Objectives: Services to children and adolescents with a severe emotional disturbance (SED) have long been inadequate. The wraparound approach has emerged as a promising practice that could address the needs of children with SED and their families through a strength-based, individualized, family-focused team process that emphasizes flexible service planning. This study compares the outcomes of youth receiving the wraparound approach with youth receiving traditional child welfare case management. Method: Child behavior and community integration outcomes were measured at intake and at 6 months in services. Results: Results indicated that youth receiving the wraparound approach showed significant improvement on the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) when compared with youth receiving traditional child welfare services. Results also showed that youth receiving traditional child welfare services experienced significantly fewer placements. However, neither group showed significant differences on other clinical or functional outcomes. Conclusions: Results are discussed, as well as applications to social work practice, study limitations, and recommendations for additional research on wraparound.

Objective: To examine the results of prison privatization. Method: In an effort to provide an empirical base from which decisions about privatization might be made, we conducted a meta-analysis of reports on head-to-head comparisons between an identifiable privately managed and publicly managed prison(s). Results: Our search identified 12 studies. Indicators of cost of confinement and confinement quality were assessed. Results suggest privately managed prisons provide no clear benefit or detriment. Conclusion: Cost savings from privatizing prisons are not guaranteed and appear minimal. Quality of confinement is similar across privately and publicly managed systems, with publicly managed prisons delivering slightly better skills training and having slightly fewer inmate grievances.

Research was carried out to identify organizational and psychological factors associated with the attendance by Mexican Americans at family support groups. Qualitative and action‐oriented pilot research identified parents' preferences for organizational arrangements, and two support groups were created that were Spanish speaking, facilitated by bilingual mental health professionals, and closely linked to ethnic mental health agencies. A prospective study was then carried out that involved 32 Mexican families with a son/daughter being treated for schizophrenia at one of the two agencies. The parent who was the primary caregiver in each family was interviewed and then referred to one of the two groups; parents' attendance was followed for 1 year. Parent attendance was related to the level of burden experienced and assumptions about the causes of their son/daughter's problems.

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