WRAPS Kalamazoo

In October 2005, Kalamazoo County was awarded a six-year, nine million dollar grant from the U.S. Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to improve the system of care for children’s mental health. This project is called Kalamazoo Wraps because it entails the community wrapping around the youth and their families offering support, resources and services to meet their individual needs. The final outcomes we hope to achieve are better attendance at schools, less involvement with courts, and fewer out-of-home placements.

The main philosophy behind the improvements is that the system be family-driven, youth-guided, and culturally and linguistically competent. This means parents, youth, siblings, and other family members work side-by-side with community agencies to improve services and to develop new programs that are responsive to their needs and respectful of their culture.

Kalamazoo Wraps has many partners, including schools, juvenile justice, public and private mental health providers, child welfare agencies, parents and youth.

Of more than 50 sites across the country which have won this grant, Kalamazoo is the only one that shares the top two leadership positions with the family-run organization. This shows great commitment on the part of our community to the principles of family-driven, youth-guided care. Kalamazoo Wraps Co–Principal Investigators are Advocacy Services for Kids (ASK) Executive Director Dianne Shaffer and Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (KCMHSAS) Director for Children and Family Services Patricia Weighman.

The Co-Project Directors of Kalamazoo Wraps are Michelle Houtrow of KCMHSAS and Gisela Lawson of ASK. We hope that you find this website helpful and informative! We welcome your participation in Kalamazoo Wraps. Several workgroups and advisory groups have formed to help with the implementation of Kalamazoo Wraps. If you would like more information about Kalamazoo Wraps, or would like to participate, please call Gisela Lawson at 269-343-5896 or Michelle Houtrow at 269-553-8110.