ARTICLES (Comprehensive)

Rethinking Wraparound: Proposing a New Construct to Support an Evolving Understanding of the Wraparound Approach

The goal of this article is not to describe a specific version of what Wraparound practice should be – as if there was only one answer to that question, but rather to propose a new construct to help Wraparound practitioners hone their approaches and improve the impact of their efforts to assist families. The goal of this article is not to describe a specific version of what Wraparound practice should be–as if there was only one answer to that question, but rather to propose a new construct to help Wraparound practitioners hone their approaches and improve the impact of their efforts to assist families.

There is no Wraparound bible. Wrap does have a sort of Ten Commandments in the form of its core values, but they don’t describe a specific practice model, only what every model should strive to achieve.1In fact, even with the range of usual and customary values lists, communities make a range of choices about what values are highlighted. The values list associated with Wraparound has been as high as 25 statements.Wraparound does have a Canon, a collection of stories and articles, training manuals and statutes, contracts and evaluations that have been accumulating in nearly every state and province in North America over the four decades since the foundational programs on which modern Wraparound practice is based first began operation. Read Full Article

The Needs Guide: A resource for families, facilitators and team members working with the Wraparound process

Wraparound is a complex process when you put all of the pieces together. Each of the core concepts of Wraparound can be hard to implement. For example, getting a team together to come up with a single plan of care is easier said than done. Staying focused on strengths while struggling with the behavior of a teenager can be a challenge for any Wraparound team. Staying focused on a common outcome can also be challenging. Despite these challenges most individuals associated with Wraparound find that they can manage if not master core Wraparound concepts such as Team, Plan of Care, Strengths or Outcomes. The most difficult Wraparound concept is that of Needs. This Workbook is designed to help all individuals who are working with Wraparound to become comfortable with the concept of needs as used in the Wraparound process. It is also designed to help individuals and teams work better at identifying the underlying needs, reaching agreement about the most important need and staying focused on addressing and meeting those needs.Wraparound is designed to address needs. In Wraparound, Needs should not be defined as something required, something sought, as an obligation or as steps towards accomplishing a goal. Instead, Needs are defined as underlying conditions or causes. Needs are essential and unbounded and reflect the basic humanness in all of us. If left untended, needs that are unmet will create a gap, tear or void in a person’s life. When such a void occurs, behaviors often arise that communicate the unmet need. Unfortunately when such behaviors arise, systems and services are often focused at managing the behavior rather than meeting the need. If the need continues to go unmet, the behavior is likely to escalate resulting in more attempts to contain the behavior. Read Full Article

Benchmarking in Wraparound

Benchmarking is aimed to find the easiest counts for success; engage in bi-level benchmarking; manage the initial conditions that got the family referred; engage the family in identifying benchmarks that create meaning in each day; manage to the facts; summarize to the positives; bring information to the team for review; use logic in reviewing benchmarks at a team level; and builds discipline for team decision making rather than crowd decision making. The emergent view of the stages of Wraparound involve: Focus on the family’s experience of Wraparoun; moving away from a product view (compliance) to an outcome focused (impact); an emphasis on one success building upon another; timing that is focused on family’s experience versus funding structures; a requirement for multiple opportunities for family input to drive design; and the transition from a rigid process to fluid process. Some things to also consider: Framework changes from focus on provider to focus on family wherein poviders. In addition, framework changes to task completion to results orientation. Framework also changes from a focus on practice compliance to a focus on results for families. And, framework changes from a focus on leaving wraparound when it’s time to producing enough hope through wraparound.  View Presentation.

Summary of HIPAA and Federal Drug and Alcohol Confidentiality Law

hippa-logoThe following is a brief summary of the research conducted by Michelle L. Riske-Morris, PhD, JD on the Federal Drug and Alcohol Confidentiality Law (42 CFR Part 2) and (HIPAA). There is also included a brief summary of the Federal Education Reporting Privacy Act (FERPA).  This overview is cursory and only meant to provide a brief overview.  The nuances and intricacies of these laws can be quite confusing.  The issue researched was how these two laws affect information shared during a case management conference.  Specifically what information can be shared by therapists and practitioners during these types of meetings and whether there were any restrictions or constraints which may impede open discourse?  Understanding these laws will help to avoid inappropriate use of information and minimize potential negative collateral consequences of information sharing. While information sharing is optimal during a case management conference to ensure coordinated case plans for the youth and families who are served by multiple agencies to improve outcomes for these individuals, nevertheless there are restrictions in how and what confidential information can be disclosed. If there is improper disclosure, the individual and/or organization could face fines and penalties ranging from $500 to $50,000 for the first offense.  Unauthorized disclosure violates the individual’s due process rights. This summary assumes that the client is a youth; therefore, additional considerations are discussed involving the role and influence of parents and guardians. | Read Complete Article |

Phases and Activities of the Wraparound Process

Phases and Activities of the Wraparound Process
http://www.wraparoundohio.org/wraparoundohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PhaseActivWAProcess.pdf
“Phases and Activities of the Wraparound Process” focuses on what needs to happen in wraparound; however, how the work is accomplished is equally important. Merely accomplishing the tasks is insufficient unless this work is done in a manner consistent with the 10 principles of wraparound. In addition, future work from the National Wraparound Initiative will provide more detailed information about team member skills that are necessary for the wraparound process, as well as descriptions of specific procedures, templates, and other tools that can be used to complete the activities described.

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