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Upcoming Events: Youth Centered Care and Public Health

The 2022 TCOM Conference is the biggest event hosted by the Praed Foundation and the TCOM Team every year. This event typically has anywhere from 300 – 550 people in attendance each year. For this year’s conference, we will be hosting in-person presentations in New Orleans, LA at the JW Marriott New Orleans from September 21 – 23, 2022. We will also host our 3rd annual virtual Cloud Gathering from September 26 – 27, 2022 on the Webex Virtual Platform. To gear up for this event, we invite you to meet some of the faces that will be at this year’s TCOM Conference.

Call for Poster Abstracts for the 2022 TCOM Conference

We’re happy to announce that we are now accepting poster abstracts for the upcoming September TCOM Conference.
Posters at the 2022 TCOM Conference provide an opportunity for TCOM Collaborative members to share their insights and work surrounding Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM) and TCOM Tools (e.g. CANS, ANSA, FAST, SSIT, CAT, RISE, etc.). If you have a topic unrelated to TCOM, you may still submit your abstract for review.

Making & Strengthening Connections: Strength Building Through Relationships

Social connections are positive relationships that provide emotional, informational, instrumental as well as spiritual support. The building of social connections has endless possibilities connected with transformational care planning. Collaborative solutions can develop when there are increased connections and relationships with others connected to an individual’s community. Strengthening connections often initiate a ‘rippling effect’, leading to increases in bonding relationships, recreational activities, and natural supports at all levels: individual, family, and community.

2022 TCOM Conference: New Virtual Ticket Pricing + Early Bird Ending Soon

2022 TCOM Conference attendees: We encourage you to go ahead and book your tickets and room now, as Early Bird (30% discount) pricing will be ending July 10, 2022. The 2-Day Cloud Gathering TCOM Conference ticket pricing has been discounted by more than 50% off. Now virtual ticket pricing has been adjusted from $90/ticket to $40/ticket. We are excited to see you there!

Are You A Change Maker, Change Embracer, Change Resistor?

The Praed Foundation recently explored how people change through a new podcast, “Shift Shift Bloom!”.
Through the podcast, we examined how people change, why they change, and how people sustain the changes that are most important to them in their everyday lives.
The ten-episode first season featured guests who consider themselves in one of three categories: change-makers, change embracers, or resistors of change. The guests on the podcast offered their personal stories of change, with themes of transgender identity (Jordan Constantine), fighting racism in historically racist institutions, (Dr. De Lacy D. Davis), child abuse survivor to advocate (Juliana Barton), and many more.

The TCOM Channel is Now a YouTube Partner

As many of you know, the IPH Center at the University of Kentucky and the Praed Foundation have created ‘The TCOM Channel’ on YouTube to facilitate improved communications about the good work happening in the international TCOM collaborative. Because of your interest and support, The TCOM Channel has become one of the 25% of the more than 500 million existing YouTube channels that has been successfully monetized. The TCOM Channel is now a YouTube Partner.

2022 TCOM Conference: Registration is Live!

The 2022 TCOM Conference registration will be taking place September 21 – 27, 2022 with an in-person and virtual option. Registration for the conference is now live!

Hierarchies of Understanding & Need for Collaboration: Transformation on Person & Population Levels (2/2)

In the first part of this blog, Ken McGill talked about how a whole-person approach requires a broader perspective of “needs” and how collaboration is required for transformation at the individual and systems level. In part 2, Ken continues to discuss how this can be achieved. He focuses on how human complexities require collaborative solutions, and how it takes a team to heal a village.

Hierarchies of Understanding & Need for Collaboration: Transformation on Person & Population Levels (1/2)

Ken McGill discusses how the TCOM framework comprise a whole-person approach, and how the TCOM tools can be used to support a whole-person understanding of those we serve. He discusses the importance in understanding a person’s needs and strengths. He conceptualizes a more broad view of need through “Hierarchies of Understanding” and how the next step in Systems of Care is to ensure that collaboration efforts are strong enough to meet not only Maslow’s pyramid of needs, but also needs outside of the individuals and families.

Ask A TCOM Trainer | New YouTube Series

We have started a new series, “Ask A TCOM Trainer” on our TCOM YouTube Channel. TCOM trainers from the Center for Innovation in Population Health and guests from across the TCOM world will weigh in on the topics that matter most to our community. Our goal with this series is to help people understand the TCOM tools and framework, and how TCOM can make a positive impact on others.

What If Homelessness Was Not Just About Housing, But Also About Trauma Recovery?

You’re invited to attend a free seminar by the Center for Innovation in Population Health. This webinar will focus on the topic, “What if homelessness was not just about housing, but also about trauma recovery?”. Dr. Sarah Ascienzo and Dr. Natalie Pope will be discussing their innovative research surrounding homelessness. They will discuss their participants’ challenges they encountered when trying to free themselves from reoccurring homelessness. This topic could not be discussed without talking about their trauma.

Overcoming Adversity with Dr. De Lacy Davis | TCOM Champion

We will be starting a new series in which we highlight past TCOM award winners (TCOM Champions) for their work in the TCOM community. At the 2020 TCOM Conference, De Lacy Davis, EdD, won the TCOM Family Advocate Champion Award for his inspiring leadership in ensuring parents receive the help they need. Dr. Davis was also a keynote for the virtual 2021 TCOM Conference. He is the Director for the Family Support Organization of Union County and the Executive Director for the New Jersey Alliance of Family Support Organizations. He is also the founder and still leading the organization, Black Cops Against Police Brutality.

Children’s Health & Mental Wellbeing: Whole-Person Approach | Event

Just like physical health, mental health in childhood focuses on reaching developmental and emotional milestones, learning healthy social skills as well as how to cope when there are difficult situations. An important goal for all children is for them to be both physically and mentally healthy, so that they can have a positive quality of life-functioning well at home, in school, and in their communities. It is important that we remember that physical health is not just the absence of illness & disease and mental health is not simply the absence of a mental disorder.

The TCOM Podcast: All About How People Change

The newly launched TCOM podcast, “shift, shift…Bloom!”, examines how people change, why they change, and how they sustain the changes that are most important to them in their everyday lives. The ten-episode first season features guests who consider themselves change makers and change embracers as well as those who identify as resistors of change — we’re all somewhere on that spectrum in different domains of our lives, aren’t we? You may listen to “shift, shift…Bloom!” on any platform you get your podcasts.

Data is Not a 4-Letter Word: A Clinician’s View of What It Really Is

Ken McGill shares his thoughts on utilizing data to drive care. Using the phrase, “Data is not a 4-letter word”, he hopes that this will spark meaningful conversation explaining TCOM to not only those in the behavioral and mental health field, but in all systems of care in which we connect with people.

Introducing the 2022 TCOM Conference Chairperson: Judy Howard

Judith Howard, LCSW is the Program Chairperson for the 2022 TCOM Conference: Managing Change and All that Jazz in New Orleans, LA. Judith shares her background, career, and journey with TCOM and CANS.

Judith Howard, LCSW

Judith Howard, LCSW, 2022 TCOM Conference Program Chair

International TCOM Day

Happy TCOM Day to all and Happy Ground Hog Day as well. Ground Hog Day is a great time to celebrate the TCOM (Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management) work that we do. We think of Ground Hog Day as the official holiday of TCOM. Celebrate our International TCOM Day by subscribing to the TCOM YouTube Channel, get started on your recertification in the TCOM Tools, submit a proposal for our annual conference, or just reminding yourself of what the TCOM work is all about.

Research Opportunity: Teaming & Connectedness

Dr. John Lyons and Dr. Elizabeth Riley are initiating a program of research on effective teaming as a part of the IPH Center’s focus on collaboration. If you work in a team environment, we’d like to get your perspective and learn from your experience. The survey generally takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Thanks for considering participating.

Want to Work with the TCOM Team?

Join us at the Center for Innovation in Population Health! We are expanding and will soon be accepting applications for various positions. Our team provides training, research, and implementation support for organizations that utilize the Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM) framework. This framework is primarily used in systems of care, such as child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice, and other complex systems.

Oregon’s Role in the National Partnership for Child Safety

Oregon Department of Human Services, along with 26 other jurisdictions, has shown their commitment to improving their child welfare systems by joining the National Partnership for Child Safety (NPCS). NPCS brings a public health and safety science approach to reducing child abuse and neglect.

Michael Cull, one of our Center’s Associate Directors and an Associate Professor for the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, was invited to participate in an interview with Jefferson Public Radio to discuss Oregon’s role in the National Partnership for Child Safety.

2022 TCOM Conference: Call for Proposals

We invite those interested in presenting to submit their proposal to present at the 18th Annual TCOM Conference. The theme of the 2022 TCOM Conference is “Managing Change and All That Jazz”. The Call for Proposals will remain open until February 28, 2022. You may submit your proposal using our Call for Proposal form. 

And the Medallion Scavenger Hunt Winner is…

During the 2021 TCOM Conference, Community Data Roundtable (CDR) and the Praed Foundation hosted a virtual conference-wide scavenger hunt. Attendees sought out horse-themed medallions with TCOM keywords for a chance to win a fabulous prize. Community Data Roundtable Executive Director, Dan “Spielberg” Warner, put together a video highlighting the winner, Dr. Arabellys Hidalgo, of The New York Foundling, receiving her prize.

Ecological Dispruptions & Well-Being Among Children in Foster Care

We are creating brief videos describing the research and highlighting findings of relevance to policy and practice. We will be highlighting these videos on our TCOM YouTube Channel.

What If You Could Find Your Ideal Psychotherapy Treatment Before Seeing a Therapist?

The What IPH (if) Seminar Series, hosted by the Center for Innovation in Population Health, present innovative ideas that can apply to the public health space. Matt Southward, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Department of Psychology at the UK, presents his latest personalization treatment findings and how well these precision medicine models work to predict a patient’s best course of treatment from the beginning.

Let’s Recap: 2021 TCOM Conference

We would like to thank everyone who attended and participated in this year’s 2021 TCOM Conference. This year, we made the choice to transition our Conference from a hybrid to virtual event due to the increase numbers of COVID-19. In this, we were still able to have an engaging and collaborative event for the 17th Annual TCOM Conference. Here is a brief recap of the event.

2021 TCOM Conference: What to Expect

The 17th Annual TCOM Conference will take place October 6-8, 2021. Now that we have switched our format to entirely virtual, here are some items to expect for our virtual event.

The Need for TCOM-365, Not Just 3 Days

TCOM-365 will actively support the work of those who have attended conferences in the past, who will attend this year, and those who may have never have the opportunity to attend the actual event. We will be bringing TCOM worldwide through our transformative collaborations.

Moving Virtually – 2021 TCOM Conference

After careful discussion and consideration, the TCOM Team has decided to move the 17th Annual TCOM Conference, scheduled for October 6 – 8, 2021, to a solely virtual format. This decision was not made without significant deliberation.

TCOM Conference’s COVID-19 Health Policy 

To assure the optimal safety of all attendees, this year’s TCOM Conference in Lexington will require either evidence of full vaccination OR a negative PCR test for COVID-19 within 72 hours (3 days) prior to in-person conference check-in at the hotel. We will follow CDC guidelines regarding masks and social distancing during the conference.

Safety Culture and Child Welfare with Vermont

Just like in aviation and the nuclear industry, child welfare is a safety critical industry and high stakes high consequence decisions are made every day by child welfare workers and caregivers. Dr. Michael Cull, Associate Director for the Center for Innovation in Population Health (IPH Center), was recently interviewed in Welcome to the Field, a […]

Early Bird Gets The Discount

Register by 11:59PM EST Saturday, July 31st, to receive 25% off the 2021 TCOM Conference.

10 Seconds to Make a Difference – National Be Someone Day

The mission of the TCOM community has always been to elevate the shared vision of the people and the communities that serve them. We believe that every day we can play a part in helping improve the lives of the children, families and adults we serve.  That being said, today is “National Be Someone Day”.

Pre-Conference Vignette-A-Thon

We are announcing a vignette-a-thon, an event to allow us to expand our pool of potential vignettes in areas where they are most needed. Submit a vignette that meets the mentioned criteria (per our review), and you’ll receive a discount on next year’s conference registration. Come to the conference this year and you’ll receive prizes for submissions during our social hour.

LIVE NOW: Registration for 2021 TCOM Conference

Registration for the 17th Annual TCOM Conference is now available. This year, experts and professionals throughout the field will gather to focus upon a theme of “Getting A Leg-Up on TCOM,” in Lexington, Kentucky-October 6-8, 2021. Through the TCOM Conference, we build momentum to serve youth & families in equitable and transformative ways. We hope that you will join us.

TCOM Certified Trainer Training

We are hosting a virtual workshop June 16 – 17, 2021 for those that are interested in being a certified Trainer in either the ANSA or CANS. Deadline to register is June 9, 2021.

Italy’s 5th TCOM Conference

Italy’s 5th TCOM Conference will present the implementation of CANS tools in Italy and in the United States for the promotion of collaborative practices oriented to outcome evaluation. In the US, about 80% of children and adolescents in care of mental health services receive an assessment through CANS. In Italy, there are about 1000 trained operators, 80 agencies involved, 7 interinstitutional research projects, and others still in the planning phase. During the training days, reflections will be presented starting from clinical research conducted with the use of the instruments of the CANS family, and the operators will be confronted with the usefulness, strengths and limits and possible future developments of this innovative approach.

Have a Moment?

As TCOM has grown, so have the members of the community we serve. We understand that continued communication with the TCOM Collaborative and understanding who you are is an important part in our goal to continue to connect and collaborate with you. That’s why we have created an audience survey, and would appreciate your participation.

ACRC: 65th Annual Conference

The Association of Children’s Residential Centers is seeking presentations for its 65th Annual Conference, to be held August 3-6, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The ACRC is seeking abstract submissions from presenters willing to present live: in-person, virtually, or in either format. They also offer a robust poster presentation session both in person and virtually. The deadline to submit a proposal will be Friday, April 30, 2021.

Saw Han Quah, Ph.D.

Saw Han Quah is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice in Singapore. For the past 20 years, Saw Han has worked with children, young persons and their parents in relation to child protection, juvenile crime and family issues. Prior to private practice, Saw Han worked as a Principal Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Director at a government […]

Lea Wong, MA

Lea Wong, Assistant Director, Children Services, oversees the Children Services Case Management in Mother’s Choice and she is passionate in child welfare and committed to be the voice for children in their best interests to pursue their permanency plan. Lea takes lead of developing the first self-financed fostering program in Hong Kong called Project Bridge […]

How is Implementation of the CANS Outside of the U.S? – featuring Mother’s Choice in Hong Kong

Recognizing the valuable TCOM work that is being engaged in around the world, we are excited to announce a quarterly blog series that will focus on implementation in different countries. These posts will provide information on implementation considerations, challenges and learning opportunities, and will give a peek into how places outside of the United States are using the TCOM tools.
We begin this series with an implementation of the CANS in its early stages in Hong Kong by Mother’s Choice, a local charity serving children without families and pregnant teenagers. The following is an interview with Dr. Saw Han Quah and Lea Wong, in which they discuss their efforts to implement the CANS.

What if adopting an entrepreneurial mindset can help academics succeed in their professional development?

New Faculty are given an office, a computer and teaching assignments and are expected to develop a successful program of research. In many ways, each faculty position is its own ‘start-up’. Like start-ups, some succeed and some do not. Perhaps we can learn from the field of entrepreneur development how to better support the process of faculty development. We welcome you to join us at our What IPH Seminar Series featuring Warren Nash, the Executive Director of The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE) at the University of Kentucky.

Call For Proposals – Extension Announced

For the 17th Annual TCOM Conference, we are announcing a new proposal submission deadline for March 31, 2021 23:59 CST.
If you are interested in presenting at the 17th Annual TCOM Conference, you now have over two weeks to work on and submit your presentation proposal.

Interview with Lizzie Minton – Kentucky’s Clinical Consultant

Ken McGill, this year’s TCOM Conference Program Chair, spoke with Lizzie Minton, Kentucky’s Clinical Consultant and a member of the 2021 TCOM Conference Program Committee, to discuss the the upcoming TCOM conference!

Getting A Leg Up On TCOM

What are the steps needed to begin the process of getting a leg up? So getting a leg up on TCOM focuses on the goal of CANS to ‘name-it’ or – what is going on in the lives of those we serve. How can someone obtain-it if they do not first name-it or what is being identified as needs and/or strengths. The plans of care than are constructed to outline the transformation goals or the ‘gain-it.’ These become the skills, functional strengths being developed as part of care planning process. It will be the child/youth & family team that will ‘sustain-it’ developing/utilizing family & community supports. It is only with a shared vision that a child/youth, adult & their family will remain focused on reaching their own aspirational goals throughout life.

Deadline Approaching – Call for Proposals

*Please note that at the time this was written, our Call for Proposals deadline was March 15, 2021. We have now extended our deadline to March 31, 2021.*
The deadline for the 17th Annual TCOM Conference Call for Proposals is two weeks away on March 15, 2021. We invite you to submit a proposal if you are interested in presenting at this year’s TCOM Conference.

What if learning how Shakespeare wrote Hamlet could help you in writing papers, grants, or even to develop a treatment plan?

In 2019, the TCOM group established the Center for Innovation in Population Health (IPH) at the University of Kentucky. We are proud to announce that through the IPH Center, we will be hosting a free seminar series, and encourage our TCOM Collaborative to attend. Stephen Wrentmore, a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of […]

Keeping it Fresh: Updating Your Reference Guide

In recent months, we have updated our Standard Comprehensive versions of the CANS, ANSA and FAST (with the Early Childhood and CAT versions not far behind). Keep reading to learn about general and tool-specific updates and how you can access these new versions.

Introducing Our 2021 TCOM Conference Chairperson – Ken McGill

Meet Ken McGill, the Conference Chairman for the 17th Annual TCOM Conference! We are grateful to have Ken be a part of the TCOM Collaborative, and we are excited to work with him on creating a fantastic event for the TCOM 2021 Conference. Let’s meet Ken!

IPH Center’s First Seminar – You’re Invited!

The TCOM group established the Center for Innovation in Population Health at the University of Kentucky back in the Fall of 2019. We are proud to announce that through the IPH Center, we will be hosting a free seminar series, and encourage our TCOM Collaborative to attend.
In our very first seminar series, Stephen Wrentmore, a lecturer with the Department of Theatre and Dance, UK College of Fine Arts, will be discussing dramaturgy, the science of storytelling. Stephen will offer ideas on how dramaturgy can help researchers tell the stories of their publications, grants, or creating a treatment plan. This will give our audience an alternative way that health scientists can tell their stories and their work.

17th Annual TCOM Conference – Call for Proposals!

We invite all members of the international TCOM collaborative to submit proposals to present your work at this year’s TCOM Conference! For this year’s conference, we will be in Lexington, KY, where the TCOM Team is now based. We look forward to your proposals, and look forward to your attendance,

8 Tips to Keep the Holidays Happy

We encourage our TCOM Collaborate to celebrate this year’s festivities in ways that we hope will help keep us all safe and healthy. We understand that this may present some difficult emotional and logistical challenges. Celebrating holidays alone or only with our immediate household members can be a new hurdle that many of us haven’t experienced before. But the holidays aren’t canceled. We can still share our love, show gratitude and plan creative activities to make this holiday a season to remember.

Mine-CANS Winner – TCOM Conference 2020

During the TCOM 2020 Virtual Cloud Gathering Conference, Community Data Roundtable (CDR) hosted a conference-wide virtual scavenger hunt for all of our attendees.
Attached, you will find a video that Community Data Roundtable put together which highlights the winner, Lydia Shaw, receiving her gift basket, and features CDR, members of the TCOM Team, and Dr. John Lyons.

New Website Announcement

Back in September of 2019, the TCOM group established the Center for Innovation in Population Health (IPH) at the University of Kentucky.
Today we are excited to announce the launch of the IPH Center’s new website!

We hope that with our website, we can further improve our engagement with the University of Kentucky, Commonwealth of Kentucky, and beyond. On our site, you will be able to gather an understanding of what the IPH Center hopes to accomplish, the work that we do, and learn more about our team.

We Appreciate You

Two weeks ago was our 16th Annual TCOM Conference; we would like to thank everyone that participated.

Recap from TCOM 2020 Virtual Cloud Gathering Conference

The 16th Annual TCOM Conference, A TCOM Cloud Gathering. Meeting Each Other Where We Are: Collaboration in a COVID-19 World has officially ended. We hope you were able to learn and grow from this year’s sessions; the TCOM Team feels grateful that we had the opportunity to connect and collaborate with each of you.

TCOM 16th Annual Conference: Are You Registered?

TCOM 2020 Conference is DAYS away. The All Access Pass Sale (20% off from our regular registration) is available until Sunday, November 8th, 2020. Starting Monday, November 9th, only the 3-Day Regular Registration option will be available to register for.

Keynote Spotlight: Meet Liz Kromrei

Meet one of your TCOM 2020 Keynote Speakers! Featured in this post: Liz Kromrei – let’s meet Liz!

Be sure to join us virtually to hear Liz discuss “CANS Assessments in the Texas Child Welfare System: A Road Trip” on Friday, November 13th, 2020 from 11:50 – 12:35PM EST during our TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.

Speaker Spotlight: Charlane Oliver

Meet one of your TCOM 2020 Speakers! Featured in this post: Charlane Oliver, co-founder of the Equity Alliance. Let’s meet Charlane!

Be sure to join us virtually to hear Charlane for our Master Lecture on Wednesday, November 11th, 2020 from 11AM – 1PM EST, and Roundtable from 3PM – 5PM EST on November 11th during our TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.

Keynote Spotlight: Meet Dr. Michael Cull

Meet one of your TCOM 2020 Keynote Speakers! Featured in this post: Dr. Michael Cull

Be sure to join us virtually to hear Dr. Cull discuss “Reconsidering Resilience” on Wednesday, November 11th, 2020 from 11:50 – 12:35PM EST during our TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.

Keynote Spotlight: Meet Dr. Khaled El Emam

Meet one of your TCOM 2020 Keynote Speakers! Featured in this post: Dr. Khaled El Emam

Be sure to join us virtually to hear Dr. Khaled El Emam discuss “The Promise, Applications, and Challenges of Generating Synthetic Health Data” on Friday, November 13th, 2020 from 11:00 – 11:45AM EST during our TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.

Keynote Spotlight: Meet Dr. Jei Africa

Meet one of your TCOM 2020 Keynote Speakers! Featured in this post: Jei Africa – let’s meet Jei!

Be sure to join us virtually to hear Dr. Jei Africa discuss “Emerging from the Crisis: Radical Hope, Justice and Love” on Thursday, November 12th, 2020 from 11:00 – 11:45AM EST during our TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.

Transitions: How does managed care use the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool?

By: Barbara Ann Dunn, ACSW, LCSW, Director, Program Innovation and Outcomes, Magellan Healthcare Transitions Using Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) algorithms for access and transition decision support is particularly helpful when celebrating successes. It’s not always appropriate to use the algorithms to screen people for discharge from programs. Screening divides those who get […]

Appropriate and Effective: How does managed care use the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool?

By: Barbara Ann Dunn, ACSW, LCSW, Director, Program Innovation and Outcomes, Magellan Healthcare Appropriateness and Effectiveness An appropriate service should be effective. These two Key Decisions are inextricably linked and are often the basis of medical necessity. Evidence-based practices assign a defined appropriate population and a set of measures demonstrating effectiveness and provide a good […]

TCOM Annual Conference: Group Rates Available

Meeting Each Other Where We Are: Collaboration in a COVID-19 World Group rates are available for this year’s virtual conference (November 11th-13th, 2020)! Save 30% off the All Access Pass when you register a group of five people or more. Feel free to reach out to us at communications@praedfoundation.org for details. For registration and to […]

TCOM Annual Conference: Early Bird Registration Extended!

We’re extending Early Bird ticket sales to September 13th! Regular registration will begin at 12:00am on Monday, September 14th. Our conference will be virtual this year, and continuing education credits can be awarded. You can find our registration site and draft conference agenda here. We hope you’ll join us! –The TCOM Team

From Access to Engagement: How does managed care use the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths tool?

By Barbara Ann Dunn, ACSW, LCSW, Director, Program Innovation and Outcomes, Magellan Healthcare Engagement In my last post we looked at Key Decision 1 (Access) and how managed care uses the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) to enable access to services. Key Decision 2, Engagement, is about bringing people from access — opening […]

Different Models using the CANS with Family Support and Advocacy

By: Janet Hoeke, Founder and Owner of WillowTree Mosaics Recently a friend asked me to join their Wraparound care coordination team as part of the child and family team in the role of family support. The CANS wasn’t used in Idaho when my child was dealing with his serious emotional disturbance, so this was my […]

TCOM Annual Conference: Early Bird Registration Now Open!

Meeting Each Other Where We Are: Collaboration in a COVID-19 World We hope you’ll join us for our virtual conference on November 11th-13th! Connection is more important now than ever. We look forward to our community coming together. Early bird registration is now open, and continuing education hours are available (if seeking CEs, please add […]

How does managed care use the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool?

By: Barbara Ann Dunn, ACSW, LCSW, Director, Program Innovation and Outcomes, Magellan Healthcare The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) is a multi-purpose tool developed for children’s services to support decision making, including level of care and service planning, to facilitate quality improvement initiatives, and to allow for the monitoring of outcomes of services. […]

Voice to Vote

By: the TCOM Team Let’s all vote and help those who need our help to vote as well. Everyone should have a voice in creating our national shared vision. Over the past decade, a many of us have participated in a number of strategic planning processes that played off 2020 representing perfect vision (e.g. Vision […]

A TCOM Virtual Town Hall with John Lyons

By Kenneth McGill, Senior Training and Consultation Specialist from Rutgers University On June 30th New Jersey Children’s System of Care held a 2-hour Town Hall style webinar with Dr. John Lyons, developer of TCOM, who provided answers to questions from system partners on the CANS Tools (i.e., SNA, CAT, & FANS). In addition, Dr. Lyons shared the work being […]

Post-COVID 19 Planning Strategy-As we SIFT through the impact of this worldwide traumatic event-We must support school-age children/youth towards HOPE.

By: Kenneth McGill, EdS LMFT Kenneth initially wrote this blog in early June. We find his words ring just as true today, as America continues to respond to the pandemic and the racial inequities laid bare and necessitating both a shared vision and transformation. Like many it only took me a few weeks to recognize the immense […]

TCOM and the Post-Truth Culture: The Fourth Monkey

By: Dr. John Lyons Much has been said about our current cultural moment… where it appears truth does not matter to a large segment of our population.  All that matters is ‘winning’ and if winning requires you to provide inaccurate or misleading information, then it is just another strategy to ‘win’. This cultural belief system, […]

Transformational Relationships in a Pandemic

By: Cinthya Chin Herrera, PsyD Across the country, most states have joined the the remainder of the world in moving nearly every aspect of our society into digital spheres.  In the Bay Area, many service providers have begun exploring the intricacies of working from home. At times this has meant connecting with kids, teens, families, […]

Collaborative Assessment in the “New Normal”: Completing the CANS and ANSA via phone

Dr. John Lyons and Dr. April Fernando presented a webinar on the use of the CANS and ANSA in non-face-to-face modalities (e.g., telephone). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have had to adapt their means of communication for the safety of themselves and others. Effective collaboration becomes extremely important when using the phone or […]

Using CANS Items to Define Child Well-Being and Study Child Welfare Outcomes

By: Dr. Amy Zimmerman, Casey Family Programs Casey Family Programs (Casey) believes that every child deserves a safe, supportive, and permanent family. Casey works urgently and relentlessly with our target service population of older youth to achieve permanency so that no child will age out of Casey foster care. We believe building, or rebuilding, family […]

Caring for Each Other…The CANS Can Help

By Ken McGill, Eds, LMFT, Rutgers University The impact of the coronavirus, now labeled a pandemic, has been worldwide. If we take a moment, we will see that there has been a change in daily life; this is true for individuals, couples, families, agencies, institutions or any other entity throughout our planet. I am sure […]

Working from Home – Experiences from the TCOM team

As the COVID-19 crisis changes day by day in the United States and around the world, more people are beginning to work from home. Many resources are providing helpful tips for people new to working from home, so we decided to ask some of our staff who generally work from home to highlight their successes […]

Resilience Reconsidered

by Michael Cull, PhD, Associate Director for Safe Systems, University of Kentucky’s Center for Innovation in Population Health No doubt our resilience as a nation is being tested by current events.  We’re facing significant uncertainty at home and at work. How will we accomplish home visits? How do we ensure child safety? How can we […]

Introducing the TCOM 2020 Conference Chair

The Praed Foundation is delighted to introduce Barbara Dunn as our new Conference Chair for the 16th annual TCOM Conference! Read her letter below! Dear TCOM Collaborative, I am excited about being asked to serve as the Conference Program Chair in 2020! Last year I served on the program committee and thoroughly enjoyed reviewing the […]

Mass Customized Patterns and Priorities for Success

By Kate Cordell, PhD, MPH, Managing Director at Mental Health Data Alliance, LLC What if we could utilize the CANS and ANSA to identify which items, if resolved, were associated with success in our program? What if we could look at that by race/ethnicity, gender and age? If we could, we could get a lot […]

Connecting Through Communication-The Human Experience

By Ken McGill, EdS, LMFT, Rutgers University What is more basic to our understanding than how we develop and use language? Language is used to communicate who we are as individuals. It can be used to describe how we are ‘feeling inside’ to others. It is through this sharing or using words to connect feelings […]

Transformation: Shared Knowledge & Skills Building

By: Ken McGill Senior Training and Consultation Specialist Connecting It All Together… The work within the field of ‘human services’ can often become quite complicated, especially from the perspective of those we serve…the children/youth & families. I have often wondered, “Why do we make things so complicated?” I thought with all of the advances of […]

A Legacy of Relationships

By John Lyons, PhD In 2019, I became an orphan.  Unlike many of the young people with whom we work, I was privileged to have at least one of my parents in my life for 63 years.  But regardless of our age, losing both parents is a profound experience.   My father passed on December 2nd […]

When Strengths Meet Community Needs: A Benefit Concert at GRAC 

Our work through TCOM focuses on community support, collaboration, and utilizing strengths to address needs for individuals and families. It is with these values that we want to share this event with the TCOM community.   On January 31st at 8:00 PM EST, the band MojoThunder will be playing a benefit concert at the Gateway Regional Arts Center (GRAC) in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. The GRAC […]

Congratulations to Brandon Howlett on Receiving the 2025 Lyman T. Johnson -Torch Bearer Award for the College of Education

It is with immense pride that we congratulate our colleague Brandon Howlett, Training Lead forthe TCOM team, on being honored with the 2025 Lyman T. Johnson (LTJ) Torch Bearer Awardfor the College of Education. The LTJ Awards at the University of Kentucky celebrate current students and former studentswhose hard work, leadership, and service reflect the […]

eQIP| From Congregate Care to Community Support: A DCFS Transformation Story | Live May 13 12:00pm EST

Join the eQIP Partnership for another great live event titled From Congregate Care to Community Support: A DCFS Transformation Story The powerful conversation will highlight Los Angeles County’s groundbreaking achievement, zero children placed in Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs (STRTPs) over the past eight months. This major milestone reflects a bold shift away from congregate care […]

Registration Open for the 21st TCOM Conference

Registration for the 21st Annual TCOM Conference is now live! Register now till July 15th for early bird rates! The theme of this year’s conference is “On The Shoulders of Those Before” and will be located in Chicago, Illinois. We will have insightful speakers, poster presentation sessions,  roundtable conversations, networking opportunities, and an award ceremony. […]

The Momentum of Transformation: Is Witnessing Something That Is Invisible an Oxymoron? 

 Attending conferences is a typical part of the experience in the human helping profession, regardless of the hats you wear. There is always a conference theme designed to capitalize on and highlight the work. From that pursuit usually comes a collective identity and feeling of unity amongst conference goers that can be expected, but what […]

WORDS – Rectify

I had family in town this weekend and we ended up touring a local bourbon distillery.   In the tour we learned that until the middle of the 19th century distillers were not allowed to bottle their own products.  They had to go through a rectification process.   The responsibility of the rectifier was to rectify the proof of the product […]

Introducing Hablemos TCOM!

TCOM Is Now In Spanish Hola everyone! We’re excited to share that TCOM now has a dedicated website in Spanish: http://www.hablemostcom.org This new platform titled Hablemos TCOM.org or “Let’s Talk TCOM” allows individuals and organizations worldwide to learn about our work, connect with us, and access resources in Spanish. While our existing sites for training, […]

Connecting the dots 3/11: Moving Away from the Medicalization of Misery

On This Episode On the next episode of Connecting the Dots we will be chatting with Alison Krompf, former Deputy Commissioner for the Vermont Department of Mental Health, and Director of Vermont Strategy for the Four Pines Foundation.  She’ll share her research on the role of strengths in improving youth mental health outcomes.  We hope […]

Call for Proposals | 21st TCOM Conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28gCg1rz4Ss Attention all researchers, practitioners, providers, advocates and innovators! The moment we’ve all been waiting for is almost here… The 21st annual TCOM conference is coming to Chicago, Illinois, from October 7-9, 2025! This isn’t your average conference. No, no, no. This is a celebration of YOU, the trailblazers and change-makers working tirelessly to build […]

Research Spotlight The Development of a Child Sex Trafficking Screener Based on the CANS Posted By: The Center for Innovation in Population Health Cited Article Authored By: Nadine M. Finigan-Carr, Ph.D. Amelia Rubenstein, MSM, LCSW-C, Neil Mallon, LCSW-C, Wana Jin, MPH, and Terry V. Shaw, Ph.D., MSW, MPH Every year, thousands of vulnerable children within […]

Celebrating Soma Chakraborty Patra at the UK Women’s Forum Annual Conference

The team at the IPH Center is proud to celebrate Soma Chakraborty Patra’s participation in the 2024 UK Women’s Forum Annual Conference.

WORDS – Defenestration

Although technically, defenestration is something that appears to happen to some Russian Oligarchs, the word is often used in a broader sense. In the TCOM space, defenestration is the process that leads to a lack of leadership continuity in the public helping sectors.

Duration Matters: Impact of Treatment Length on Functioning and Out-of-Home Placement in Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance

It is not unheard of in the human helping profession to ponder the effectiveness of services.

Words – Allopatric

When I came across this word it got me thinking about how as globalization and the information age permeate even some of the most remote places. I believe our anthropology colleagues would say that culture historically has been largely an allopatric phenomenon.

Connecting the Dots: Making Equity Real – The Brass Tacks of Transformation

What if we have been thinking about systems transformations all wrong? Is it possible that in our efforts to improve systems quality practice and ineffective practice are simultaneously disrupted. In the next episode of Connecting the Dots, Dr. Nate Israel from the Union Point group will discuss the connection between systems-level transformation and personal transformation. And demonstrate an approach for rethinking systems design and improving outcomes for children and families.

Drawing from Safety Science to Support Safe Infant Sleep and Prevent SUID  

Since 1988, October has been recognized as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. It is a remembrance of our country’s littlest ones and the lasting love their parents and broader community feel for them.

Exploring Embodiment as a Transformative Approach to Harmful Anger at the 2024 Inaugural International Day Against Harmful Anger

The Inaugural International Day Against Harmful Anger will serve as a beacon for mental health awareness, providing a platform for education, discussions, and the promotion of healthy coping mechanisms, ultimately contributing to the collective effort to enhance global emotional resilience.

Bridging Behavioral Health Gaps with Spiritual/Religious Strengths

Have you ever wondered if there are concrete links between a youth’s positive resources and their hardships? In the helping profession, many questions arise about how a young person’s strengths, effectively the resources that can be used to overcome challenges, might influence the areas in a young person’s life that would benefit from support, i.e. their needs. Do talents and interests contribute positively to a child’s resilience?

New Research Highlights the ANSA as a Tool for Understanding Substance Use Treatment Outcomes in Young Adults

In recent years, the opioid crisis has highlighted the urgent need for effective substance use treatment programs, particularly among young adults. A recent study conducted in a Midwestern state sheds light on the treatment completion rates of young adults aged 18-25 who participated in publicly funded outpatient substance use treatment programs.

Identifying Under- and Overutilization Patterns for Idaho Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance

In 2017, the state of Idaho launched the Youth Empowerment Service (YES) program, targeting children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED). This initiative allows the youth, particularly those under eighteen and from households earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level, to qualify for Medicaid and access comprehensive, community-based treatments.

When the Waters Rose: Fighting for Family and Community After the Eastern Kentucky Flood

In July 2022, the Eastern Kentucky region was left in ruins following unprecedented floods that struck in July 2022, causing widespread devastation to homes and communities. To commemorate the lives lost and celebrate the strength and the heroic acts of care by the community, in a recent episode of the podcast Shift Shift Bloom Podcast, resident Brian Lucas and expert Dr. Gavin Rienne shared their experiences and insights on the disaster.

Is the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) the Best Person-Centered Assessment Choice for children/youth and their caregivers?

Choosing the right assessment tool can significantly impact the quality of care provided in child and family-serving systems.

Celebrating Pride Month

As we celebrate Pride Month, it’s a perfect time for helping professionals who serve children, youth, and families to deepen their understanding and support of LGBTQIA+ individuals.

Honoring National Foster Care Month

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize the dedication of foster parents and caregivers and to raise awareness about the challenges faced by children and youth in foster care.

Celebrating a New Milestone: Gavin Rienne, Ph.D., Joins the Governor’s Interagency Council on Health Disparities

We are thrilled to announce that Gavin Rienne, Ph. D., will continue to make significant contributions to public health by focusing on health disparities within Washington State in his new role.

It Depends: Embracing the Ambiguity of the TCOM Tools

We bolster our arguments by focusing on the minutiae of some anchor text in the reference guide. We pose the question, and Dr. Fernando says, “It depends…”

Invitation to Early Bird Registration | 20th Annual TCOM Conference

An invitation from the 20th Annual TCOM Conference Chair and the Early Bird Registration…

Burning Question: Does Venting Anger Feed the Fire or Cool it Down?

To learn more about effective strategies on how to navigate and manage your anger, review our new Anger Management Course, available in multiple languages, on the Alliance Against Anger website allianceagainstanger.org

Register Today and Join us at the 20th Annual TCOM Conference

We are excited to announce the celebration of 20 years of collaboration with our TCOM community as we Climb the Hills of System Change together. Join us!

WORDS – “Umbrageous”

Since the IPH Center team is mostly remote, I look for different ways to stay connected and help build a culture.
One small attempt is by sharing a word — often obscure — but with some relevance to our work.”

Connecting The Dots: How Great is the Impact of Positive Child Experiences?

On the next episode of Connecting the Dots, Dr. Xiaoran Tong will share his groundbreaking research exploring the joint impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) versus Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) on a broad range of physical, mental, and behavioral health outcomes.

Exciting Workshop at the 2024 CQI Statewide Conference: Explore Cutting-Edge Child and Adolescent Decision Support Models

Upcoming workshop at the 2024 CQI Statewide Conference hosted by the University of California, Davis.

Good News | The Deadline for the 20th Annual TCOM Conference Proposal Submission has been Extended!

Understanding our dedicated community’s challenges and busy schedules, we extended the deadline for proposal submissions.

Equestrian Collegiate Team Care System Access and Patient Activation in the Management of Chronic Pain and Injury

A follow-up to a study on how access to care affects the management of chronic pain and injury among collegiate equestrians.

Media Matters: Leveraging Online News, Broadcasting, and Videography to Circulate Photovoice Projects to Broader Audiences

If you’re interested in joining the storytelling community of practice, we’re building!

The 2023 TCOM Conference KEYNOTE Series on YouTube

We want to share the recording of the keynote series from the 2023 event with you. The keynote series is now available on YouTube, providing a platform for a broader audience to gain insights from the conference’s thought-provoking sessions and expert speakers!

“The Last Cicada” by Dr. John Lyons

As you pour yourself into efforts that seek to transform people’s lives, remember the impact of your timing and your choices. You do have choices in life. The choices you make define you.

¡Inspira, aprende y conecta! Envía tu propuesta en Español a la Conferencia TCOM 2024

Inspire, learn, and connect! Send your proposal in Spanish to the TCOM 2024 Conference

Sunkawakan Wolakota: Horse Balance

In this post by EACH Hoofprint, Dr. Elizabeth Warson revisits a summer expressive therapy program that incorporates horses with her community partners from the Oglala Tribe in the states of South Dakota and Nebraska.

“WhatIPH?” Seminar | What IPH AI Held the Key to Advancing Global Population Health?”

We invite you to register now for free, and join us at our next “WhatIPH?” Seminar: “WHAT IPH AI Held the Key to Advancing Global Population Health?” Our guest speaker, Ajay K. Gupta, CISSP, MBA, the founder & CEO of HSR.health, will discuss the opportunities and challenges in leveraging AI to advance global population health.

Connecting The Dots: Information Signposts on the Pathway to Care

Season 2 – Episode 1: In this episode, Dr. Cappelli will share his work on designing screening tools and decision-support models that create pathways to care from Primary Care Physicians, Emergency Departments, and Navigation Hotlines.

Exciting News: Dr. April D. Fernando, Distinguished by Her Illustrious Election to the National Register of Health Service Psychologists Board of Directors!

It is with great pleasure and pride that we share some exciting news with our respected community.

WORDS – “Maculate” & “Capacitate”

Some words are best known and most often used in their negatives. That is not always bad since a negative of a negative is a positive.

Building the TCOM T-HIVE Basecamp Based on Your Feedback!

The TCOM T-HIVE is the ultimate hub for collaboration, resource-sharing, and skill enhancement within the TCOM community. T-HIVE is your opportunity to connect, grow, and thrive, and it goes live on January 16!

New Research Study: Understanding the Role of Qualified Individuals Under Family First Legislation

We are excited to announce a new research study focused on the experience of qualified individuals/independent assessors!

WORDS – “Important”

I’ve recently been thinking about the meaning of being important, and I have settled on the idea that in an ideal world, everyone is equally important but in different ways.

The Role of Resilience Factors in Foster Care Children Five Years or Younger

Children less than five years of age comprised approximately 30% in 2020 of foster care entries in the United States, and they are consistently the largest foster care entry group.

“WhatIPH?” Seminar – What If A Picture Were Worth More Than 1000 Words?

We are excited to announce and invite our partners to join us in our next virtual event “WhatIPH?” Seminar: What If A Picture Were Worth More Than 1000 Words? The seminar will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023 at 2 PM (EST)

Connecting The Dots: Can the Development of Strengths Mitigate the Impact of Trauma?

The promise of the TCOM approach has always been as follows, “through the use of TCOM tools, we can better understand the process of personal change for children, families, and adults in our helping systems.”

We’re All Buzzing About the TCOM T-HIVE: Trainers Helping InVigorate Education! 

Last week, during the 19th annual TCOM conference, we convened a roundtable conversation with more than 40 TCOM trainers from around the world and asked them to think back to the first time they trained on the CANS/ANSA/FAST. What were you feeling? What did you wish you had in terms of support? 

Are You Ready for TCOM 2023?

You can feel it—a hum of energy that challenges all the hype around the town’s strongest cold brew. In less than a week, these somewhat predictable streets of downtown Lexington, Kentucky will be filled with innovators, thinkers, policymakers, and game-changers, their badges shiny and conversations full of hope and courage to create systems that care – What a great place to get inspired!

How to Survive a Large Family Including a Mental Illness and Remain Together: An Exploration of Our Lived Experience

Our middle son came up from the basement where it was safe for him to play alone – he-proofed – and when he entered the kitchen I turned to see a five-year-old boy warrior with widened eyes, a ripped shirt (“I used my teeth!” was the proud response when asked how) and battle ready.

English and Spanish CANS Reports Benefit Families Thanks to a Collaboration Between Santa Cruz County and Community Data Roundtable

“Research has repeatedly shown that consumer-developed plans are the most successful, so we want to give consumers information in a way they can use it to drive their own treatment.”

WORDS – “STAKEHOLDER”

Today, I’m describing a word that you may want to remove from your vocabulary or at least be aware of when others might find it offensive.

Connecting The Dots: “EHR Systems Should Help Us See Things We May Not Otherwise See”

Can our data systems and electronic health records help us see what we may not otherwise see?

Empathy, Insight, Transformation: A Trainer’s Journey with CANS-NY and TCOM

There are so many things that I love about being a CANS NY Trainer & Coach. When I start prepping for day one of the two-day Introductory Training I know that my heart will be full.

Let’s Talk About It | The New eQIP Podcast Series

We are thrilled to introduce a dynamic new platform that will further amplify your expertise and insights within the Qualified Individuals (QIs) community – Let’s Talk About It Podcast Series.

Expanding The Hoofprints of How Horses Transform Human Lives: The Equine-Assisted Collaborative for Health (EACH)

Equine-assisted refers to the integration of horses in a dynamic and intentional manner to promote health and well-being for humans. Clinicians work with horses to enhance counseling, psychotherapy, physical therapy, and recreational therapy.

Reflections on Kentucky’s Statewide Implementation and Use of the CANS for Clinical Decision-Making for Youth

We are just two months away from welcoming you to our beautiful state of Kentucky!

New Journal Article from the IPH Center: Creating the Necessary Infrastructure for a Trauma-Informed System of Care for Children and Youth 

In the new article published by Frontiers in Psychology publication, Dr. John S. Lyons and Dr. April D. Fernando explore the importance of trauma-informed care and the steps to creating and supporting a trauma-informed system within the TCOM framework.

Seize the Moment: Register Now for the 2023 TCOM Conference!

If you’ve ever had the passion to network with like-minded individuals, share your ideas, and elevate your understanding of the diverse facets of TCOM, this is your golden opportunity!

Celebrating the Child Protective Services Professional Day

Child Protection Professionals Day serves as a powerful reminder of the critical role child protection professionals play in our society.

“The Golden Rule” Can Be a Compass for Navigating Family Engagement

The child welfare system has decades of established principles and practices that help guide how we engage with families. In an effort to get staff to adhere to a set core values during family engagement, jurisdictions from across the country have instilled guiding principles.

Collaboration across frontiers: Explore the TCOM tools in the World

Have you ever wondered where in the world is our TCOM community? We have created this map that will serve as a central hub where users can discover the various TCOM Tools being used globally. It will constantly be updated as we keep growing and expanding our work together.

Embracing The Mess: Collaboration Is Really A Verb

Collaborative.  It’s a great adjective.  Four syllables.  Easy to say. Makes me feel good saying it. But, what does it mean to be collaborative?  How do I make it real?  Well, it starts by turning it into a verb.  To collaborate.  To purposefully and thoughtfully work with others in order to produce something. 

You Can Never Go Home Again: Planning for Reunification from Residential Treatment – An eQIP Live Event

Announcing The Next eQIP Live Event You Can Never Go Home Again: Planning for Reunification from Residential Treatment Thursday, June 22, 2023, 3 PM (EST) Watch the Live Event About Our Guest Speaker Mr. Bob Lieberman Mr. Bob Lieberman, the former CEO of a multi-service children’s mental health agency turned consultant with over 48 years […]

Bridging TCOM with the World Collaborative: Perhaps Laughter is the Ultimate Prescription

A question for the ages. There are many answers to this question, and often, it depends upon the discipline of study: for example, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and psychology just to name a few. The focus for this brief post will be from both a TCOM and Neuroscience perspective, from the framework of brain science and neurotransmitters.

Connecting the Dots: “Quantifying the Impact of Natural Supports”

Connecting The Dots: “Quantifying the Impact of Natural Supports”, with Dr. Scott Leon

Conversations with the TCOM trainers: The Importance of Identifying a Caregiver on the tools

The items and domains in the TCOM tools help us capture an individual’s areas of strengths and needs so that we can figure out where intervention or support may be needed.

Connecting The Dots: “Applying AI with Narrative Data”

Connecting The Dots: “Applying AI with Narrative Data”, with Dr. Kate Cordell, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder at Opeeka.

The19th Annual TCOM Conference

The Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM) conference is one of the most highly anticipated events in the population health industry, and we are thrilled to announce that registrations are now open for this year’s conference.