Community Wraparound envisions a future in which all children and youth regardless of the complexities of their needs are connected to caring adults and have access to appropriate services and support so they can thrive in their homes and communities.
I have worked with or run agencies throughout my entire professional career and have rarely seen an initiative like Community Wraparound that combines individualized service delivery from professionals linked to support and presence from family, friends, mentors, and people from the wider community, including law enforcement. “Support” alone does not adequately convey the heart: it is, to this writer, a consistent, reliable presence and caring.
Appropriate and intensive services are often not available, or available only outside an individual’s community; and services are often focused on what systems can provide, not what children and families actually need.
“Wraparound, now present in many states throughout the nation, began almost 20 years ago,” says Pastor Jesus Sandoval who was recently appointed by San Diego’s Mayor Kevin Faulconer as Executive Director of the San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention.
Sandoval, a former gang member himself, knows what it is like to have been a client. He knows that “hurt people hurt people,” and “that the child who does not feel the love of the community will burn it down to feel the warmth.”
When in the gang life some tried to pull him out. “It was a tug of war,” he notes. “But you’re here now. What made the difference?” I ask him. “Those who wanted me out were ‘genuine,’” answers Sandoval. I asked him what “genuine” looked like. “I could put my guard down, be myself, be vulnerable,” continues Sandoval. “I was accepted for me – no strings attached. Genuine meant acceptance of me for who I am.” These words would explain Sandoval’s deep commitment to Community Wraparound.
Community Wraparound follows a pattern. Engagement, often over dinner or lunch, affords the opportunity for staff to get to know individuals, usually between the ages of 8 and 21 who are referred by probation, police, or Child Protective Services. The second element is planning and goal-setting by both the parents and the youth with professionals. Weekly meetings are held in locations most convenient for the client. Plan implementation and follow up gives time to acknowledge and celebrate (“Juan has returned to school!”). The overall plan is assessed and revisited.
10 principles undergird Wraparound’s work:
– The work is driven by youth, families, and the community
– Plans are individualized to meet particular needs
– The work begins with “strengths,” and “what’s going well”
– Persistence: Wraparound will not give up
– A team base, which in addition to service providers, families, and volunteers, includes referring entities, e.g. probation, and police, as an integral part of the team
– Cultural awareness
– Outcome-based
– Each team member makes certain commitments
– Family voice and choice: A family is not told what to do, but actively participates in shaping individual plans
– Natural support: When a Wraparound “client” has been deemed successful by a city, county, or state authority, “natural support” continues and intensifies
“Everybody needs somebody that will stick around for them for a lifetime,” says Sandoval.
I would call it Sandoval’s “breaking bread” philosophy. Some might call it “follow up.” It’s not. It’s where clients and former clients meet weekly for dinner in a local church with their mentors and families. Sometimes the church provides the food, sometimes it’s pot luck. “But somehow, always, everybody seems to get fed,” notes Sandoval. All are welcomed and then members at every table (often six tables) stand to report on “what’s going well.” One of the principles (listed above) is discussed in addition to community news along with a particular need (“Angel needs a bus pass.”). The evening closes with a prayer.
Among the “guests” at Sandoval’s table, and an integral part of Wraparound, are representatives from San Diego’s law enforcement community – police and probation. While they might arrest and set conditions for probation, they are equally committed to a youth’s well-being and positive place in the community. Their work does not stop at arrest.
The point is this: A person, once a client, has not just been fixed, or is back in school, or has a job. While all are critically important, all the normal indices of positive social service or criminal justice outcomes, it is more. That person has become claimed and loved, welcomed as a member of the community.
For additional information see https://www.sandiego.gov/gangcommission and www.NewHarvestEastSanDiego.org.
Written by Jack Calhoun
Mr. Calhoun is an internationally renowned public speaker and frequent media guest, editorial contributor and author of three books. He is the founder and CEO of Hope Matters. For more than 20 years, Mr. Calhoun was the founding president of the National Crime Prevention Council, prior to which he served under President Carter as the Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families. Click on “Contact” to book Mr. Calhoun to speak at your next conference. All speaking topics are available at: www.HopeMatters.org/Speaker
