The Wraparound Approach in Systems of Care

Child and adolescent psychiatrists and general psychiatrists who serve children and adolescents with complex mental health needs, generally find themselves interfacing with multiple child-serving systems, including mental health, child welfare, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities, addictions services, and primary health care. In these systems of care, psychiatrists will likely encounter the term “wraparound,” which describes a key intervention ushered in with the system-of-care model of service delivery. This article describes the wraparound approach, which has been at the forefront of mental health service delivery for children and youth with serious emotional disturbance since the mid-1980s. Wraparound is an empirically supported, family-driven, strengths-based planning approach that provides individualized care using an array of formal services and natural supports.