Individualized Planning Session (IPS)

Individualized Planning Sessions (IPS) were created to serve youth who are in particularly problematic situations and have led to or may lead to detention. The IPS service is also used with youth who are facing possible commitment to The Division of Youth Corrections. IPS at Mission Possible is a process used to support youth with complex needs and their families by developing individualized plans of care. It is needs driven, rather than service driven, and shifts balance of power from service providers to the youth, the youth's family and the community (VanDen Burg, 2003).

The IPS process is a valuable and promising program utilizing best practices to help those youth facing commitment or further detention. Success of Mission Possible's IPS process is in its ability to move beyond traditional forms of collaboration of community agency information sharing and interventions. In traditional forms of collaboration, agencies communicate but often make their own separate decisions about interventions for the family. This results in multiple plans, multiple services and multiple appointments, all overwhelming the family. When these well intentioned plans fail, the family is often blamed (VanDen Berg, 2003). Mission Possible's IPS process brings together all stakeholders and collectively, as one, an individualized plan for the family.

Mission Possible's IPS process is based on a Wraparound model of best practices with research indicating excellent outcomes and a promising program. Wraparound models bring together agencies, families, and communities to function as one system from intake to aftercare.