When it comes to managing funds for youth mental health services, the US government is always looking to do more with less. One of the best ways to do so is with wraparound services, which minimize the time young people spend at expensive treatment centers or hospitals– upwards of $1000-3000 per day.
In rural areas, there are fewer services and resources for children in need. Wraparound is critical here, offering support through less formal resources and providers while still delivering powerful results. However, unless a case worker or coordinator carefully manages wraparound, it can be fraught with service delivery challenges due to case complexity.
In this article, we'll dive into the intricacies of wraparound services and how case management technology can help teams achieve better client outcomes.
What are Wraparound Services?
Wraparound services are a complex, customized approach to supporting children, youth, and their families who are dealing with emotional, behavioral, and/or mental health challenges. In this practice, family, friends, and people from the wider community all support the child, working with a coordinator to create personalized services. This strengths-based, team-driven process focuses on identifying and utilizing the unique strengths and needs of each family to help them thrive. Wraparound services empower students with more social and economic barriers to succeed in the high school setting. With wraparound, many stakeholders are involved in the child's care, ensuring they receive the attention they need.
There is a wide variety of services included in wraparound because each child's case is so different. A few examples include:
- Case management
- Crisis intervention and stabilization
- Mental health counseling and therapy
- Substance abuse treatment
- Behavioral health support
- Medical care and health services
- Psychiatric care
- Educational assistance and tutoring
- Transportation assistance
- Housing support
- Employment assistance
- Legal aid
- Family and team support
- Respite care
- Recreation therapy
- Group care or foster care placement
- Advocacy services
- Financial aid and assistance
- Food security programs
- Utility payment assistance
What Are Wraparound Programs?
By 2031, 72% of jobs will require additional education beyond high school. However, many students don't know where to start once they graduate high school--which is where wraparound programs immensely help. The standard for wraparound programs is established and held by the National Wraparound Initiative, founded in 2004. They produce literature about the wraparound process, setting the gold standard. They have established ten vital principles:
- Family Voice and Choice: Putting the family's voice and perspective at the center of service planning and implementation.
- Team Based: Wraparound is always a team of people the family agrees on who is committed to helping the child. They usually have some connection to the child, such as a teacher or soccer coach.
- Natural Supports: The core team seeks additional support from the family's interpersonal and community relationships.
- Collaboration: The wraparound team works together to create the plan, always working by collective agreement.
- Community-Based: The services should take place in the least restrictive settings possible, prioritizing the child's safety.
- Culturally Competent: The process respects and values the beliefs, identities, and values of the child, their family, and the community.
- Individualized: The plan must be tailored to fit the family through customized strategies, supports, and services.
- Strengths-Based: The plan leverages the strengths of the child and support to achieve optimal results.
- Unconditional: The team moves forward with the plan no matter what, without placing blame on the child or family.
- Outcome-Based: The team creates observable and measurable goals to indicate success.
These ten principles are the founding principles of all wraparound service delivery.
Wraparound Services in Child and Family Care Programs
Many federal youth and family care programs implement wraparound services to support children, youth, and their families. Some stand-out options include:
- Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA): Youth must be provided with six months of aftercare services (including wraparound services) when exiting Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs).
- Title IV-E of the Social Security Act: Authorizes the use of federal funding for specified services, including wraparound, for families whose children are at risk of entering foster care.
- Adoption Assistance Program: Wraparound services are eligible for children under these benefits.
- Child Welfare Services: Utilizes wraparound to support children and families entering and exiting the foster care system.
The Role of Case Management Technology in Wraparound Programs
High-fidelity service delivery requires careful planning, with a hub for all relevant parties to stay abreast of the most up-to-date information. Child and family services case management software is a key technology for brainstorming, implementing, and tracking wraparound service planning. There are four steps within a wraparound program:
- Engagement and Team Preparation
- Initial Plan and Development
- Implementation
- Transition
Case management software can be customized to match these four steps, allowing multi-agency collaboration within the wraparound framework. Building out these workflows within software streamlines service delivery, allowing agencies to assign tasks to individuals.
Software bridges the gap between the family and the providers, creating a hub for service coordination. Providers can make the best decisions for their clients when they have access to real-time data.
Benefits of Simplifying Wraparound Services with Case Management Technology
One of the key elements of wraparound is a supportive organization that promotes quality care. To do wraparound the right way, organizations need tools to elevate their capability. Case management software like PlanStreet can be integral to wraparound success. Here are a few of the benefits.
1. Easier Coordination Across Teams and Agencies
There are many important parties involved in a wraparound case. For example, California has many different government parties that oversee wraparound to improve services, such as the California Wraparound Advisory Committee, California Wraparound Hubs, and the California Wraparound Steering Committee. Agency collaboration is improved when data can be shared.
Case management software creates a centralized hub for team coordination. Automate workflows so that each member of the team knows exactly their role. No time will be wasted by one group accidentally doing the same task twice. Plus, highly customizable user interfaces allow each party to make the software match their own unique workflow.
2. Enhanced Accessibility to Client Data and Reporting Tools
"Outcome-based" is one of the ten tenets of wraparound services. Teams need tools to assess outcomes and create goals they know work based on past data. Case management software such as PlanStreet comes with in-depth reporting tools. They are easy to read and can be obtained in one click, simplifying client data access.
With all the data in one place, your team can review outcomes and build services based on strategies that have been the most successful in the past.
3. Reduced Administrative Workload for Service Providers
45% of businesses still rely on paper-based processes, which tend to stall administrative efficiency. When an organization relies on paper, it prevents all parties from accessing information. Even if these documents are later uploaded to the computer, an administrator must do that manually, wasting time when they could be working on something else more valuable.
Case management software like PlanStreet offers features such as form builders and streamlined client intake. With conditional fields, the forms can change based on the answers provided. Each case only has the information needed. Plus, offline mode lets anyone on your team work from anywhere.
4. Improved Outcomes for Clients Through Tailored Interventions
No two clients need the same care. With case management software, you can create specific service plans for each child. Stakeholders can keep an eye on individuals through the case board, where the entire service plan can be seen at a glance. They can track service attendance, monitor their needs, and intervene when necessary for better client outcomes.
Core Features of Effective Case Management Technology to Look For
While there are many case management software platforms out there, not all have the features needed for wraparound. When shopping for software, follow this checklist to ensure the tools you need are included.
- Centralized data: Case management software should be a centralized data center that you can still access when you're offline, preventing workflows from stifling. You should be able to access a holistic view of the case at any time.
- Customizable workflows: Look for intuitive workflows, alerting, and digital signature features that can be changed as needed for your organization.
- Client portal: A robust client portal is key, with automatic scheduling and communication tools like messaging and commenting to ensure delivered services match what the parents think their child needs.
- User-friendly interface: 70% of software adoption projects fail to achieve their goals. Choose a user-friendly software that's easy to start implementing.
- Solution scalability: The software should be capable of growing with your organization, not holding it back. Schedule a demo with the software provider you're looking at and ask how the software can build as your team does.
- Robust data security standards: The software should be HIPAA compliant and be up-to-date with the highest security standards to protect client confidentiality.
Best Practices for Implementing Case Management Technology
The adoption of case management technology doesn't happen overnight. Your team needs to set up a plan to transition from manual processes to technology-driven ones. Once you've chosen the best case management technology for your wraparound team, follow these steps:
- Invest in team training: Schedule two or three sessions and have an expert in the software walk your team through how to use it. This will increase the success rate of software adoption.
- Customize your software: Once your team understands how to use it, take time to customize the interface to ensure it matches rhythms your team is familiar with for your particular wraparound clients.
- Create standardized workflows: Standardize as much as possible, cultivating a set of tasks that can be replicated with each client (but still customized depending on the child's needs).
- Develop a deployment plan: Build a timeline of when the case management software will be fully implemented.
- Keep an open door policy: Always allow for questions and concerns from staff regarding the software. Don't expect them to be experts for the first few weeks of using it.
- Put the client first: Ensure that all of these workflows still work for the parents and family of the child. If needed, offer a training session for them to use the client portal to ensure smooth adoption.
Boost Outcomes at Your Wraparound Program With PlanStreet
Bring all your wraparound program partners together with PlanStreet. Our easy-to-learn child and family services case management software can be customized to your exact needs, matching the four-step process of a wraparound program.
PlanStreet offers:
- User-friendly, customizable web and mobile apps
- Workflow automation
- A results-oriented process through robust data analytics
- Standardized assessments
- Power BI reporting to maximize effectiveness
- HIPAA-compliant encrypted data security
Book a live demo to learn more about our flexible solution and how we can tailor it to meet the exact needs of your organization.