USE OF THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT SCALE (CAFAS) AS AN OUTCOME MEASURE IN CLINICAL SETTINGS

This article discusses how the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessm ent Scale (CAFAS) can be used as an outcome measure in clinical settin gs. Outcome data from two clinical samples are provided: a small commu nity mental health center located in Michigan and a large referred sam ple from the Fort Bragg Evaluation Project. Outcome indicators for ass essing change over time included overall level of dysfunction, percent age of respondents with severe impairment, mean total score, mean scor es for individual CAFAS subscales, and change in total score at the cl ient level. Implications of the findings were discussed from several p erspectives: improving services to individual clients, developing data bases at the local level that can be used for the agency's continuing self-scrutiny, and pooling databases across sites that can be used to study broader issues within a managed care environment.