The California Wraparound County Plan Approval and Provider Certification Portal is not live and still under construction. The profiles and forms are subject to being erased one or more times before the site is completed.
Welcome to the California Wraparound County Approval and Provider Certification process!
The Portal is an online system for county approval and provider certification to demonstrate alignment with the minimum Standards required for high-fidelity Wraparound outlined in Welfare and Institutions (WIC) code section 4096.6. The California Wraparound Standards (link) were developed by stakeholders across California in partnership with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Technical Assistance is available by completing this form (link).
- Counties must submit certification materials through the Portal by 12 months from the release date of this ACL, but it is highly encouraged to start the process as soon as possible.
- The county will be notified of a Plan approval or need for more information and corrections within 90 days of submission.
- A county must show evidence of full alignment with the Standards in order to receive approval.
- If there are Standards that remain unimplemented after initial review, counties must participate in technical assistance and support provided by the CDSS, the DHCS, and UC Davis RCFFP until the county’s Plan is approved.
Counties who plan to contract with a provider for operation of the county’s Wraparound program are required to contract with providers that are either provisionally or fully certified for the delivery of high-fidelity aftercare Wraparound services. Providers must be provisionally or fully certified by 12 months from the date of this ACL for purposes of contracting with a county. Provisional certification means that a county may contract with a provider for the provision of aftercare Wraparound services, pending full certification by 12 months from the date of their provisional certification. To ensure full accountability of WIC Section 4096.6 (d)(2), a county should include language in provider contracts making them subject to corrective action if certification is not achieved. Counties should have ongoing communication and coordination with provisionally certified providers, UC Davis RCFFP, the CDSS, and the DHCS to support and understand progress towards full certification.
- Providers must submit certification materials through the Portal. Because counties are required to contract with certified providers within 12 months from the date of this ACL, providers who have or are planning to contract with a county for the provision of aftercare Wraparound, should submit certification materials and obtain provisional or full certification as soon as possible.
- The provider will be notified of an incomplete submission, provisional certification, or full certification (defined below) within 90 days from submission. If the provider does not receive full certification status, they are obligated to participate in technical assistance until they meet all Standards, at which point full certification will be granted.
- If sufficient progress is not made with technical assistance, CDSS and DHCS reserve the right to not certify the provider.
- Counties may enter the contracting process with providers once the status of provisional certification has been given to a provider.
Full Certification
Full certification is given when all Standards are met by the provider. A provider must submit their certification materials and complete all Portal requirements to be fully certified.
Provisional Certification
Providers will receive provisional certification if they have met the Standard requirements in sections 1-6. Technical assistance participation is required until there is full alignment with the Standards. Provisional certification may be removed if there is not a good faith effort to achieve full certification status through technical assistance. Provisional certification will be available for 12 months. If full alignment is not achieved during the 12 months of technical assistance, the providers status will be updated to not certified.
Incomplete Definition
A provider will be given incomplete submission status if they fail to meet the minimum expectations for provisional certification, which is defined as meeting Standards in sections 1-6. In this case, the provider will have additional time and may request technical assistance to support their improvement process.
Recertification Definition
Providers must apply for recertification, via the process described above, every three years from the date of the release of the ACL. Providers who do not maintain certification every three years will be considered not certified until all certification requirements are met and notice of recertification from CDSS and DHCS, or designee, UC Davis RCFFP, is provided.
Decertification Definition
Providers may be decertified by the CDSS, the DHCS, or designee, UC Davis RCFFP based on the CQI evaluation plan and thresholds that will be developed and released in forthcoming letters. Written notice to the provider, and any counties with whom the provider has a contract, will be provided 60 days prior to such decertification, including resources and technical assistance to support correction and improvement of challenges prompting notice of decertification.
Due process Definition
Providers who do not receive certification or are decertified by the CDSS, the DHCS, or designee, UC Davis RCFFP, may request a second level review by the CDSS and the DHCS. To request a second level review, providers must coordinate with UC Davis RCFFP to understand the grounds for not receiving certification or decertification. If the provider believes the UC Davis RCFFP determination to be inaccurate based on the materials submitted to the Portal showing evidence of alignment with the California Wraparound Standards, the provider may request a second level review and determination from the CDSS and DHCS by emailing WraparoundQuestions@dss.ca.gov. Determinations made by the CDSS and the DHCS shall serve as the final decision regarding Wraparound certification or decertification. Prior to a denial of certification, CDSS, DHCS, and UC Davis RCFFP are available to provide technical assistance to support the provider to meet the requirements.
All 58 counties and any provider who will be administering Wraparound aftercare are required to complete the Wraparound Approval and Certification Portal process.
Per ACL # _, county plans and provider submissions for the provision of aftercare services will be jointly reviewed and approved by the CDSS and the DHCS, or a designee. CDSS and DHCS are partnered with the University of California, Davis Resource Center for Family-Focused Practice (UC Davis RCFFP) to develop the Wraparound Approval and Certification Portal and will conduct reviews and determinations of county plan approval and provider certification. This includes counties who administer their Wraparound program themselves and counties who contract with provider organizations to administer their Wraparound program. Counties who plan to contract with Wraparound providers for operation of the county’s Wraparound program are required to contract with providers that are either provisionally or fully certified for the delivery of high-fidelity aftercare Wraparound services. As such, provider organizations wishing to obtain county contracts to provide Wraparound aftercare services must obtain certification through this online portal.
Please note that only one submission per county and per provider will be accepted. Counties and providers should ensure all contracted providers and sites adhere to a singular unified agency plan.
This Portal will walk providers and counties through the California Wraparound Standards. Each Standard has check boxes for providers/counties to indicate their organizational alignment to that Standard. Additionally, counties and providers must describe their practice in meeting the Standard, which includes uploading and citing supporting documentation that demonstrates alignment. For providers to achieve certification and counties to receive approval, the Portal form must be completed in its entirety and each item must be checked off for each Standard.
Recognizing that this process may require a significant amount of time for counties and provider organizations to complete, this form is able to be saved and revisited over time. It is recommended that counties and provider organizations begin the submission process as soon as possible to allow time for adjustments to organizational processes and/or for technical assistance as needed.
Organizational documents that demonstrate alignment with each Wraparound Standard are required to be uploaded in the Portal. To allow for individualization of programs and their processes, the Portal does not dictate which specific documents must be uploaded. Each county and provider will determine which documents best illustrate their alignment with each Standard.
Examples of supporting documentation that may be submitted to demonstrate organizational alignment with the Wraparound Standards:
- Policy and Procedures Manual or Individual Policies and Procedures
- Agency Training Plan
- Wraparound Contract
- Wraparound Fiscal Plan or Budget
- Wraparound Forms
- Wraparound Fliers, Family Guides, or Brochures
- Desk Guides
- Templates
Frequently Asked Questions
Technical assistance from the UCD RCFFP and CDSS team is available. Click here to request assistance.
If a county has multiple Wrapround provider organization contracts, the Plan materials submitted must represent the county’s singular/unified Wraparound program. Submissions for multiple Wraparound programs from the same county will not be accepted. As such, counties must ensure fidelity to a singular/unified Wraparound model across all contracted provider organizations.
If a provider has multiple Wrapround programs (e.g., contracts with multiple counties or system of care partners, etc.), the certification materials submitted must represent the provider’s singular/unified Wraparound program. Submissions for multiple Wraparound programs from the same provider organization will not be accepted. If there are variances across a provider’s Wraparound model due to different local/county contracts/requirements or if a provider does not meet fully implemented criteria for a Standard due to county specific policy or contract requirement/limitation, please describe that in the narrative description field.
While certification is not required for providers that do not administer aftercare Wraparound services, it is still recommended that all providers who would like to contract with counties obtain certification to remain competitive in securing these contracts. Additionally, it is the vision of CDSS and DHCS that all Wraparound services in California be provided according to high-fidelity as outlined in the CA Wraparound Standards.
If there are Standards that are not currently implemented due to county policies being a barrier, use the timeframe provided (12 months from the date of this ACL) to adjust county policy and practice to ensure the full implementation of the Wraparound Standards.
Providers who are denied certification or decertified by the CDSS, the DHCS, or designee, UC Davis RCFFP, may request a second level review by the CDSS and the DHCS. To request a second level review, providers must coordinate with UC Davis RCFFP to understand the grounds of the denied certification or decertification. If the provider believes the UC Davis RCFFP determination to be inaccurate based on the materials submitted to the Wraparound Approval and Certification Portal showing evidence of alignment with the California Wraparound Standards, the provider may request a second level review and determination from the CDSS and the DHCS by emailing WraparoundQuestions@dss.ca.gov and resourcecenter@ucdavis.edu. Determinations made by the CDSS and the DHCS shall serve as the final decision regarding Wraparound certification. Prior to a denial of certification, CDSS, DHCS, and UC Davis RCFFP are available to provide technical assistance to support the provider to meet the requirements.
We believe so! This certification and approval process is the culmination of years of collaboration between CDSS and various Wraparound experts across the state as part of a broader vision to increase consistency, fidelity, collaboration, and technical assistance across California’s wide array of Wraparound implementation efforts. Participating in this process provides feedback to our state’s Wraparound planning and Continuous Quality Improvement efforts, with the ultimate goals of delivering the best services possible to our youths and families. We thank you for your participation and feedback!