CAASP Core Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which CASSP principle specifically requires that services be planned with the child and family as active participants rather than passive recipients?
- Community-based
- Family-driven
- Child-centered (Correct answer)
- Culturally competent
Correct answer: Child-centered
The child-centered principle places the child's needs, strengths, and preferences at the forefront, with the child and family actively involved in planning.
Question 2: A system of care emphasizes 'least restrictive environment.' What does this mean in practice?
- Children are always placed in community settings regardless of need
- Services are provided in the most natural, home-like setting appropriate to the child's needs (Correct answer)
- Restrictive placements are never used under any circumstances
- Only outpatient therapy is considered appropriate
Correct answer: Services are provided in the most natural, home-like setting appropriate to the child's needs
Least restrictive environment means using the most natural setting that safely meets the child's needs, not eliminating higher levels of care when genuinely necessary.
Question 3: Under CASSP principles, 'individualized care' means that services should be:
- Standardized across all children with the same diagnosis
- Tailored to each child's unique strengths, needs, and circumstances (Correct answer)
- Determined solely by the treating clinician without family input
- Based primarily on cost-effectiveness across the service system
Correct answer: Tailored to each child's unique strengths, needs, and circumstances
Individualized care requires that service plans be customized to the specific child rather than applying a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Question 4: Which of the following best illustrates the 'strengths-based' approach within CASSP core principles?
- Documenting all of the child's deficits to justify intensive services
- Identifying the child's and family's existing capacities to build upon in treatment (Correct answer)
- Focusing treatment exclusively on eliminating problem behaviors
- Assigning services based on the severity of the child's diagnosis
Correct answer: Identifying the child's and family's existing capacities to build upon in treatment
A strengths-based approach identifies existing assets in the child and family system as building blocks for recovery and growth.
Question 5: How does the CASSP principle of 'accountability' apply to service providers in a system of care?
- Providers are accountable only to their licensing board, not to families
- Providers must demonstrate measurable outcomes and responsiveness to family feedback (Correct answer)
- Accountability refers exclusively to financial billing compliance
- Only state agencies bear accountability for child outcomes
Correct answer: Providers must demonstrate measurable outcomes and responsiveness to family feedback
Accountability in CASSP requires providers to track outcomes, respond to family concerns, and demonstrate that services are producing meaningful results.
Question 6: A child moves from a residential treatment facility back to her community. Which CASSP principle most directly guides the planning of her transition services?
- Normalization
- Community-based (Correct answer)
- Least restrictive
- Multi-system
Correct answer: Community-based
The community-based principle ensures that transition planning prioritizes reintegration into natural community settings with appropriate supports.
Question 7: The CASSP principle of 'cultural competence' requires that service systems:
- Provide services only in English to promote assimilation
- Recognize and respect the cultural heritage and values of each family served (Correct answer)
- Assign clinicians exclusively from the same cultural background as the family
- Eliminate cultural considerations to ensure standardized treatment
Correct answer: Recognize and respect the cultural heritage and values of each family served
Cultural competence means understanding, respecting, and incorporating each family's cultural context into service planning and delivery.
CAASP Core Principles 2
Which CASSP principle specifically requires that services be planned with the child and family as active participants rather than passive recipients?