Finding effective treatment models for youth in the juvenile justice system with serious emotional, mental health, and behavioral needs can be difficult. Systems tend to use more traditional residential and day treatment programs to serve these youth. Wraparound Milwaukee, now in its fifth year of operation, takes a quite different approach to serving youth with mental health needs. Created under a Center for Mental Health Services grant, Wraparound Milwaukee sustains itself by pooling dollars with its systems partners and taking an integrated, multiservice approach to meeting the needs of youth and their families. This approach, which is based on the Wraparound philosophy and the managed care model, offers care that is tailored to each youth.
Data indicate that the program is achieving positive outcomes.