Abstract:

It is vitally important for human service providers to collaborate in the best interests of vulnerable children and youth (World Health Organization, 2013; Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2012). Recognizing the need for intersectoral collaboration, several communities in the province of Manitoba, Canada have developed Community Mobilization Networks to collectively address the needs of individuals with complex, multi-system needs.

A Community Mobilization Network involves key service providers (e.g., education, child and family services, mental health, health, and justice) meeting on a regular basis, and when the needs of high-risk individuals arise, to:
(1) determine risk,
(2) identify needs, and
(3) develop and implement plans of support.

Many Community Mobilization Networks in Manitoba, Canada use a model or a derivation of a model called Risk Driven Collaborative Intervention that is based on The Hub, a Risk Driven Collaborative Intervention approach developed in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Canada (Nilson, 2014, 2016). The Hub model involves a multi-sector team of human service providers identifying risk, intervening and providing follow-up assessment. However, evaluations of The Hub model have revealed that while its strength is its ability to identify acutely elevated risk and provide timely, short-term support, most often the support involves single sector responses, and an absence of follow-up intervention (Nilson, 2014). However, a Community Mobilization Network in Manitoba, Canada called CommUnity is unique in that it not only collaboratively determines risk, but also incorporates the development, implementation and monitoring of intersectoral plans of support. The model of intersectoral planning and support utilized by this Community Mobilization Network is the Wraparound Approach. The Wraparound Approach is defined as a highly individualized planning process for individuals with complex needs and their families. The Wraparound Approach integrates natural, interpersonal and community supports, and professional services towards setting goals, planning and implementing activities and interventions, and monitoring outcomes (Bruns & Walker, 2010). This research used a mixed methods design to:
(a) understand the perspectives of key stakeholders from CommUnity about how the Wraparound approach was integrated into planning for high-risk children and youth, and
(b) use the Community Supports for Wraparound Inventory (CSWI) to determine the extent to which a local community mobilization unit had the capacity to implement the Wraparound Approach.

Preliminary findings indicate the Wraparound Approach and Collaborative Risk-Driven Intervention models used by this Community Mobilization Network are complimentary, and when combined, provide a venue for human service professionals from multiple disciplines to meet and collaborate (a structure currently absent in Wraparound planning), and provide a practice model to guide the intervention and measure outcomes (a process currently absent from most Collaborative Risk-Driven Intervention). This research contributes to providing better support for high-risk children and youth by identifying an implementation strategy for the Wraparound Approach by a Community Mobilization Network in a Canadian province.

Preliminary findings indicate the Wraparound Approach and Collaborative Risk-Driven Intervention models used by this Community Mobilization Network are complimentary, and when combined, provide a venue for human service professionals from multiple disciplines to meet and collaborate (a structure currently absent in Wraparound planning), and provide a practice model to guide the intervention and measure outcomes (a process currently absent from most Collaborative Risk-Driven Intervention). This research contributes to providing better support for high-risk children and youth by identifying an implementation strategy for the Wraparound Approach by a Community Mobilization Network in a Canadian province.

Keywords:

Community mobilization, wraparound approach, children and youth at risk, collaboration.