What is the Families Plus 'wraparound' approach?
There are many different organizations in the Delta County community to support children who are struggling, from school programs to human services. Despite these well-organized efforts, most children who are vulnerable and undeserved get no coordinated ongoing services at all until their situations are critical.
Families Plus wraps services around each child. The parents indicate what their child’s needs and help their team to find ways to get and keep what is needed as long as needed.
The Families Plus Wraparound Health Care Model organizes the community and the health care system to step in early and stay involved with a complete package of support that hold promise to bring these children through into healthy self-sufficient adults.
Families Plus wraps services around each child. The parents indicate what their child’s needs and help their team to find ways to get and keep what is needed as long as needed.
The Families Plus Wraparound Health Care Model organizes the community and the health care system to step in early and stay involved with a complete package of support that hold promise to bring these children through into healthy self-sufficient adults.
Who We Serve: what children and families are in our program?
Families Plus is available for long term supports with children and youth who are growing up in families with very large challenges that are not likely to go away soon. These families often find that they run out of resources to meet so many needs. Families Plus can help in the long term with the invitation of the parent(s). We welcome all styles of families and lifestyles from intact families, blended families, single parent and grandparent led families. We focus on Families that have high needs children but have low resources to ensure the child needs are met.
Here are the circumstances that typically occur in families who enter our program:
Here are the circumstances that typically occur in families who enter our program:
- One or more children in the family have behavior problems or other extra challenges.
- The family is led by a single parent with little reliable social support.
- The family has too little money as shown by difficulties paying rent, providing food, or having any transportation.
- The parents have challenges of their own that make it hard to meet all of the challenges of all of the children including a disability, chronic mental illness, chronically poor physical health, a history of substance abuse, a history of legal problems, or a history of conflict with agencies.
- The caregivers are grandparents who report they are overwhelmed by the circumstances of regular care of grandchildren.
- The child already has experienced trauma, multiple traumas, or complex trauma due to any of the family circumstances listed above.
- One of the children has a persistent, complex, and severe form of mental health issues that appear to be beyond what the family can manage alone, even though they have some resources and stability. This criteria does not necessarily involve the types of complications described above.
Families Plus Wraparound Model
Therapist
Families Plus Therapist on our staff include Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Licensed Marriage and Family Counselors. They are at the center, coordination resources and wraparound services ensuring the needs of each child and the family are being met.
- Experts in helping children work through behavior and emotional problems
- Present to back up the parents and grandparents
- Specialized training in trauma informed care, child and adolescent treatment, substances abuse treatments; family therapy; and system-of-care treatments
- Available to the families with whom they work for 24/7
Child
Participating children are just as lively and talent-filled as children throughout Delta County. However, their challenging circumstances create a basis of poor adult physical and mental health.
Despite the best efforts of their parents and caregivers these children more than others may have:
Despite the best efforts of their parents and caregivers these children more than others may have:
- Experienced traumatic events
- Live in severe poverty
- Live with grandparents
- Have special education learning problems
- Have missed preventive care medical appointments
- Have moved frequently
- Have limited transportation
- Have extra big smiles!
Parents/CareGiver
Families Plus believes on supporting families. If the parents or care givers feel supported they will better be able to support their children.
Parent Partner
Parent Partners are Families Plus staff members that are dedicated to supporting parents and families so they can better support children.
Healthcare providers
Families Plus strives to ensure that every child's health needs are met, whether that is physical or mental. We work with doctors, pediatricians, and dentist in Delta County to ensure that kids are getting their annual check-ups. |
mentoring family/Tag-along mentors
Our mentors are a crucial part of our wraparound model. They are volunteers in the community that rise to the occasion.
Tag-Along Mentors
Community volunteers and donors
Families Plus focuses on bringing the community together to help children in challenging circumstances for the better of the community.
Teachers
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The family selects what support will be helpful to them and their child. These supports come from either of two sets of services supported by Families Plus: Health and Community
Community Component
It truly takes a village to raise a healthy child. A sense of community is developed around each Families Plus child and family. The lives of our families are often chaotic and we strive to provide a sense of security. Our staff screens and trains volunteers to help parents provide a highly enriched world for their child.
While living at home with the benefits of being with their own family, Families Plus children also spend time with their mentoring family to experience stability, structure, warmth, and supportive expectations for their behavior and success. Volunteer “mini-mentors” contribute skill-building activities, such as painting or athletic pursuits. Because parents in difficult circumstances and without resources often do not have a stable friend who is there when they need someone, both the mentoring family and the mini-mentor provide that needed support. We provide a variety of other services to children and families to improve their quality of life and chances at success. We have part time staff called “parent partners” that work to help families find resources and ensure their child needs are met. |
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Health Component
The licensed psychologist, or professional counselor that is assigned to each child guides health care services and coordinates an entire team of volunteers. The Families Plus electronic health record on each child documents all his or her care. This organized support goes on year after year with less and less professional coordination until the child emancipates. We strive to ensure no health needs go unmet.
In our innovative mental health care program, a mental health professional designs a plan for each child to improve a problem behavior. The therapist then works with the natural parents and child, mentors, teachers, and other supporters to work through the problem. Therapists also help mentors and other volunteers cope with the stress of some family situations. The strength of our model and its impact are illustrated by dramatic measurable changes in the well-being of children as they progress through the program. |
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Videos About Families Plus Program
Families Plus Clinical Programs
Families Plus Executive Director Dr. Brenda Holand talks to Dr. John VanDenBerg about the Families Plus wraparound model and the role of our clinition (therapist) at Families Plus. |
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Families Plus Evidence Based Practices
Executive Director Dr. Brenda Holland talks with Dr. John VanDenBerg about how evidence based methods are used and put into practice in the Families Plus program. |
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Families Plus Outcomes
Executive Director Dr. Brenda Holland and Dr. John VanDenBerg talk about the real life results, outcomes, and stories of Families Plus. |
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Families Plus Mentoring Works
Mentoring is a key part to children success at Families Plus and the impact is long lasting. Learn how mentoring is a key part of Families Plus. Dr. Brenda Holland talks about the impact. Mentors and the families of the children they are mentoring share their stories. |
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