Social Supports for Youth and Families

Abstract

Social supports for youth and families receiving mental health services are important for family success and sustainability of systems of care. The goal of our study was to determine what help and support families and youth receive and from whom they receive it. We surveyed youth and families enrolled in community wraparound care coordination to determine the support they receive. The social supports questionnaire measures include: the kinds of help and support that the parent/caregiver and youth received from people in the past 6 months, and the kinds of people who helped the parent/caregiver and youth in the past 6 months. Results show that social support networks are weak for both family and youth. Variations in scores suggest that wraparound family teams should focus on strategies that enhance the development of social supports. Data collected at 6-month followup were analyzed to determine if families and youth have increased their social support networks and expanded the kinds of people that provide support to them. Our research question is "What kinds of help and social support do youth and families receive and from whom do they receive it?"