Needs & Wraparound

1. Needs & Wraparound • Practice Patterns: How it Happens in Wraparound • Named facilitator looks for needs as they complete the strengths “chats” • Needs statements brought together as a team • Family confirms accuracy or not • Prioritized as most important as a team, with family having primary say

2. Needs Statements • What is needed to reach Vision? • Often represents barriers to the Vision • Needs help with . . . • Answer to the question - “why” (underlying need) • Not problems or deficits • Not Services • Written in a concise, brief manner (do not combine several needs together) • On average, 3 active need statements at a time

3. Before Needs Statements Facilitator must first have: • Created time and space to really listen • Written the “new story” • Established the family vision • Have a sense of what a job well done would look like to the family

4. The Power of Reframing: • Turning stumbling blocks into stepping stones Reframing is not the process of developing excuses for harmful or illegal conduct

5. Reframing Exercise Problem Statement • Child runs away • Child is assaultive • Family is resistive to services • Family is dysfunctional • Child can not form relationships Possible Need Potential Reframe

6. Understanding Needs • Leads to real help • Builds trust and acceptance • Leads to shared understanding • Helps the family do it on their own sooner

7. Problems vs. Needs A problem labels the issue but gives us no direction on how to help! • Child is ADHD • Parent has AODA issues • Family is always in crisis A need lets us know what drives the person to present with an issue and provides us with information on how to deliver real help. • Sammy needs help focusing on his school work • Tanya deserves to be loved by someone she can trust • The Jones family wants help resolving conflict with local police

8. Needs & Individualized Service Planning • Focus on the “why” of a need not the “how” of it • Needs to know that others see him as okay even when he makes mistakes on homework rather than he needs to complete his homework • Use descriptive terms • To learn, To know, To experience, To feel, To see, To have, To be • Deal with the “big” stuff • Families deserve to know their teams are dealing with their larger challenges

9. Need Is something I can imagine the person saying if they could “I need help getting a life to be sober for” Will address compelling reason for the person “I need to do this so I can get that” Addresses needing “from” More of a compelling purpose Goal Is something I can imagine for someone else “You need to get into treatment” May address system or adult mandates “You need to do this” Addresses needing “to” More of a command Goals and Needs are Different

10. Need Defines why do the action Unifying concept that cuts across all three levels of service Changes infrequently until reports are “met need” Service Defines the action Three levels Existing service Intervention Support Frequent changes based on new information Services & Needs are Different

11. Sample Need: “I need to stop using drugs” Identify at least ten underlying reasons for this statement

12. Exploring Unmet Needs as the Basis for Behavior 4. Unmet Need 1.Describe the Behavior 3. Why would anyone need to act that way? 2.What Happened Next?

13. Tips for Using the Needs “Egg” • Consider the facts of the “last time” • When, Where, What, Who • What was next & how did others respond? • Brainstorm “10” reasons to explain why anyone would need to act like that • Apply what you know about the history & context to the needs statement

14. Challenges with Needs & Community Based Services • BIG behaviors cause us to overlook need & react to behavior • Finding words to communicate unmet need • Helping families find a language to communicate the most important unmet need at the earliest possible moment • Increasing the precision of “fit” between what you get and what you need • Overburdening families with the responsibility for “voicing” needs • Mistaking service for need • Mistaking goals for need

15. “Needs” Talk in Team Meetings • When a team member disguises a service as a need, i.e. • He needs a special education placement or • The family needs counseling • Ask the team member • What do you hope will be accomplished through this? • Why do you think this is important to the person? • How will you know when it’s been effective?

16. Creating Benchmarks • How will the team know they are getting closer to meeting the need • What behavior will be observed • What can be measured to help us know we are getting closer?

17. Strategies • Builds on Strengths/Be creative • Designed to Meet Needs • Use as many Natural Supports as Possible • Utilize Whole Team • Strategies may contain a service • Be Specific  Who - What - How Often • Modify in Response to Changes or Progress

18. Tips for Creative Solutions • Start with reviewing functional strengths list • Review the needs statements – Are they really representative of the underlying need? • Return to the vision when you’re feeling lost • Brainstorm at least ten options for each need

19. Strength Based Planning

20. A Well Written Plan • Is written in the language of the family • Is usable by the family • Creates a road map for the family’s life to improve • Make sense and is clear to the whole team • Reflects hope for the future • Addresses the youth and family’s success beyond their time enrolled in a program

21. Much of the content of this presentation was provided to Wraparound Milwaukee by Pat Miles, National Training Consultant Contact: Pat Miles @patmiles.com

22. Presented by: Mary Jo Meyers Deputy Director Wraparound Milwaukee Contact: E: consultmjm@hotmail.com P: 414.257.7521