Wraparound Team Composition, Youth Self-determination, and Youth Satisfaction in Transition Services

Wraparound, a team-based planning process for youth and families, has been widely adopted in school-based services for older adolescents and emerging adults with serious mental health conditions transitioning to adulthood. Reservations have been voiced, however, regarding possible drawbacks of teams for these youth, including concerns about difficulties with involving supportive adults, and whether youth might perceive team-based planning as a threat to their developing autonomy. To date, however, no studies have examined the feasibility of involving supports in teams and relationships between team composition and youth’s service experiences. The present study examined the relationships between team composition and youth’s perceptions of self-determination and service satisfaction among 36 youths in seven school-based programs using a specialized form of wraparound for transition services. Findings showed that meeting participation by caregivers and professionals from both inside and outside of schools was common and that regular participation by combinations of these types of adults was related to youth self-determination and satisfaction.