CAASP Core Principles 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In a system of care, 'interagency collaboration' primarily serves to:
- Reduce the number of agencies involved to cut costs
- Coordinate services across child-serving systems to meet the whole child's needs (Correct answer)
- Allow one lead agency to override decisions made by all others
- Limit family access to multiple agency supports
Correct answer: Coordinate services across child-serving systems to meet the whole child's needs
Interagency collaboration ensures that education, mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, and other systems work together rather than in silos.
Question 2: Which scenario BEST reflects a violation of the CASSP principle of family involvement?
- A clinician schedules meetings at times convenient for the family
- A treatment plan is developed by professionals and handed to parents to sign without discussion (Correct answer)
- A case manager contacts the family weekly to check on service satisfaction
- A parent is invited to attend all team meetings
Correct answer: A treatment plan is developed by professionals and handed to parents to sign without discussion
Developing a plan without genuine family input and then seeking only a signature violates the collaborative, family-driven intent of CASSP.
Question 3: The concept of 'normalization' in CASSP-guided systems of care means:
- Making children conform to neurotypical behavioral standards
- Supporting children to participate in typical community life and age-appropriate activities (Correct answer)
- Normalizing mental illness by reducing stigma in the community only
- Ensuring all children receive the same standardized services
Correct answer: Supporting children to participate in typical community life and age-appropriate activities
Normalization means helping children engage in regular community activities like school, sports, and peer relationships rather than separating them into isolated settings.
Question 4: Early identification and intervention in CASSP systems of care is emphasized because:
- Older adolescents are not eligible for system of care services
- Addressing needs early prevents escalation to more intensive and costly levels of care (Correct answer)
- Early intervention guarantees complete resolution of all mental health conditions
- Only childhood-onset disorders respond to intervention
Correct answer: Addressing needs early prevents escalation to more intensive and costly levels of care
Early identification allows systems to provide less intensive, less costly supports before problems escalate to crises requiring residential or inpatient services.
Question 5: A 'wraparound' approach in systems of care is most consistent with which CASSP principle?
- Standardization of services
- Individualized, flexible services built around the child and family's unique needs (Correct answer)
- Restricting services to mental health settings only
- Prioritizing cost reduction over service quality
Correct answer: Individualized, flexible services built around the child and family's unique needs
Wraparound embodies individualization by assembling a unique, flexible package of formal and informal supports tailored to each child and family.
Question 6: Which funding approach is most aligned with CASSP core principles for financing systems of care?
- Categorical funding that restricts money to single-agency use
- Blended or braided funding that pools resources across child-serving agencies (Correct answer)
- Funding that rewards high utilization of restrictive placements
- Financing exclusively through private insurance with no public support
Correct answer: Blended or braided funding that pools resources across child-serving agencies
Blended or braided funding allows dollars to follow the child across agency boundaries, supporting integrated, flexible service packages.
Question 7: In CASSP, 'case management' is designed primarily to:
- Reduce the number of services a child receives to control costs
- Coordinate, monitor, and advocate for a comprehensive package of services for the child (Correct answer)
- Provide direct therapy to the child and family
- Authorize placements in residential treatment facilities
Correct answer: Coordinate, monitor, and advocate for a comprehensive package of services for the child
Case management in a system of care coordinates all services, monitors progress, and advocates to ensure the child receives what is needed across multiple systems.
CAASP Core Principles 3
In a system of care, 'interagency collaboration' primarily serves to: