Using a Theory of Change to Drive Human Resource Development for Wraparound

Achieving coherence and integration across staff professional development activities is facilitated when training, coaching
and staff evaluation are guided by a clearly articulated program theory or “theory of change” that describes how skillful
practice promotes desired outcomes. We focus on a theory of change for wraparound, a widely implemented approach to providing
community-based care for children with high levels of mental health and related needs. Training, coaching and staff evaluation
efforts within wraparound programs have typically been linked only very loosely to theory. We argue that wraparound’s unique
history allowed it to evolve with limited theoretical grounding, and we then describe a theory of change for wraparound, focusing
on the major causal routes that are hypothesized to lead to outcomes. Finally, we provide an extended illustration of how
the theory can provide the basis for a coherent and integrated approach to developing the skills and capacities of staff members
playing key roles in wraparound implementation.