CAASP Service Coordination 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In CAASP-aligned systems of care, what is the primary role of a service coordinator when a family disagrees with the recommended treatment plan?
- Override the family's wishes and implement the clinical recommendation
- Facilitate a collaborative discussion to understand family concerns and reach a mutually agreed-upon plan (Correct answer)
- Refer the case to a supervisor to resolve the conflict
- Document the disagreement and proceed without family consent
Correct answer: Facilitate a collaborative discussion to understand family concerns and reach a mutually agreed-upon plan
Service coordinators facilitate collaboration and ensure families are genuine partners in planning, reconciling differences through open dialogue.
Question 2: Which federal legislation most directly shaped the development of CASSP and its service coordination principles?
- No Child Left Behind Act
- Child and Adolescent Service System Program initiative (1984 NIMH) (Correct answer)
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- Family First Prevention Services Act
Correct answer: Child and Adolescent Service System Program initiative (1984 NIMH)
CASSP was launched in 1984 by NIMH as a federal initiative to reform fragmented children's mental health service systems.
Question 3: A service coordinator discovers that a youth's school, mental health provider, and juvenile justice worker are each making separate plans with no shared information. This is an example of:
- Appropriate confidentiality protection
- Service fragmentation requiring coordinated wraparound (Correct answer)
- Parallel service delivery which improves outcomes
- Standard multi-agency practice
Correct answer: Service fragmentation requiring coordinated wraparound
Siloed planning across systems represents fragmentation, the exact problem wraparound and service coordination are designed to address.
Question 4: Cultural competence in service coordination requires that coordinators:
- Apply the same intervention model to all families regardless of background
- Adapt services to respect and incorporate each family's cultural values and beliefs (Correct answer)
- Defer all cultural questions to a designated cultural liaison
- Limit discussion of cultural differences to avoid discomfort
Correct answer: Adapt services to respect and incorporate each family's cultural values and beliefs
Culturally competent coordinators actively adapt their approaches to honor each family's cultural identity as a strength.
Question 5: When coordinating services for a youth involved with multiple systems, the service coordinator's highest priority should be:
- Reducing overall system costs
- Keeping the youth in the least restrictive, most community-based setting possible (Correct answer)
- Maximizing the number of services the youth receives
- Ensuring compliance with all agency mandates simultaneously
Correct answer: Keeping the youth in the least restrictive, most community-based setting possible
Systems of care prioritize community-based, least-restrictive settings to support youth remaining with their families.
Question 6: A strengths-based approach to service coordination focuses on:
- Identifying deficits to justify service eligibility
- Building on the existing capacities and resources of the youth and family (Correct answer)
- Emphasizing diagnosis to obtain insurance coverage
- Prioritizing professional expertise over family knowledge
Correct answer: Building on the existing capacities and resources of the youth and family
Strengths-based practice identifies and amplifies existing assets in the youth, family, and community rather than cataloging deficits.
Question 7: In the CAASP framework, 'natural supports' refer to:
- Paid professional service providers
- Informal supports such as extended family, neighbors, and community members (Correct answer)
- State-funded mental health clinicians
- Court-appointed advocates
Correct answer: Informal supports such as extended family, neighbors, and community members
Natural supports are unpaid, informal community connections that provide sustainable, real-world support for youth and families.
CAASP Service Coordination 2
In CAASP-aligned systems of care, what is the primary role of a service coordinator when a family disagrees with the recommended treatment plan?