A School-Based Services Approach for Wrapping Services Around Vulnerable Children

Project Partnership Team: CUP, Evaluation and Research Services (Faculty of Extension), Alberta Education, and Edmonton Public Schools
Lead Researcher: Jason Daniels
Funder: Edmonton Public School Board
Duration: 2009-2010

Wraparound refers to a philosophy of care designed to assist vulnerable children, youth and families whose needs extend beyond what the school or another service partner alone can provide. It is a collaborative and definable team-driven planning process that results in the creation and implementation of an individualized support plan built on child/youth/family strengths. The plan is designed to address identified needs to improve success at home, at school, and in the community.

To build capacity and knowledge related to wraparound approaches in schools, a partnership was developed between Edmonton Public Schools, Alberta Education, and the University of Alberta. The purpose of this research project was to learn about how schools throughout the province of Alberta are trying to implement the wraparound approach.

In approximately 18 months, the Research Team generated:

  • a thorough literature review on the concept and practice of wraparound
  • a province-wide survey of the attitudes school officials in Alberta have toward the idea of wraparound, with input from nearly half the school-level authorities around the province
  • an intensive investigation on how wraparound-styled interventions were being implemented in a dozen sites across Alberta, and
  • a summary of the research project, with suggestions for policy and practice

Information from this study is being used to create a set of resources to support the development of wraparound-styled processes in schools and communities throughout the province. To learn more about the impact of this study, visit Collaborative Practice on the Alberta Education website.

Findings

  1. Variable definitions of wraparound
  2. Variability in implementation of wraparound
  3. Role of leadership in establishing and supporting collaborative teams
  4. Importance of providing sufficient capacity for implementation
  5. Barriers/Challenges