Using Engagement and Data to Provide Appropriate Care for Children and Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Health Challenges

Virtual Training

Thursdays, November 20, December 4 & December 11, 2025 

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern Time

Determining how to provide appropriate care to children who have intense behavioral and emotional needs can be complex and challenging. When behaviors are difficult to control or efforts to address these complex needs in home or community-based care are unsuccessful, the result is youth are admitted into congregate care. This process is frequently a challenge, expensive, and potentially traumatizing for children, youth, and families. Other interventions including hospitals, detention centers, courts, schools, and intensive community interventions often are precursors to admission to congregate care. Increasingly these admissions have been reserved for only the children and youth with the most clinically and behaviorally complex needs.

Workers and providers often don’t have adequate evaluative information for the children and youth in their care. Nor are they given sufficient time or resources to gain the necessary information or understanding of a child or youth and their families to succeed in accessing viable and deep levels of engagement. Yet, effective intervention is driven by a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the person. Unfortunately, staff in under-funded and over-worked systems are challenged to take the time necessary to effectively understand the lives and needs of children and families.

The goals of this training are to address the processes used to determine referrals for behavioral health care for children and youth by looking at the referral and decision-making processes, access processes, and briefly the infrastructure needed.

The Information Management and Decision Support modality as reflected in the CANS (Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths) process will be reviewed. This will include the logic and efficacy in reflecting youth’s needs and how agency staff might respond to them effectively and in a timely fashion. The CANS also lends itself to the development of programs as well as appropriate funding based on the identified needs. Examples of how data from the CANS is used for person-centered design will be shared.

The training will also address the specific needs of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and substance use disorders, access opportunities for youth who might otherwise have entered Juvenile Justice programs, keeping youth close to home by developing interventions based on data in their own communities, and expanding low cost options and strategies to focus on behavioral and emotional challenges while also taking into consideration the social determinants of health. 

Trainers:

 John Lyons, PhD is the Director of the Center for Innovation in Population Health at the University of Kentucky and a Professor of Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health. He has more than 40 years of experience working with public sector systems, predominantly child welfare, behavioral health, justice, and education. He is the original developer of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) and its conceptual framework Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM).   The CANS is the most widely used clinical and functional assessment for children, youth, and families with statewide implementation in at least one sector in 44 states. The TCOM framework has been widely used for person-centered design system transformations in the US and abroad.

Alan Vietze, LCSW who is a CWLA Senior Fellow, Board Member, and Mental Health Advisory Board Chair. He is a clinician and consultant in various jurisdictions. He spent 17 years on the initial development of the New Jersey System of Care and has served as a County Administrator and in community mental health.

Training Dates and Times: Each of the three (3) training sessions will be held on Thursdays for two (2) hours, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern Time, on November 20, 2025; December 4, 2025; and December 11, 2025.

Coaching Sessions: The trainers will also provide three (3) one-hour follow-up group coaching sessions to support participants with implementation of the knowledge and skills gained from the training.  Dates and times to be announced. (Participation is optional.)

Training Registration Fee: Organizational Member $305; Individual Member $330; Non-Member $355 (includes Coaching Sessions)

Training CEUs: Member $25; Non-Member $35

Six (6) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for the three training sessions, provided through NASW – Washington State Chapter. Licensed Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Mental Health Counselors are eligible. Provider number is 1975-176. Participants must submit session evaluations and quizzes to receive CEUs.

10% Discount Available for Group of 5 or More Training Registrations*

*Registrations must be completed at the same time as a group for the “10% for 5 or More” discount to apply and is only applicable for new training registrations. Contact memberservices@cwla.org for assistance with a group registration.

Location: The training will be virtual using the Zoom platform. Training details and Zoom links will be emailed to registrants a few days prior to the training.  Please be sure to check your Junk/Spam folders.

For information on the training content, contact Julie Collins, jcollins@cwla.org. For assistance with registration, contact memberservices@cwla.org.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Space is limited and available on a first come/first served basis. Requests for refunds must be received in writing no later than one week prior to the event. A $25 service charge will be assessed on all canceled registrations. Early registration is encouraged, as space is limited. CWLA reserves the right to cancel a training in the event of insufficient registration.

Registration can be processed online with a credit card payment. To pay by check, select payment option "Bill Me" and mail check payment with a copy of your registration confirmation to:

Child Welfare League of America
PO Box 75171
Baltimore, MD 21275-5171