Part of the function of a wraparound team is to create adequate supports around not only the youth, but the adults involved in caring for the youth. Having an effective plan before a potentially unsafe or uncertain situation occurs (or reoccurs) is a critical feature of effectiveness over time. Wraparound facilitators often define crisis as a situation when the adults don’t know what to do. Effective wraparound teams spend time assessing if any situations are likely to arise where the adults won’t feel confident in responding quickly to control or manage the situation. The following “Features of Effective Crisis/Safety Plans” and “Tips for Creating Effective Crisis/Safety Plans” can assist teams in developing and evaluating this component of their wraparound plans.

Features of Effective Crisis/Safety Plans

• Effective crisis plans anticipate crises based on past knowledge. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
  
• Great crisis plans assume the "worst case" scenario and plan accordingly.
  
• As you build a crisis plan always research past crises for antecedent, precipitant, and consequent behaviors.
  
• Effective plans incorporate child and family outcomes as benchmarks or measures of when the crisis is over.
  
• Good crisis plans acknowledge and build on the fact that crisis is a process with a beginning, a middle, and an end rather than just a simple event.
  
• Crisis plans change over time based on what is known to be effective.
  
• Clearly negotiated crisis plans, with clear behavioral benchmarks, help teams function in difficult times.
  
• Behavioral benchmarks, (# runs, absences, tantrums, etc.) need to change over time to reflect progress and changing capacities and expectations of the youth and family.

Tips for Building Effective Crisis Plans

• Build "triage" for differing levels of intensity and severity of crisis events. Small crises do not require the same response as big crises.
  
• Build crisis plans early in the life of the team so they are in place when crisis occurs.
  
• Be sure to ask the child and family what can go wrong with the whole plan as the first step in building the crisis plan. They know best what can go wrong.
  
• Build crisis for 24-hour response. Crisis seldom occurs when it is convenient.
  
• Clearly define roles for team members. Plan them up front and it will help the team keep to the mission of the overall plan during a crisis.
  
• Build roles for family members and natural support people as they are likely to be most responsive during a crisis.
  
• Create time for the team to assess their management of a crisis within two weeks of the crisis.
  
• Establish a rule that no major decisions can be made until at least 72 hours after the crisis has passed. This can keep a team from overreacting to an event.
  
• Recognize that crisis management may bring a sense of relief that then keeps teams form progressing to interventions. Remember to move from crisis management to the development of interventions that teach new skills so future crisis can be prevented.