When families face complex challenges, professional systems like counselors, caseworkers, schools, and social service agencies are important components in building a support system. Yet, lasting progress requires lasting support. What sustains families over time are the connections they already have: relatives, neighbors, friends, teachers, coaches, and other community members that a family interacts with on a consistent basis. In High Fidelity Wraparound, the principle Natural Supports recognizes that growth happens in daily life, not only in offices and meetings. This strategy is rooted in resilience science and community psychology. Research shows that strong, informal networks buffer stress, promote stability, and improve long-term outcomes for youth and families. The Wraparound model recognized that systems stabilize a situation and relationships sustain it.
Resilience Science and Natural Supports
Resilience science explores how families recover and adapt after facing challenges. One of the biggest factors in building resilience isn’t a specific service—it’s connection. Supportive relationships with family, friends, mentors, or neighbors provide the stability and encouragement that help people cope with stress and move forward. In this way, natural supports are the everyday foundation of resilience. They make it possible for progress to continue after professional services end because they exist at home, in schools, and in the community.
Community Psychology and Natural Supports
Community psychology focuses on how the strength of a community affects individual and family well-being. Natural Supports taps into the existing networks that give families a sense of belonging and connection. By engaging natural supports, Wraparound reflects a core value of community psychology: people heal best within relationships and environments that recognize their strengths and culture.
What Are Natural Supports?
Natural supports are the people, places, and community connections that families turn to in everyday life—outside of formal services. These can include:- Extended family members (grandparents, cousins, siblings)
- Friends and neighbors
- Faith communities or spiritual leaders
- Coaches, mentors, or teachers
- Clubs, cultural groups, or supportive peers
Why It’s Important to Engage Natural Supports
- Sustainability
Professional services often have an end date. Natural supports can remain after formal programs end, offering continued stability and connection. - Trust and belonging
Families lean on people they already trust. Long-term relationships provide a sense of belonging and reduce isolation. - Cultural fit
Natural supports often share a family’s culture, values, and traditions, making support feel aligned with a family authentically. - Celebrations in every day life
Friends or family may notice successes or provide encouragement in ways professionals can’t.
Natural supports bridge the gap between short-term services and lifelong resilience. They make plans durable by anchoring them where families live and connect every day. The Wraparound model is successful because it includes relatives, friends, mentors, and neighbors who already care about a family. By intentionally recognizing and engaging the people who already care, the conditions that help families build confidence and stability are strengthened long after formal services end.
Downloadable Tools
SOURCES
Allegheny County Department of Human Services. (2016). Natural supports: A scan of current use and future opportunities. Allegheny County Analytics. https://www.alleghenycountyanalytics.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Natural-Supports-A-Scan-of-Current-Use-and-Future-Opportunities.pdf
Bruns, E. J., Pullmann, M. D., Sather, A., Brinson, R. D., & Ramey, M. (2015). Effectiveness of wraparound versus case management for children and youth: Results of a randomized study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42(3), 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-014-0563-9
Burns Memorial Fund. (2019). Working with vulnerable youth to enhance their natural supports framework. https://www.burnsfund.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/CC-Natural-Supports-Framework_2019_FINAL_Pages.pdf
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. (2018). Family and natural supports (FNS) program model. Homeless Hub. https://homelesshub.ca/collection/programs-that-work/family-and-natural-supports/
Harvard Graduate School of Education. (2015, March). The science of resilience. https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/15/03/science-resilience
Masten, A. S. (2014). Global perspectives on resilience in children and youth. Child Development, 85(1), 6–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12205
National Wraparound Implementation Center (NWIC). (n.d.). Wraparound basics: What is wraparound? National Wraparound Initiative. https://nwi.pdx.edu/wraparound-basics/
Pathways Research and Training Center. (2006). Wraparound and natural supports. Focal Point, 20(2), 6–8. https://www.pathwaysrtc.pdx.edu/pdf/fpW0608.pdf
