Abstract
Research has documented positive outcomes for youth who receive wraparound services; however, the specific mechanism for change has not yet been clarified. Data were collected from a sample of 253 youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) who completed wraparound services as a part of publically-funded community-based mental health services (58% male; 49% Caucasian; mean age 12.25 years). Results indicated that both environmental and individual protective factors increased significantly and risky behaviors, including self-harm and aggressive behaviors, decreased significantly throughout youths’ time in wraparound services. Improvements in protective factors and decreases in risk factors were significant predictors of clinically significant mental health improvement at exit from community-based wraparound services. Study findings highlight the utility and importance of a dual-factor approach to mental health assessment when implementing and evaluating wraparound services.
Highlights
Guided by a set of common principles, wraparound is a mental health service-delivery approach that is utilized to coordinate care for youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED; Wery & Cullinan, 2013) and their families (Chitiyo, 2014)
Once youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) become involved with the juvenile court systems, it is unclear whether wraparound services are able to reduce the likelihood of future criminal offenses
Both environmental and individual protective factors increased throughout wraparound services, and both were significantly associated with positive mental health outcomes
Summary
Guided by a set of common principles (e.g., individualized, culturally-sensitive, team-based, collaboration, strengths-based, outcome-based; Bruns et al, 2010), wraparound is a mental health service-delivery approach that is utilized to coordinate care for youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED; Wery & Cullinan, 2013) and their families (Chitiyo, 2014). While there is no universally accepted manual for wraparound practices, Walker, Bruns, and the National Wraparound Initiative Advisory Group (2008) highlighted four phases of wraparound implementation: 1) Engagement and team preparation, 2) Initial plan development, 3) Implementation, and 4) Transition (for a description of each phase, see Walker et al, 2008). This practice model provides a foundation for wraparound practice across individuals, teams, and agencies (Walker et al, 2008). Specific mechanisms for change need additional focus within the literature (Cox, Baker, & Wong, 2010)
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