Abstract
Evaluation of innovative community-based interventions is becoming a high priority for child and adolescent mental health service system research. The present study examined outcomes for a sample of Vermont children (N=27) experiencing emotional and behavioral problems and receiving individualized, wraparound services. One year after initiation of wraparound care, incidence of negative behaviors rated as placing a child at risk of removal from the community had decreased significantly, compliance behavior had increased, and a significant decline in Total Problem Behavior scores on the Child Behavior Checklist was observed. In addition, though 70% of the participants had previously required inpatient or residential treatment, 89% were maintained in the community after one year of services, and the total cost of services was less than that of out-of-state residential care. Although further comparative research is needed, this study suggests that for many of these children, wraparound services may be a more efficient intervention than long-term psychiatric hospitalization or residential treatment.
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Bruns, E.J., Burchard, J.D. & Yoe, J.T. Evaluating the vermont system of care: Outcomes associated with community-based wraparound services. J Child Fam Stud 4, 321–339 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233966
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233966