Supporting information gathering for clinician

assessment. “[The ChYMH] pulled out information about

constipation due to a drug side effect, that would not

have been collected previously.”

Supporting the client interview. “The assessment

helped my client who really wanted to talk but have difficulty articulating her

issues. Using the ChYMH helped open up

conversations this client probably wouldn‟t have gone

to otherwise.”

Supporting care planning. “[Evidence-based care guidelines embedded in the instrument] can help us

share information with members of the community who have never worked with kids who have these needs.”

Supporting triage decisions. “[With two very similar cases] the ChYMH

helped us clearly identify the greatest and most urgent

need.”

“Having one tool that can serve multiple purposes is very important in applied service agencies where

efficiency is of the utmost importance given

extremely tight demands on resources.”

Dr. Karen MacLeod Psychologist, Mental

Health Services, Lutherwood

“Honestly, I really like [completing the

assessment interview] with the families. It

makes you feel like you really know the client

well.”

The interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (ChYMH) and Rapid Screener (ChYMH-RS)

instruments: Personal experiences from mental health professionals in Ontario Melissa Currie & Jennifer Pearce – Child and Parent Resource Institute

4. Role of the Assessor in the Pilot Project

Participate in Training

Conduct Assessments & Share Results

Provide Feedback

354 assessors have been

trained (over 100 Mental

Health and Addiction Nurses)

Assessments are used to share

results with the clinical team for

care-planning. Assessment data are

also used for research purposes.

Assessors fill out feedback

forms and participate in

focus groups

The Child and Youth Suite is currently in development at the Child

and Parent Resource Institute in London, Ontario. The suite is

comprised of assessments for children from birth to age 20 with

mental health and/or developmental issues.

CCAC Partners

Other Partners

At the CCACs,

assessments

are being used

in the Mental

Health and

Addictions

Nurse (MHAN)

project.

1. Overview of interRAI 5. Assessor experiences: How has the

assessment helped?

With thanks to our supporters:

Child and Youth Mental health (ChYMH): Comprehensive, standardized

mental health assessment for children/youth (age 4-18)

ChYMH-Rapid Screener (ChYMH-RS): Summary of mental health needs to

support decision making related to triaging, placement, service utilization for

children/youth (age 4-18)

The developers of the interRAI Child and Youth Suite are still reviewing and

accepting pilot sites. For more information, contact Ian Kerr ian.t.kerr@ontario.ca

Researchers and practitioners from around the world are

collaborating to create the interRAI Child and Youth Suite of mental

health assessments.

interRAI is an international organization that brings together experts

to create comprehensive, valid and reliable health assessments for

vulnerable persons. The family of interRAI assessments is unique

because they share a common language, which promotes

information sharing across health sectors and services. They are

also unique because one assessment provides information for many

different applications:

The applications have utility for a wide array of stakeholders

across the service system. More information on each application

can be found at www.interrai.org.

3. Overview of pilot project

2. Overview of the Child and Youth Suite

For more

information on

the suite visit

cpri.ca and

click on

„Research.‟

The ChYMH and the ChYMH-RS are being piloted across sites in

Ontario, including 13 local Community Care and Access Centres

(CCACs).

The assessors from 21 sites across

Ontario have been trained on Child

and Youth Suite instruments. Analysis

of training feedback indicates trainees

appreciate (1) the use of vignettes (2)

peer support, and (3) working with the

assessment software at computers

during training.

CPRI has been responsive to training

feedback by making it more flexible

(e.g., teleconferences) and adding

follow up sessions.

© interRAI Canada

Analysis of preliminary feedback from assessors has revealed a

number of areas where the interRAI instruments have supported

information gathering, care planning, and decision making:

“One of the major initiatives in children’s mental health is the

development of the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health

Instrument…”

Dr. Sandra Fisman, Chair, Dept. of Psychiatry, Western University