From the Director: A Future Fueled by Hope

I’m writing this on the eve of the distribution of the FFPSA-Part IV High Fidelity Wraparound Certification and Approval All-County-Letter. By the time this newsletter is published, we’ll be in full “go-time” mode. I’m sure there will be questions asked that we hadn’t anticipated, and I imagine some will feel anxiety around the new requirements. But more than anything, I’m feeling grateful for–and hopeful about–this new opportunity to lift up and make certain the things that make Wraparound so powerful.

The certification and approval process will require organization, documentation and probably more meetings than we’d like, and I know many of us are holding onto more than just this one change. Some are long overdue, while others may bring more hardship for the families we serve. Taken together, it’s easy to be overcome with worry and fatigue about any of them. I know I’m not alone in that.

And yet, I remain ever hopeful about our collective ability to hold on to the overwhelming benefits of this transition to High-Fidelity Wraparound.

This issue is dedicated to that spirit of hope—the same that sparked Wraparound’s beginnings in California. Hope for more consistent practice throughout the state of California, and for the certainty that every family who receives Wraparound will experience the promise of High Fidelity Wraparound: A well-trained team consisting of parent partners, youth partners, facilitators and natural supports; Wraparound with voice, choice, healing and love.

This edition of Wraparound Connections celebrates the people and the hope of Wraparound. In service to this theme, we asked our RCFFP team, “What does hope mean to you?”

Hope is the conviction that transformation is possible, and the active commitment to walk alongside others as they discover their own strength, dignity and voice.Dawne'

Catlin Seida once described hope in a way that reframed it for me, not as something delicate or light, but as something coarse and resilient, a rough-edged force that claws its way through darkness. It’s beautiful not in spite of its grit, but because of it.Ginny

Hope provides us with the uniquely human lens to see beyond our current environmental reality, and the uniquely human ability to believe that our reality can and will change for the better.Jason

To me, hope is about believing in something bigger than ourselves — a dream, a future, or a possibility we can’t yet see. It’s trusting that what we long for can take shape, and that we are capable and worthy of receiving it. Hope also lives in the people around us, those who help us remember what’s possible when we lose sight of it and who remind us to keep going when the journey feels hard. It’s a quiet courage, a choice to believe in better days, even when we’re not sure when or how they’ll come.Lizzy

Hope is a feeling. The kind you get when you witness an amazing sunrise, see a newborn fawn standing up for the first time, or when you can see the top of the hill you're climbing. It's a promise for today and tomorrow. It's trust, it's peace, it's us--each of us.Lynne

Hope is a light that never dies, that lives within us and among us, that we will be okay and the world can be a better place. Hope is fuel for work, struggle and problem-solving, and makes the days ahead sparkle.Mallorie

Hope is the quiet strength of knowing I’m not alone—anchored by faith, sustained by love and lit by the belief that our lives can be full of purpose and peace.Rebekah

To hope is one of the bravest and most terrifying things we can do. Hope urges us to keep moving after we fall, to believe in good after we’ve seen the worst, and to love again with a heart that remembers the ache.Tamara

We hope you enjoy this Summer 2025 Issue of Wraparound Connections!

Nancy Hafer, M.S., Director, Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice