Social supports for youth and families receiving
mental health services are important for family success
and sustainability of systems of care. The goal of our study
was to determine what help and support families and youth
receive and from whom they receive it. We surveyed youth
and families enrolled in community wraparound care
coordination to determine the support they receive. The
social supports questionnaire measures include: the kinds
of help and support that the parent/caregiver and youth
received from people in the past 6 months, and the kinds of
people who helped the parent/caregiver and youth in the
past 6 months. Results show that social support networks
are weak for both family and youth. Variations in scores
suggest that wraparound family teams should focus on
strategies that enhance the development of social supports.
Data collected at 6-month followup were analyzed to
determine if families and youth have increased their social
support networks and expanded the kinds of people that
provide support to them. Our research question is ‘‘What
kinds of help and social support do youth and families
receive and from whom do they receive it?’’