SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT Analysis of Wraparound Delaware

AHS 8100 Student
Wilmington University

SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT ANALYSIS

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SWOT Analysis of Wraparound Delaware

Wraparound Delaware is a nonprofit organization that works with Youth Rehabilitation Services
(YRS) in low level supervision probation for juveniles who have been adjudicated within the
Juvenile Justice System. The goal of the organization is to assist the youth and their families in
meeting set goals, which are established between the Service Coordinator, the youth and the
Juvenile Court System. These goals are met with the participation of the youth and their family
in addition to available resources needed to meet set goals. The community supervision
program is managed by the State Director, Krystyn Niski and the Site Supervisor, Jackie Zerillo.
The field world and case management is accomplished by the nine service coordinators and
two mental health coordinators. These services are administered throughout New Castle County
Delaware.
Strengths
The strengths that this organization exhibit are strengthening families and communities. Because
of the manner the services are distributed, the community benefits, not only the person receiving
direct services. For example, when a youth is referred to a local church to complete community
service hours, not only is the youth benefiting but the local church is also gaining assistance in
needed areas. Additionally, when a youth is no longer being problematic in school because of
behavior modification taking place through the services provided, the local school is positively
impacted by the works of this program. In addition to strengthening families, this organization
strengths lie within the workers. The employees of WAD work effortlessly to ensure the needs of
their youth and family are being met. Unfortunately, another strength of the program is the need
for the program. The city of Wilmington continues to experience violent crimes at an alarming
rate. Therefore, it is programs like Wraparound Delaware, that assist the State of Delaware and

SWOT ANALYSIS

answers the need of the community. This program aid the State of Delaware in rehabilitating
youth from committing further crimes. Finally, the support the organization receives from other
agency is a strength. Currently, Wraparound Delaware networks with Division of Family
Services (DFS), Juvenile Court, Truancy Court, local libraries, community centers and other
State agencies. This is marked as a strength due to how the organization facilitates its services to
the youth. Networking is vital to the agency because if WAD does not have the resources to meet
the youths need; the referral option is available. The outcomes of this organization is met by the
successful rate of juveniles who complete the program. Also, the Service Coordinators are
constantly being appreciated by the participants via letters or words of gratitude.
Weaknesses/Opportunities
An area the program can improve in is ensuring functional equipment and service so staff are
able to perform their duties efficiently. From my observation, the telephone and internet service
becomes unavailable approximately twice per day at minimum. This not only effects the
efficiency of the agency but also deadlines set by Courts. Because WAD is a fairly new
organization, maintaining professionalism is of importance when dealing with DFS, Juvenile
Court or a local school. Employees should not have the embarrassment of dropped calls while
coordinating services. An additional weakness within the organization is having to split a State
Directors time between two contracts. The State Director, Krystyn, not only oversees the
functions of Wraparound Delaware but she is also responsible for committing half of her time to
the other agency contract which is Division of Family Services. According to my observation,
not having a full time site Director on premises can place a higher demand on the Supervisor and
trick down to the frontline staff. Krystyn is currently required to commit twenty hours per week
to WAD and twenty hours per week to the DFS contract. I also believe a monumental weakness

SWOT ANALYSIS

in this organization is the pay bands offered to potential staff. Oftentimes, this weakness is
common in the human services field. The workers demonstrate amazing outcomes with the youth
and the participation of their families. For the services the Service Coordinators provide to the
community; I firmly believe their pay bands should not start at thirty thousand per year with a
degree. It is my belief if an organization or company invests in its employees the employees will
in turn willingly invest in the organization or company. Like most organizations, the opportunity
is often to expand. Kent and Sussex County Delawares youth and families would greatly benefit
from the services WAD provide. This program may have a bigger impact in those areas due to
the smaller communities in those counties. Generally, when the community is smaller, there is a
stronger force to band together and achieve common results. Another noted opportunity for WAD
would be to enhance the presentation of the organization to match its services. Though its
cosmetic, the agency could use some minor adjustments to improve its presentation to the
community. How well or poorly the organization is cared for sets the standard for others who
come through the door.
Threats
Some of the threats observed at this organization are potentially losing wonderful staff due to
burnout and lack of pay. Additionally, another potential threat is the community the agency seeks
to assist. As mentioned previously, the general geographical location served by Wraparound
Delaware is Wilmington Delaware. At present, Wilmington is experiencing some of the most
violent crimes in its history. As a result of the crime, the youth the organization service are being
affected. Therefore, the juvenile crime in the local community has risen. This is directly reflected
in the number of referrals the agency receives. Previously, the caseload to one Service
Coordinator was approximately eleven to thirteen youth. At present, each service coordinator is

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subject to having approximately twenty to twenty two youth on their caseload. The field
employees are also feeling the stressors of crime in this area. Service Coordinators are required
to do home and school visits. Due to the crime in the area being serviced, the workers have
legitimate concerns about their own safety while trying to assist their youth. As a human service
worker, there is always the risk of burnout. Losing effective case managers is oftentimes a threat
in this field of work. This may be in part due to the challenging efforts a case manager may
exhaust and receive little if any reward. Not every youth will complete the program successfully
and it is imperative that the Service Coordinator not take it personal. Lastly, as with any
nonprofit organization, funding is also a threat. Currently, the WAD contract renews every three
years, which is not a substantial amount of time. Should the State of Delaware seek to cut its
budget, unfortunately, programs like these, which are needed, are some of the first suffer.
Overall, Wraparound Delaware is a great organization and is well represented in the community.
The works of this organization speak for itself; strengthening youth, families and communities.

SWOT ANALYSIS