Updated January 12, 2023
Advocacy Links offers Child Mental Health Wraparound Support Services in northern Indiana to both CMHI (Children’s Mental Health Initiative) and CMHW (Children’s Mental Health Wraparound) eligible youth.
Children’s Mental Health Wraparound Support provides resources, support, and guidance to children, youth, and their families/caregivers in difficult situations.
Wraparound brings together a committed team of individuals from a youth’s family, friends, community, and professional supports and utilizes their input to help the youth and their family build a plan of care.
The plan of care is used as a roadmap to help the youth and family move toward their goals. It focuses on the youth’s individual strengths as well as the strengths of their family and support systems.
CHILD MENTAL HEALTH
A youth’s mental health is an incredibly important factor in their overall well-being. Mental health affects a person’s mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being. It directly impacts how they think, feel, act, or react to difficult situations.
Like adults, youth with mental health conditions can struggle with their emotions. Coping with stress is difficult and getting through the basic demands of the day can be challenging especially in the context of a disability, emotional disturbances, or trauma.
Children and youth may not always have the same ability as adults to express what they are feeling and why they are feeling it. (Honestly, this is still challenging for many adults!)
THE BASICS OF WRAPAROUND SUPPORTS
Children’s Mental Health Wraparound Support is provided to youth between 6 and 17 years of age who have a serious emotional disturbance that meet eligibility criteria for wraparound supports. The goal of this service is to keep youth in their homes and communities. Wraparound is funded by DMHA (Division of Mental Health and Addiction) and DCS (Department of Child Services).
Wraparound supports are person-centered and tailored to the individual youth and family with extensive input from the family and the support team. The support team is made up of family, friends, and paid community supports chosen by the youth and their primary caregivers.
Wraparound Facilitators help the youth and family in coordinating services and teams. Your Facilitator will also help bring out the strengths of all team members and develop ways the team members can use their own strengths to support the youth and family.
The youth and family/caregiver meet regularly with their chosen Wraparound Facilitator. Teams will meet monthly, and the Wraparound Facilitator will check in with everyone on the team weekly.
Advocacy Links Facilitators are well connected to their regions and they are familiar with the resources that are offered in their areas. All our facilitators are trained in person-centered planning and recognize that youth and family schedules don’t always follow conventional 9 – 5 schedules. They will contact and/or meet with families based on their schedules and they will always return contacts within 24 hours.
THE PROCESS OF STARTING MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS
When youth and families are referred for Wraparound Supports they will get the opportunity to choose their provider. Choose Advocacy Links!
When Advocacy Links receives a referral and notification that a family has chosen us as a provider, our Wraparound Facilitators will contact the youth and family/caregivers – within 48 hours – to schedule a meeting. These initial meetings need to be held within 7 days of the referral. We will help you build your team of natural and paid supports in the first 30 days.
Wraparound Facilitators weekly check-ins will help ensure updates are shared and that lines of communication are open, consistent, and responsive. They also give status updates on the goals the youth and family have chosen. Team meetings will be held monthly. During these meetings care plans will be reviewed and updated when necessary.
All team members, including the youth and their caregivers, should be involved in all of their meetings. This allows the best possible support and outcome of wraparound services.
ELIGIBILITY AND WHERE TO START
Eligible children and youths must:
- Be between the ages of 6 and 17 years old
- Have two or more Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) diagnoses
- Experience significant emotional/functional impairments that impact their level of functioning at home or in the community.
- At least one area of negative impact including mental health, supervision issues, family stress, or substance abuse is demonstratable by the Family/Caregiver.
Anyone can make a referral to establish this service, including (but not limited to) parents, teachers, counselors, coaches, and family members.
To request a referral or assessment, individuals should contact Indiana’s Access Site:
Child Advocates 317-205-3055 incmhwportal.fssa.in.gov -OR- Call 211 to request an assessment.
If you’d like to contact Advocacy Links specifically with questions, we can be contacted via email at info@advocacy-links.com or you can leave a message for us at 888-537-5733.
FUNDING
Wraparound Support Services are funded and paid for through the child/youth’s Medicaid, so there is no financial burden on families who wish to use this support. If the youth does not qualify for Medicaid or has insurance that doesn’t cover mental health services, funding can be provided through the Children’s Mental Health Initiative. Funding through this service is also available to children meeting diagnostic criteria that also have a diagnosis of intellectual and developmental delays.
Wraparound supports put together a team of individuals who care about the youth who needs services, to make positive changes in the youth’s life. Everyone who comes to the table to support the child and family has a strong commitment to their well-being.
The youth’s team members are relevant to his/her life and want to see them succeed. This type of collaborative approach encourages input from everyone but allows the youth and family the ability to direct how they want to approach their care. This type of supportive foundation is powerful.
Advocacy Links Wraparound Facilitators live in the communities they serve. They have built relationships with individuals and organizations within their communities and are aware of resources in the area that may benefit the youth and family.
Advocacy Links Wraparound Facilitators are passionate about care coordination and dedicated to ensuring that the service and support they provide is high fidelity and high quality. They connect family/caregivers and youth to the people and processes that will help them make decisions.
Throughout this process, facilitators ensure that the family/caregivers, and youth are the leaders of a team that focuses on their strengths and lets them drive the process.