⦿ United Kingdom
Supporting the use of the CANS across the UK
The Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) is a free, evidence-based, person-centred assessment that helps professionals and families make consistent, effective decisions together.
Every family has strengths worth building on
01—THE TOOL
What is the CANS?
Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths
The CANS is a widely used, evidence-based, person-centred assessment strategy that supports consistent and effective decision-making for children and families. It is not a diagnostic checklist — it is a shared way of organising information about strengths and needs so that everyone around a child, from practitioners to policymakers, can plan with the same understanding.
- Free to Use: No tool cost
- Training Required: Proper certification
- Consistent Ratings: Same standards for all
02 — THE FRAMEWORK
What is TCOM?
Transformational Collaborative Outcomes Management (TCOM)
The conceptual framework behind the CANS. It supports the tool's full use at the individual, programme, and system level — helping public systems meet the needs of children and families by understanding and building on their strengths.
- Open-Domain Approach : Flexible for different systems
- Community-Driven: Professionals, parents, and youth
- Child & Family Focused : Supports better lives for families
Individual Level
Shared Understanding
A common language between families and practitioners for planning care and support.
Programme & System Level
Better decisions, together
Aggregated, de-identified data that helps agencies and policymakers improve how services work
03— THE CORE PRINCIPLES
A shared framework for understanding people and supporting change.
Brings professionals, families, and communities together through a shared approach to understanding needs, supporting personal change, and improving human-serving systems.
01
Personal Transformation
Human-serving systems should help people and families achieve positive change.
02
Collaboration
Complex systems work best when people, teams, and services work together.
03
Responsible Information
Accurate, relevant, and respectful information supports better decisions and care.
04 — THE PARTNERSHIP
TCOM UK & The Praed Foundation
TCOM UK works in partnership with The Praed Foundation, the US non-profit that holds the intellectual property rights to the CANS and the wider family of TCOM tools. The Foundation exists to protect the integrity of thesetools while keeping them accessible to anyone working toward the same goal:helping people.
Our mandate is to ensure the integrity, ethical delivery, and evidence-
grounded deployment of the CANS across the UK, safeguarding that every
family experiences consistent and empowering engagement.
TCOM UK
Supports training, certification, and implementation of the CANS across England, Wales, and the United Kingdom.
UK IMPLEMENTATION LEAD
JOIN IN
A movement, not just a measure
TCOM belongs to everyone who uses it well — practitioners, parents, young people, and system leaders alike. If your organisation is ready to bring the CANS into your work, our training and certification pathway is the place to start.
Start Certification