The YES system of care is available to all Idaho youth under the age of 18 who have a mental health diagnosis and a functional impairment. In order for the YES system of care to offer services that are family-centered, strengths-based, and collaborative, providers must partner with families, other providers, and those who are involved in the youth and family’s life to create coordinated care plans. Descriptions of services included in the YES system of care can be found by visiting the website for the Idaho Behavioral Health Plan managed care provider and reading the Guide to YES: A Practice Manual.
| Mental Health Care Provider FAQs |
Serious emotional disturbance (SED) is a legal term used when youth under the age of 18 have both a mental health diagnosis and a functional impairment as identified by the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool.
Idaho’s legal code* uses this definition:
“Serious emotional disturbance” means an emotional or behavioral disorder, or a neuropsychiatric condition which results in a serious disability, and which requires sustained treatment interventions, and causes the child’s functioning to be impaired in thought, perception, affect or behavior. A disorder shall be considered to “result in a serious disability” if it causes substantial impairment of functioning in family, school or community…”
A youth has SED if they have both a DSM diagnosis and a functional impairment as identified by the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) tool.
The YES system of care prioritizes the following values throughout treatment planning, implementation, and evaluation:
- Family and Youth Voice and Choice – Prioritizes the preferences of youth and their families in all stages of care.
- Individualized Care – Customizes care specifically for each youth and family.
- Community-Based Service Array – Provides local services to help families reach the goals identified in their coordinated care plan.
- Unconditional – Commits to achieving the goals of the coordinated care plan.
- Early Identification and Intervention – Assesses mental health and provides access to services and support.
- Engagement – Youth and families are actively involved in the creation and implementation of their coordinated care plan.
- Assessment – Information about the youth and family is gathered to create a meaningful coordinated care plan.
- Care Planning & Implementation – The coordinated care plan identifies appropriate services and supports and how families and youth access them.
- Teaming – Youth and families are able to collaborate with providers and community partners to create their coordinated care plan.
- Monitoring & Adapting – The services and supports in the coordinated care plan are evaluated and updated as needed.
- Transition – Type of services, frequency of use, and levels of care change as the youth and family’s needs change.
For technical information, release updates, training opportunities, and support on the web-based tool developed for CANS in Idaho, please visit the ICANS website.
To be eligible to administer the Idaho CANS, providers must be certified. Recertification is required annually. Providers can register for CANS certification trainings at the Idaho TCOM Institute website.
Schools do not directly provide services as part of the YES system of care, but school staff may participate on a Child and Family Team (CFT), help a family complete the CANS with the family’s mental health provider, or support the goals identified on the coordinated care plan. How schools choose to get involved varies between districts, and families are encouraged to discuss involvement with their local school staff.