California High-Fidelity Wraparound is defined by building continuity in practice and improving equitable safety, well-being, and permanency outcomes for children and families through supporting the provision of high-fidelity Wraparound programs throughout the state. In this section, information related to the California Standards, California Wraparound ACINs and ACLs, the California County Wraparound Plan for Providers, Provider Certification and a highlight of the information available within the CDSS website.
- California Wraparound Contracting Guidance
- Because California Wraparound is the required aftercare intervention for children who are transitioning from STRTPs, counties may need to revise current contracts with community providers or establish new contracts in order to comply with the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) and Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) section 4096.6 (Assembly Bill 153). All Wraparound contracts and services must require adherence to the California Wraparound Standards as currently described in the California Wraparound Standards and establish expectations and deliverables for the provision of high-fidelity, high-quality wraparound. To comply with expectations, contracts should include appropriate content from the sections listed below, with clear explanation of the requirements. The sections listed below are considered the minimum standard for best practices. This is an evolving document, and updated versions with additional helpful information will be regularly posted.
California Wraparound Contracting Guidance - Funding Wraparound
Consistent with the local county System of Care Memorandum of Understanding, the Interagency Leadership Team holds the fiduciary responsibility to manage and leverage funding sources to maximize revenues dedicated to the health and welfare of children, youth and families served by the public systems.
Leveraging Funds
A funding matrix has been drafted to provide general information about various funding sources available across the System of care. These sources may be able to address one or more life domain needs of families receiving services and can potentially be used to meet some portion of Wraparound program administrative expenses (i.e., staffing, data collection and analysis, workforce development, etc.). The matrix provides a general snapshot of each funding source and is intended to inform conversations with cross-system partners; the information should NOT be used to define eligibility nor as assurance of available funds.
The rules and limitations specific to each funding source are complex. Federal funds typically need to be matched by State or local funding sources to be claimed. Each county should research and understand the match requirements. It is to the local county’s advantage to collaborate with system partners to ensure that available funding is claimed wherever possible, leveraging all sources to serve the greatest community good while achieving the individual missions of the partner organizations.
To be successful, the wraparound requires sufficient funding to support the intensive programmatic activities of engagement, planning, implementation, and transitioning until goals are achieved. These service elements embody the needed supports and services required to meet immediate and longer-term individualized needs of children, youth, and families. Additionally, administrative processes including effective workforce development, effective data collection and analysis, financial management and reporting and other administrative functions must be embedded to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. The best structures to accomplish this will be determined by the unique characteristics of each county.
California Wraparound Funding Matrix
Flexible Funding
The wraparound practice model requires access to flexible funding to support and address the urgent and individualized needs of children, youth and their families when these needs are not readily met by other resources (i.e., governmental programs or other known social or community resources).
- Wraparound with Adoptive Families
Wraparound with Adoptive Families will be available soon. This section will provide guidance and support for counties, providers, and adoptive families participating in the Wraparound process utilizing Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) funds. For questions related to Wraparound utilizing Adoption Assistance Program funds, please contact AAP@dss.ca.gov.
A forthcoming All-County Letter (ACL) will be issued to provide detailed instructions and policy updates related to Wraparound with Adoptive Families. Additionally, an updated contract sample will be included to facilitate integration of these new standards into existing practices.
- Out of County Placement
The Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC)section 4096.6(c)(1)(C) requires that CDSS and DHCS establish process guidance to ensure provision of aftercare services for children and nonminor dependents residing outside the county of jurisdiction. The following Out-of-County Guidance was developed by the Fiscal and Organizational Leadership Workgroup to assist counties of jurisdiction and counties of placement with timely and coordinated transitions for children/youth and families who have relocated to or are placed in another California county and are continuing to access Wraparound services. This Guidance is not intended to be mandatory policy, as contracting, fiscal, and accounting policies and processes vary greatly by county and provider.
Guidance and Service Delivery Options
The Guidance and Service Delivery Options document outlines several options that are available for counties to provide Wraparound services to children, youth, and families residing outside of the county of jurisdiction.
This sample Single Service Agreement can be used as an example for counties in developing their own contracts when a single-case service agreement option is selected.
These County of Jurisdiction Prompting Questions and County of Placement Prompting Questions provide example questions for counties to ask when coordinating out-of-county Wraparound service contracts or MOUs.
Additional Resources
Assigned County ID Codes: claiming, payment and fiscal: Each county in California is assigned a numerical ID code in several statewide claiming, payment, and fiscal processes and systems, including the County Expense Claim Reporting Information System (CECRIS). These ID codes change infrequently.
County-Contracted Wraparound Providers: Wraparound Providers that are contracted by each county
County Wraparound Eligibility Criteria Populations Served: Wraparound Eligibility Criteria/Population information is listed by county.
Presumptive Transfer: County Points of Contact: Presumptive Transfer is the prompt transfer of the responsibility for providing and paying for specialty mental health services (SMHS) for children and youth in foster care who are placed outside of the county in which they came into care. Counties of jurisdiction should contact the Presumptive Transfer point of contact in the county of placement to discuss the options delivery of SMHS through presumptive transfer or waiver of presumptive transfer.
Wraparound County Coordinators: Each county designates a person to be the Wraparound Coordinator. This is the person that CDSS will send information to when needed and coordinates all Wraparound services for the county. If the county provided a name other than the Wraparound Coordinators, the new name is listed with an asterisk which indicates that is the person to contact when a family has relocated to another CA county. If there is no asterisk, then contact the Wraparound Coordinator.
- Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
The ICPM includes significant detail about requirements for serving Indian children and their tribal communities. Tribes are sovereign nations as established in treaties with the United States government. Federal legislation known as the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) governs "child custody proceedings" for Indian children and supports tribal authority over proceedings including active efforts designed to keep an Indian child’s family and tribal relationships intact. Tribes must be involved in decisions about placement if a child must be removed from their parent(s) so that tribal placement preferences are respected, as well as utilization of tribal resources that align with the tribe’s prevailing cultural, social conditions and values. California Wraparound providers should be aware of these requirements to provide services that are culturally informed and relevant. The documents linked here provide useful context.
ICWA Desk Reference
SAMHSA TIP 61: Behavioral Health Services for American Indians and Alaska Natives- CDSS Wraparound Consultants
*CDSS Wraparound County Consultants PDF
Resource Center for Family Focused Practice Coaching and Consultation