Wrap around services are a holistic and strengths-based ways to intervene with vulnerable youth and their families. Wraparound has been defined as an “intensive, individualized care planning and management process” (National Wrap Around Initiative, 2017, p.1). An example of such wrap around services is provided by Shalem Mental Health Network. It is recommended that organizations in Halton region increase its use of wrap around services, in addition to improving the collaboration and coordination of its existing services. Youth in Halton region would greatly benefit from more efficient collaboration/coordination between existing community agencies. If more community partners came together to understand the needs of youth when they first seek treatment, they would be able to work together to treat clients more effectively by understanding what each organization can bring to the table.
Doing this would also help minimize the current issues regarding the duplication of services and long wait lists. One way to increase the
collaboration and coordination between services in the region would be through the use of review committees. These committees would contain members of various community organizations in Halton, who would regularly meet and work together to problem solve and assist students who seek treatment.
“I would love it if we could have psychiatric consultation to our school social workers because then we would be able to have a little bit more of that collaboration. Right? I know that we do have mental health nurses that work in collaboration with us but that’s another fragmented service, right? CCAC Mississauga, I feel like we all do great services, but we need to pull them together, so that we’re all kind of having a shared program. And, that includes private therapies too, right? Because some families will be going to private therapists, probation, their family physicians, Halton Multi-Cultural Center all these different connections. So, access service more directly. How does a person and their family be able to do a little bit of coordinated care?” (FW)
