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Effectiveness of Wraparound Versus Case Management for Children and Adolescents: Results of a Randomized Study

Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, we compared service experiences and outcomes for youths with serious emotional disorder (SED) randomly assigned to care coordination via a defined wraparound process (n = 47) versus more traditional intensive case management (ICM; n = 46) The wraparound group received more mean hours of care management and services; however, there ultimately were no group differences in restrictiveness of residential placement, emotional and behavioral symptoms, or functioning. Wraparound implementation fidelity was found to be poor. Organizational culture and climate, and worker morale, were poorer for the wraparound providers than the ICM group. Results suggest that, for less-impaired youths with SED, less intensive options such as ICM may be equally effective to poor-quality wraparound delivered in the absence of wraparound implementation supports and favorable system conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institute for Mental Health (R34 MH072759). We are grateful to Christa Peterson and an anonymous reviewer for feedback on an earlier draft and to Ericka Weathers, Ricki Mudd, Spencer Hensley, Kaylyn Watterson, Andrew Rivers, and Heather Bailey for their work on the study and help with manuscript preparation.

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Bruns, E.J., Pullmann, M.D., Sather, A. et al. Effectiveness of Wraparound Versus Case Management for Children and Adolescents: Results of a Randomized Study. Adm Policy Ment Health 42, 309–322 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0571-3

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