The Peel Wraparound Process is a team-based planning approach that is intended to provide families who experience emotional, social, behavioural, or mental health challenges with individualized, coordinated, family-centered care to meet the complex mental health needs of children and youth who are involved with other child/youth/family-serving systems (e.g., child welfare, youth justice, education, and healthcare). Wraparound’s strength-based planning approach helps families by developing a team of both formal and informal supports to “wrap around” them. Wraparound facilitators provide services to children, youth and their families in-home, in-school and in the community. Together with their team (family, friends, chosen providers), families work to identify their priority needs and to develop creative and practical strategies to meet these needs – strategies that are directly linked to the family, their team and the strengths and capabilities of the community.

Educational Resource Workers (ERW) provide assistance to students with special needs who are either physically/developmentally challenged or who have identified beha​vioural difficulties. As an ERW I worked with students with special needs in a classroom setting, either in a regular classroom or in a ‘contained’ classroom. For 10+ years I supported students who were under suspension or expulsion from a Peel board school. Through the programs, students continued academic studies while learning the skills required to be successful in school, in relationships and in the community. Work with youth focused on social skill development, increase coping skills, worked collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, supported students in de-escalating their behaviour, created support plans, connected student and families to community supports.