DESCRPTION

The Document Assessment and Review Tool (DART) assesses the quality and fidelity of Wraparound planning and implementation via review of plans of care, meeting notes and rosters, outcome measures, found in youth/family records. The tool comprises 50 items across six sections: Timely engagement, key elements, safety planning, crisis response, transition planning, and outcomes. The key elements section is further divided into five fidelity subscales: Meeting attendance, driven by strengths and families, natural and community supports, needs-based, and outcomes-based process.  

Analyses of the psychometric properties of the DART are now underway. Review of data drawn from 731 reviews across 6 states found good variability, with mean total scores across the six sections ranging from 34% of total possible for natural and community supports to 66% for needs based. With respect to validity, analyses found associations between state-level DART scores and scores from the previously validated Wraparound Fidelity Index – Short Form (WFI-EZ), providing evidence of concurrent validity. Examination of inter-rater reliability is ongoing; however, initial analyses of N=5 pairs of raters found adequate to good reliability across DART subscales; however, reliability was lower on several individual items, which may inform refinements to the DART and its manual. Such findings also underscore the importance of proper training of DART raters and double-scoring DARTs until all raters demonstrate consistency in their scores. Please click here for a more detailed summary of this study.   

USES 

The DART is implemented locally by trained reviewers who are not directly involved with services and takes approximately 45-60 minutes to complete each record review. Data result in quantitative summaries of Key Element scores (and are aligned with the WFI-EZ and TOM 2.0), and subscale-level scores.  

LEARN MORE 

The WERT team recently conducted a study on the psychometric properties of the DART based on data drawn from 731 reviews within 6 states. State-level data suggest relatively consistent patterns of scores across states with most states experiencing success in providing needs-based support, but struggling to engage natural and community supports. General state-level data patterns are similar across the DART and the previously validated Wraparound Fidelity Index – Short Form (WFI-EZ), which provides preliminary evidence of concurrent validity of the DART. Furthermore, inter-rater reliability was generally high across DART subscales, although there was evidence that ratings diverged on several items within 3 of the 9 subscales that were examined in the study. Such findings underscore the importance of proper training of DART raters and double-scoring DARTs until all raters demonstrate consistency in their scores. Please click here for a more detailed summary of this study.