Wraparound Blog

Wraparound and the Family First Prevention Services Act

May 14, 2019 | Janet Walker

With states working toward implementation of the new federal law, the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), there are new opportunities for using Wraparound to avoid placing children in foster care, to prevent placement disruption for children in adoption and kinship guardian homes, and to meet the mental health, substance use and related needs of at-risk children and their families/caregivers. If Wraparound is included in your FFPSA Prevention Services Plan, you could also use FFPSA training dollars to build provider capacity to deliver fidelity Wraparound and use FFPSA administrative dollars to support data systems, fidelity monitoring, quality and outcomes tracking.

If your state is interested in using Wraparound in its FFPSA Prevention Services Plan, don’t wait to see what ends up getting listed on the Children’s Bureau Clearinghouse. The Children’s Bureau has said repeatedly that they are eager to see what states want and propose for their plans. The Clearinghouse will be reviewing programs as they receive them – especially those submitted by the states – and producing ratings for different programs on a rolling basis.

Bottom line: Go ahead and include Wraparound in your prevention plan, even though it is not yet listed by the Clearinghouse. The more states that include it, the greater the likelihood it will end up on the list.

The NWI has compiled a brief information sheet on Wraparound and the FFPSA. The information sheet includes more information about the FFPSA, as well as information about the research evidence for Wraparound and where you can find Wraparound listed as an evidence-based or promising program.