Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team (WERT)

This website was created to facilitate dissemination of the measures of the Wraparound Fidelity Assessment System (WFAS), including the Wraparound Fidelity Index (WFI), Team Observation Measure (TOM), and Community Supports for Wraparound Inventory (CSWI). The site also aims to promote understanding within the service delivery evaluation field about the importance of maintaining fidelity to the wraparound process. This website contains descriptions of the measures of the WFAS, a brief description of the wraparound process, information on how to collaborate with our team and use the measures of the WFAS, relevant literature and presentations, and links to related projects and institutions.

For more information about the wraparound process, please visit the webpage of the National Wraparound Initiative.

Latest News

March 2012 WFI-EZ seeks pilot testers!

WERT is currently developing a brief, self-report version of the Wraparound Fidelity Index. The goal is to create a reliable and valid measure of adherence to the wraparound principles that is less burdensome and time consuming than the full WFI interview protocol. We are currently referring to this instrument as the WFI-EZ.

Though we want to create a version of the WFI that is quicker for families to complete and more feasible for sites to administer, the WFI-EZ must still be reliable and valid. It must also tap into the same constructs as the full WFI interview, results from which have been found to be associated with youth and family outcomes. To do this, we need to pilot a version of the WFI-EZ with parents/caregivers who also complete a full WFI interview.

This is where you, as one of our most trusted collaborators, can get involved!

We are seeking WFI-4 collaborator sites that are willing to administer a pilot version of the WFI-EZ to caregivers. These respondents (caregivers only, no facilitators or youths) will be provided a WFI-EZ form, and will complete it using paper and pen(cil) or via online survey. These caregivers may or may not also receive a WFI-4, depending on your preferences.

The pilot WFI-EZ is longer than the WFI-EZ ultimately will be. It consists of 39 items (plus a few intro items), most of which are rated on a five point scale. We will provide you with a copy of the form as well as a link to the web survey. Your job would be to give parents their confidential ID number, get them to complete the form in the format they prefer, and forward these de-identified data to our team. We have IRB approval to compile such data from collaborating sites so long as identifying data is not included.

Sites that agree to participate in this pilot test, and that can provide data from 10 or more caregivers will also be provided with free, unlimited use of the first version of the WFI-EZ for one year after its release.

If you are interested in being a collaborator on the development of the WFI-EZ in this way, please contact April Sather at sathea@uw.edu.

We look forward to hearing from you!

All the best,

Eric and April - Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team

May 2010

The Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team is the accountability and evaluation wing of the National Wraparound Initiative. The NWI is launching its new website this month, as well as a new membership drive that will help connect individuals, organizations, and communities who are involved in wraparound implementation. Check out all the details at the new NWI website: www.nwi.pdx.edu.

April 28, 2010 WFI PSYCHOMETRICS

WERT is happy to present the latest results of our extensive analysis of the psychometric properties of the Wraparound Fidelity Index, version 4, facilitated by a grant from the National Institute for Mental Health (R41-MH077356). The document presents characteristics of the WFI-4, as well as a summary of results from relevant reliability and validity studies conducted on the WFI-4 and previous versions of the WFI. Reliability and validity results are based on specific studies that have been conducted and published in peer-reviewed publications or presented at national conferences. To download, click here.

April 10, 2010 SUMMARY OF THE WRAPAROUND EVIDENCE BASE

The National Wraparound Initiative's "Resource Guide to Wraparound" includes an article written in 2008 that reviews wraparound outcome studies to date. A 2010 update by the original authors, Eric Bruns and Jesse Suter, is now available. The update gives an extensive overview and summary of the body of evidence and concerns for wraparound as an evidence based practice. Click here to download the PDF.

April 1, 2010

KBCS radio featured a story on Washington State and the National Wraparound Initiative as the second feature of a two part series "Cruel Choices". To hear the story click here.

July 1, 2009 Team Observation Measure (TOM) ROLLOUT

As you may know, over the past year and a half, the Wraparound Evaluation and Research Team has been pilot testing the Team Observation Measure (TOM) and its associated supports. If you have been a pilot testing site, thank you so much for your help in this process!

As of July 1, 2009, we will be accepting requests for collaboration from sites and programs that wish to use the TOM. Users may use the TOM alone, or in conjunction with other Wraparound Fidelity Assessment System (WFAS) tools, such as the WFI-4 or Community Supports for Wraparound Inventory (CSWI). TOM collaborators will have access to the following materials:

• TOM forms and any future updates to the forms
• TOM User's Manual
• TOM data entry shells in Excel and SPSS
• TOM training presentation in PowerPoint
• Access to the Wraparound Online Data Entry and Reporting System (WONDERS), available in Early Fall 2009
• TOM Observer Training Toolkit

The TOM Observer Training Toolkit includes a pre-recorded sample team meeting with associated sample administration. The sample administration includes a TOM score sheet with scoring explanations. Collaborating sites will be expected to use the toolkit to train observers to use the tool.

To download a copy of the collaborator agreement, click here.

If you have any question, or would like to become a TOM collaborator, email WERT at wrapeval@uw.edu.

February 13, 2009 CSWI AVAILABLE FOR COLLABORATORS' USE!

WERT is now accepting requests for collaboration from communities that wish to utilize the Community Supports for Wraparound Inventory (CSWI). The CSWI is a research and quality improvement tool intended to measure how well a local system supports the implementation of the wraparound process. The CSWI is based on the framework of Necessary Conditions described by Walker, Koroloff and Schutte (2003), and presents 42 community or system variables that ideally are in place in communities that aim to implement the wraparound process. The CSWI is somewhat unique from the other WFAS instruments in that it assesses the system context for wraparound as opposed to the fidelity to the practice model for an individual child and family.

Costs associated with use of the CSWI range depending on size of the community assessed. A standard community will be charged $1200, and this includes implementation of the survey, as well as a complete report of results. Some community assessments that are larger in scale (e.g., statewide or a county with multiple regions), will be charged additionally for each sub-community assessed. For an example of the CSWI report, click here.

If you have any questions, or would like to become a CSWI collaborator, email WERT at wrapeval@u.washington.edu.

This project is supported by the Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch of the Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; the National Institute of Mental Health (grant number R41-MH077356); The Innovations Institute at the University of Maryland, Baltimore; and the University of Washington Division of Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy. Special thanks to the University of Vermont Department of Psychology for their long history of support to this project.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, please e-mail WERT at
wrapeval@u.washington.edu