Integrated Practice Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS)
True or false: only children and youth in foster care are required to receive the IP-CANS.
False. All children, youth, and nonminor dependents (NMDs) who have an open child welfare case are required to receive the IP-CANS. Also, youth who are involved in a juvenile probation placement must receive the IP-CANS.
Parwez
This term refers to how closely a program or practice is delivered as it was intended by its developers.
What is fidelity?
Theresa: Fidelity includes five key dimensions: adherence to core components, exposure (amount and frequency), quality of delivery, participant responsiveness, and program differentiation. Fidelity to the IP-CANS and CFT means the practices meet the timeliness, accuracy, and collaboration standards as delineated in state issued guidance.
This tool is used in the CFT process to determine a child, youth, or nonminor dependent's strengths and needs.
What is the IP-CANS?
Parwez
High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW) is designed to support these individuals.
Who are youth with complex behavioral health needs, multi‑system involvement, and histories of trauma or placement instability?
Dani
This evidence-based practice will be the core of the Immediate Needs Program under TRS.
What is Wraparound?
Dani: High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW) is a structured, team-based, and family-centered coordination model specifically designed for youth with complex behavioral health needs, involvement in multiple systems, and histories of trauma or placement instability. CDSS determined that HFW — when implemented with fidelity — is the service approach best suited to address the urgent, intensive needs identified through the IP-CANS assessment for youth in Tiers 2, 3, and 3+.
ILT
What is Interagency Leadership Team?
This is where IP-CANS data is recorded.
What is CARES Live/CWS-CARES?
Johnny
This tool helps organizations evaluate the quality of Child and Family Team meetings and ensure the integration of the Integrated Practice Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) framework.
What is the CFT Meeting Observation Tool?
Chelsie
These are the ages of youth in the child welfare and juvenile probation systems who are required to have a CFT.
What is ages 0-21?
Caroline: A child or youth should participate in CFT meetings at any age as long as they are receiving child welfare and/or juvenile probation services, but the content and scheduling may look different depending on their age and needs. Please refer to The CFT Engagement Guide for guidance on CFT meetings for children aged 0-5 and for Nonminor dependents (NMDs), whose strengths and needs may differ from other age groups.
The people in a youth or family’s everyday life who provide unpaid, ongoing support. These are not professionals or service providers; they’re individuals who have a genuine, personal relationship with the family. They help provide long-term stability, increase trust and engagement, reflect cultural and community context, build independence and enhance team effectiveness
Who are natural supports?
Janine: Natural support is part of the family’s real-world support system, not something created by services. In High Fidelity Wraparound, these supports are critical because they help ensure that positive changes last beyond formal intervention and are rooted in the family’s everyday life. They could be a family member, neighbor, coach, friend, clergy, community members…
This will replace "placement setting" as the primary factor to determine the rate paid on behalf of a child or youth in foster care.
What is a youth’s assessed level of needs and strengths as identified through the IP-CANS?
Dani
LCA
What is Latent Class Analysis?
This organization certifies the IP-CANS completers.
What is Praed certifies IP-CANS completers on the TCOM website?
Johnny
This essential process of fidelity to IP-CANS and CFT ensures that implementation remains aligned with Integrated Core Practice Model (ICPM) values.
What is Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)?
Theresa: CQI ensures that implementation remains aligned with the Integrated Core Practice Model (ICPM) values, such as teaming, collaboration, and prioritizing youth and family voice, while using data to drive improvement.
An Indian child or youth must have a CFT meeting within this number of days to comply with the ICWA requirements.
What is 30 days?
Chelsie
Pilot site participants will use the stock version of WrapStat, which is a data support system that is specific to Wraparound implementation. WrapStat will be used to organize fidelity and outcome measures outlined in the subsequent sections of this evaluation/CQI plan. Data entered into WrapStat will be able to be matched with data currently in this CDSS data system.
What is CWS/CMS?
Chris
Within the Tiered Rate Structure, these Tiers will receive Wraparound Immediate Needs.
A. Tier 1 only
B. Tier 3
C. Tiers 2, 3, and 3+
C-Tiers 2, 3, and 3+
Janine
CPIP
What is County Practice and Improvement Plan?
The CANS is described as a "communimetric" tool. This term refers to:
What is how the tool measures and presents information in a way that is easy to communicate?
Theresa
This new process is being implemented to help ensure fidelity for CA Wraparound High Fidelity Wraparound Providers.
What is Wraparound Certification and Approval?
Janine: The purpose of California’s High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW) Certification and Approval process is to ensure that counties and service providers deliver Wraparound services with consistent quality, fidelity to the model, and measurable positive outcomes for children, youth, and families. It establishes statewide standards, accountability, and training expectations so that every certified provider follows the same evidence‑based Wraparound principles and practices.
This is the timeline of how frequently most children and youth in the child welfare system must receive CFT meetings.
What is at least every six months?
Caroline: If receiving ICC, IHBS, or TFC Services, then at least every three months. CFT meetings must also be convened whenever the child, youth, or family’s needs indicate there is a need or upon the request of a team member. The CFT process is foundational to California’s child welfare system and the services children, youth, and families receive.
This is the basis of the High Fidelity Wraparound (HFW) model.
What are the CA Wraparound Standards?
Dani: The CA standards are based off the national Wraparound Initiative standards, updated through a stakeholder engagement process in CA. These were updated and released in the Aftercare ACL in July of 2025. They are also housed on the UC Davis, RCFFP webpage.
True or False. High Fidelity Wraparound ensures services and supports available through other systems are available to a child/family and work well to support them. Wraparound Immediate Needs adds increased competencies for child welfare and supports for in-home stabilization and permanency.
True.
Chris
CARES
What is California Automated Response and Engagement System?
This is the highest numerical rating on a strength a youth can receive in the IP-CANS.
What is a 0?
Robin: A 0 on an item in the strengths domain means that this item is a centerpiece strength. 1 means that a strength is present and useful in planning. 2 means that an identified strength needs to be build or developed. A 3 means that no strength is identified at this time (but, it may be an opportunity to create a strength).
The needs rating scale is different from the strengths rating scale in the IP-CANS. In the needs rating scale, a 0 means there is no evidence of need and no action is necessary. A 1 means that there is a possible need or a significant history that would benefit from watchful waiting, prevention, or additional support.
The two actionable ratings on the needs rating scale are 2 and 3. A 2 means that the need interferes with functioning and a 3 means that the need is dangerous or disabling. The latter requires immediate attention and action.
Participants in the CA Wraparound Evaluation & CQI Pilot meet monthly to discuss their use of the wraparound fidelity tools which include: WFI-EZ, TOM 2.0, Community Supports for Wraparound Inventory, and DART. What does DART stand for?
A. Document Assessment and Review Tool
B. Decision Alignment Research Tool
C. Darn Another Research Tool
What is a A: Document Assessment and Review Tool?
Dani
This is the difference between the CFT process and a CFT meeting.
What is CFT meetings are individual meetings that support the CFT process?
Theresa: The CFT process is a collaborative approach to supporting children and families that brings together the child or youth, family, natural supports, service providers, and other involved individuals to identify strengths, assess needs, and develop coordinated plans that support safety, permanency, and well-being. A CFT meeting is a key component of that process, providing a structured opportunity for the team to review information, make shared decisions, and update plans based on the child or family’s evolving needs and goals.
With the CA Wraparound Evaluation & CQI Pilot, CDSS is working in partnership with WERT from University of Washington to develop a comprehensive CQI plan for wraparound. WERT stands for:
A. Wraparound Equation Resizing Team
B. Wild Evaluation Reform Team
C. Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team
What is C: Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team?
Chris
CDSS plans to use a TPA to process financial transactions with county behavioral health for the WIN program. The TPA will help CDSS track the percentages of children in each tier receiving HFW and/or other Specialty Mental Health Services (SMHS) based on Medi-Cal claims data. What does TPA stand for?
A. Third Patent Association
B. Thriving Parents Anonymous
C. Third Party Administrator
What is C: Third Party Administrator?
Dani
TCOM
What is Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management?