Who administers wraparound? An examination of the training, beliefs, and implementation supports for wraparound providers

The wraparound care management process has been cited as a promising means for making evidence-based treatments relevant and accessible to youth with mental health needs and their families. However, there has been little research on the background and training of providers who participate on wraparound teams. In the current study, the authors examined the prevalence of wraparound implementation nationally in systems of care and the background, training, organizational supports, and perceptions of evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for professionals who implement wraparound. Results suggest that wraparound implementation is common across communities and that wraparound providers are different from other professionals. They are, for example, less likely to have an advanced degree, more likely to have received their training from agency inservices, less likely to receive manuals with their training, and more likely to report fully implementing treatment protocols. Wraparound providers are also more likely to report that their agency or organization mandated implementation of EBTs. Results provide several implications for wraparound model specification, development of quality assurance supports, and a need for higher education to better orient trainees to models and philosophies such as wraparound.