Increasing Resilience in Youth and Families: YAP’s Wraparound Advocate Service Model

Abstract

Youth in marginalized situations worldwide face similar challenges threatening their wellbeing. Strength-based, individually tailored community-based services that wrap around youth and families aid in promoting resilience, that is, the ability to thrive in the face of adversity. For more than 40 years, Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (YAP) has provided such services to empower youth with complex challenges to live productively within their home environments by utilizing a blended Wraparound Advocate Service Model. In this article, a team of practitioners explores the basis, implementation, research base, and future application of YAP’s dual-prong service model in building resilience.