Chapin Hall

In August of 2022 the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) began formal implementation of Community-Based High-Fidelity Wraparound, which serves youth with complex emotional, behavioral health, or mental health needs who are in DCFS care or in intact families. Wraparound provides family-driven and strength-based support with a focus on identifying and coordinating individualized case strategies. Four private child welfare contributing agencies offer Wraparound in 57 of the 102 counties. The program aligns with requirements in the federal Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse and DCFS plans to apply for federal approval to add High-Fidelity Wraparound to their list of Family First prevention interventions.

Chapin Hall is partnering with DCFS to provide implementation support and to evaluate Wraparound. These efforts include an evidence-informed continuous quality improvement (CQI) process in which data support decision making related to referrals, engagement, program completion, and model fidelity.

The following research questions guide the ongoing evaluation and CQI:

• Do youth with complex behavioral, emotional, or mental health needs who receive Community-Based High-Fidelity Wraparound achieve better safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes compared to similar youth not enrolled in Wraparound?
• How do youth, caregivers, caseworkers, and coordinators experience Community-Based High-Fidelity Wraparound? How do they perceive Wraparound supporting (or not supporting) them in attaining their goals and achieving positive outcomes?

Chapin Hall experts are helping the implementation team monitor key metrics for CQI. Key data from implementation between August 1, 2022 and June 30, 2025 suggest:

	On average, 39% of the available Wraparound program contracted slots were utilized each month. Program utilization peaked in October and November 2024 (44%).		An average of 26 youth began Wraparound each month. A total of 932 first Wraparound episodes for 905 youth began between August 1, 2022 and June 30, 2025. An average of 28 youth were discharged from Wraparound per month between August 1, 2022 and June 30, 2025. On average, Wraparound participants engaged in Wraparound services for 6.0 months before exiting the program.
	Youth, caregivers, Wraparound Coordinators, and other Wraparound team members (that is, participants in the Wraparound Child and Family Team Meetings) collectively scored fidelity to the model at an average of 74% on the Wraparound Fidelity Index Short Form (WFI-EZ) between August 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025. Each quarter, the Team Observation Measure scores--reflecting adherence to the model at Wraparound-facilitated child and family team meetings (CFTMs) and family meetings (FMs)--exceeded the target benchmark of 85%, except for the second quarter of both FY24 and FY25.		Relative to a matched comparison group, the Wraparound group showed the following significant differences: All participants: Improvement in trauma symptoms and behavioral needs based on the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment. Permanency cases: A shorter length of stay in DCFS legal custody, increased odds of achieving permanency within 12 months, but more placement moves. Non-permanency cases: Improvement in caregiver ability and child strengths on the CANS.

As implementation continues to scale up and the sample size increases, Chapin Hall will continue in-depth quantitative analyses to support the CQI process and evaluate the impact of Wraparound on child and family outcomes. In addition, focus groups and interviews with Wraparound coordinators, caseworkers, caregivers, and youth will elevate the voices of those with lived experience and provide context for the quantitative findings by answering “why” and “how” questions. This mixed-methods evaluation design will provide breadth and depth of understanding about Community-Based High-Fidelity Wraparound.

For more information about this project, please contact Policy Fellow Mary Sue Morsch or Research Fellow Dr. Brian Chor.