Agencies coordinate strategies to take on hardest cases

Teens with multiple problems can get lost in the shuffle and wind up in institutions, partly because confidentiality rules prevent agencies from sharing information and parents are often left out of the loop.

A pilot program known as Wrap Hawaii is trying to change that by getting agencies to collaborate and tailor services to the needs of each high-risk child, with the active engagement of families. So far, the approach shows promise, although there have been setbacks, as expected given the 10 tough cases selected.

"When we started this pilot, we agreed we would take very difficult youth," said Susan Chandler, director of the Public Policy Center at the University of Hawaii’s College of Social Sciences. "They are multisystem kids, who are in the child welfare system or have been in detention home or some kind of court jurisdiction and have behavioral health problems."

She added, "Mostly these are kids who are at very high risk of going into some kind of institution, or they are coming out of some kind of institution. We wanted very much to build a more community-based response with the family."

Ten youths age 13 to 17 enrolled in Wrap between November 2012 and March 2013.

As of last week, eight had been reunified with their families, and another teen was in a foster home. One was back at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility but is still an active Wrap case.

"We remain hopeful," Chandler said. "We never give up."

The collaboration involves five state entities: the Office of Youth Services, Family Court, Child Welfare Services, Child and Adolescent Mental Health and the Department of Education. It is funded by the Department of Human Services and overseen by the Public Policy Center.

A nonprofit agency, EPIC Ohana Inc., reaches out to the families to get them to participate and allow information sharing. Meetings are facilitated by the Mediation Center of the Pacific. Flexible funding from Casey Family Programs can be used for things like bus passes or a Y membership to keep a kid constructively engaged.

Wrap brings together representatives of each agency at least monthly to assess each child’s situation and come up with solutions.

"What’s different about Wrap is it gets these service providers together in one place with the family," Chandler said. "Frequently, one agency didn’t know what the other agency was doing or why."

The program is modeled on the National Wraparound Initiative, which uses a team approach to meet the complex needs of kids and their caregivers as partners. Ten more teens, largely foster youth, will enroll in Wrap Hawaii by July, along with five others from the Office of Youth Services. Parent feedback has been positive.

"I’m happy now that I have my son back," one mother told the crowd at a Wrap conference. "He’s back. He’s the boy I know."