For Parents FAQ

How do I get a wrap?
If you think that Wraparound is right for you and your family, please contact:
The Ottawa Children’s Coordinated Access and Referral to Services
613-729-1000
You may also print, fill out and submit the Mental Health Application Form

What’s the time commitment?
This depends on the needs of the family. You might meet once a week in the beginning stages of Wraparound. However, once goals are identified and regular team meetings are underway, you may agree to meet less often. The team will determine the time commitment required to meet the family’s needs.

What’s the difference between Wraparound and counselling?
Although it may seen similar to counselling, the Wraparound process goes a step further by dedicating considerable effort towards building constructive relationships and support networks among the youth and their family. This is accomplished by establishing a unique team that is invested in achieving agreed-upon quality-of-life indicators.

How much does it cost?
There is no cost to families for Wraparound.

What if I don’t have a lot of support in my community?
Don’t worry. Your Wraparound facilitator will help you gather together the significant people in your life. In fact, an important part of the process is to help individuals build a stronger informal support network. That network is different for everyone, which is why no two Wraparound teams look alike. That’s part of what make Wraparound so unique!

What is my role as a Wraparound team member?
Your role as a Wraparound team member will most likely not involve doing anything different than what you are already doing. You may be a grandparent, a friend, a neighbour, an aunt or uncle, already providing support to the family in your own way. This may take the form of babysitting, going out for a coffee, talking over the phone, etc.

The Wraparound team includes informal members chosen by the family, and it may include professional (formal) supports as well. All of the family’s supports come together in the Wraparound process to work with the family.

How can I help the family? Why is it important that I be there?
Wraparound is a strength-based process—meaning that we try to connect the family’s strengths with strategies that will assist them in problem solving. We help the family identify needs, establish a vision and then work towards that vision. Wraparound team members bring their experience, expertise and ideas to the table—whether it’s brainstorming to develop a crisis plan, helping to create a schedule, suggesting parenting techniques, offering strategies, or just being there to listen.

As a family member or friend, you know the family the best and have already been helping them. The great part about being an informal support is that you can continue to support the family even after the professionals have come and gone.

How often does the team meet. For how long? When? Where?
Wraparound meetings are very flexible. The team meets as often as the family feels it’s necessary. This may mean every two weeks or so in the beginning of the process and dropping to once a month after a while—the frequency depends on the family situation and their level of need.

Meetings normally last 60 to 90 minutes and take place at any time that suits the family’s and the team members’ schedules. The Wraparound team meets wherever it is most convenient for the family, such as their home, their local school, or their church.

What happens at the meetings?
At the first meeting, you will receive an information package that explains the family’s strengths, needs and priorities. The facilitator, who will be present at every meeting, will normally welcome everyone and make the introductions. The family will then update the team on what has been happening in their lives. All voices will be heard. Working as a team, we will offer suggestions and strategies, which will all be recorded. The family will choose among them according to what they believe will work best for them, but the decision-making will be a team effort.

This is your opportunity to help the family by providing your ideas and expertise. A plan will be developed that describes who will do what, when and where. Finally, the next meeting will be set.

What if I can’t make it to one of the meetings?
Wraparound and the family understand that you have your other commitments and responsibilities that may prevent you from attending meetings. When you can’t make it to a Wraparound meeting, simply let the facilitator know and he or she will update you before the next meeting. You will also be kept up to date through the Wraparound Plan that is distributed after most meetings.

What if I want to be a team member but can’t make any of the meetings?
Not a problem! Sometimes friends or family members who live far away or who have demanding personal or professional schedules nonetheless form part of a Wraparound team to help a family. The facilitator can send you an information package containing the list of team members and their contact information as well as a Wraparound Plan for each meeting. You can provide your input to the Plan—your suggestions, ideas or strategies—by phone or email.

For more information on the Wraparound process, including a detailed description of what to expect in the team meetings, read A Family Guide to Wraparound