Foundations (Educational Psychology).
Max-Kintner-1
Max Kintner | Trainer & Coach | Max (he/him) holds an M.A. and PhD in Latin American Studies. His dissertation was the exploration of institutional and cultural barriers to formal education in Guatemala. Since 1993 he has supported educational development projects in Guatemala. In 2002, co-founded an NGO to provide scholarships and social services to children & youth in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, that has funded and supported more than 5,000 primary, secondary, and university/vocational scholarships. For the last 12 years, he has worked in various capacities in two different Care Management programs in Upstate New York, and currently, he’s a full-time internal CANS consultant for the Children’s Health Home Program at Northern River Family Services. He has presented at 3 different TCOM National Conferences, two of which focused on his ongoing research using the FAST and CANS assessments among the Indigenous Maya population in Chichicastenango, Guatemala.
Ruth
Ruth Mikulski | Trainer & Coach | Ruth (she/her) is a Senior Trainer at the Sidney Albert Training and Research Institute (SATRI). She started out as a paraprofessional in public schools and quickly became a teacher at a residential school. Ruth worked residential for many years and when an opportunity came up to help youth move away from group home settings, she signed up for foster care classes! Fostering youth of all ages, abilities and identities, led Ruth to adopt her sons, both with Autism/Fragile X, and led to her supporting/training foster parents to be set up for success. Ruth was the director of a residential school for adults with disabilities overseeing their employment and education departments. Ruth received a double Masters in Education with a focus on Learning Disabilities and Emotional/Behavior Disorders. Ruth is a certified trainer in American Red Cross Community First Aid and CPR, Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, and safeTALK. She even completed her 200-hr Yoga Teacher Training, through the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Since 2019, Ruth has been with Northern Rivers Family of Services. Ruth provides trainings covering topics such as Trauma Informed Care, Working with LGBTQ+ Youth, Critical Thinking & Decision Making, Person Centered Care, Suicide Awareness and so much more.
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