The West Virginia Department of Human Services (DoHS) is emphasizing the value of WV Wraparound during Mental Health Awareness Month by highlighting its role in providing essential home- and community-based services for children with serious emotional and behavioral health needs. Designed for children with serious mental illness (SMI) and serious emotional disorders (SED), WV Wraparound helps families keep their children out of institutional care while ensuring they receive the necessary support in their homes and communities.
Children who received CSED Waiver services through West Virginia Wraparound for at least three months in calendar year 2023 were significantly less likely to be admitted to a residential mental health treatment facility. Only 13% of these children required residential placement following the initiation of services, compared to 20% of all children who met the clinical eligibility criteria for the CSED Waiver during the same period. This suggests a potential protective effect of sustained Wraparound engagement in reducing the need for higher levels of care.
“This data reinforces what we’ve seen firsthand, WV Wraparound is helping children remain in their homes and communities while getting the behavioral health support they need,” said Crystal Martin, DoHS Statewide Coordinator of WV Wraparound. “By reducing the need for residential placement, we’re not only supporting families but also promoting long-term positive outcomes for West Virginia’s youth.”
WV Wraparound combines services from DoHS’ Bureau for Behavioral Health (Children’s Mental Health Wraparound), Bureau for Social Services (Safe at Home) and Bureau for Medical Services (Children with Serious Emotional Disorder Waiver (CSED)) in providing High Fidelity Wraparound—an evidence-based and sustainable model for serving the unique needs of children and families.
Families, youth, and advocates, such as school counselors or pediatricians, can access WV Wraparound by contacting the Children’s Crisis and Referral Line (CCRL) at 844-HELP4WV. CCRL offers 24/7 call, text, and chat support and connects individuals to the Children’s Pathway to behavioral and mental health services, a system designed to assess a child’s clinical needs and connect them to appropriate services.
If a child under the age of 21 does not meet the criteria for WV Wraparound, the family will be connected to other suitable behavioral health resources such as therapy, medication management, Assertive Community Treatment, or positive behavior support services. The focus is on matching services to the child’s level of need and the family’s expressed goals.
“WV Wraparound represents the kind of upstream intervention that’s essential for building healthier families and stronger communities,” said Christina Mullins, DoHS Deputy Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. “By investing in earlier, community-based care, we are not only helping individual children, we’re supporting the entire system of care for West Virginia’s youth.”
This supportive and accessible process ensures families receive help every step of the way. To learn more about WV Wraparound or to begin the application process, visit the Kids Thrive Collaborative website. The CSED Waiver application, which also serves as the application for WV Wraparound services, can be found under the “How Do I” section.
