Provincial

Staged Screening and Assessment (SS&A)

An evidence-based process for screening and assessing individuals accessing care in the addiction sector that assists the accurate identification of their needs, assists in developing a treatment plan, and in matching them to the most appropriate level and type of care.

What are we doing about it?

With support from the Provincial System Support Program at the CAMH, the Staged Screening and Assessment process is being implemented across Ontario's publicly-funded addiction programs. The process has four parts (three screening tools and a First Stage Assessment - see below).

  1. The first stage screener, Global Appraisal of Individual Needs – Short Screener (GAIN-SS), quickly identifies possible mental health and substance use issues requiring further exploration.
  2. If the responses to the GAIN-SS raise concerns about potential mental health issues, the second stage screeners are used to gather more information. The screeners are the Modified Mini Screener (MMS) for adults, and the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teens (POSIT) for those 17 and under.   
  3. The Global Appraisal of Individual Need Quick3 Motivational Interviewing Ontario (GAIN Q3 MI ONT) is a comprehensive assessment allowing the client to share their life circumstances across a broad range of areas, with a particular focus on substance use. This assessment and the auto-generated clinical reports provide a sound foundation for treatment planning and referral decisions.

Next Steps

SS&A implementation will continue to be supported by the Provincial System Support Program at the CAMH.  The focus moving forward will be on transitioning the system to the use of these tools in everyday practice.

Resources

Videos

This video provides an overview of how to use the GAIN Q3 MI ONT clinical reports in practice.

SS&A Newsletters

All past SS&A newsletters can be found here.

Contact

For more information, please contact us through the Staged Screening & Assessment email: ssa@camh.ca.

Please note, PSSP does not conduct or provide access to GAIN Q3 MI ONT assessments. If you are a client or service provider looking for this type of assessment, please contact your local addiction service provider. They will be able to share a list of agencies that may be able to provide a GAIN Q3 MI ONT assessment. You can find a list of addiction agencies at Connex Ontario at: https://www.connexontario.ca/search.

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