Addressing Barriers to Wraparound Care and Integrated Case Management
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Date
2021-11-19
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
Wraparound care, a teaming approach to connecting students and their families with needed supports and interventions, has been shown to improve outcomes for students experiencing significant mental health and/or behavioral challenges. Schools are well-poised to engage in this work due to their ability to support students where they spend most of the time; however, barriers exist to providing successful wraparound care that will produce sustainable, positive outcomes for students and their families. This mixed methods study, grounded in ecological system and system of care theoretical frameworks, investigated these barriers with a group of wraparound care providers in 10 secondary schools. The 32 participants in the study engaged in a series of professional learning sessions, designed using the principles of situated collaborative inquiry, and were presented with evidence-informed strategies that have been shown to address barriers to effective wraparound practice. Participants completed surveys and engaged in school team interviews examining their fidelity to the wraparound process, their beliefs regarding the role of culturally responsive practices within wraparound care, and their experience with situated collaborative inquiry. Improvement was shown across all areas measuring wraparound implementation fidelity. Participants felt as though they were knowledgeable around the infusion of culturally responsive practices within wraparound care. Emergent themes from an investigation of quantitative and qualitative data included having a detailed framework for wraparound meetings themselves beyond a framework for wraparound care, building parent engagement and support, communicating and collaborating with stakeholders on a continual basis, and striving to place students at the center of the wraparound process. Participants viewed situated collaborative inquiry as an effective method to improve wraparound practice.
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Keywords
wraparound care, adolescents, secondary school, mental health, collaboration, situated collaborative inquiry, culturally responsive practice