The Family Dependency Treatment Court Program is a result of the need for a specialized court to work closely with parents of children whose lives have been impacted by substance abuse.
Full Answer
How do family treatment courts work?
Family treatment courts (FTCs), also referred to as family drug courts and dependency drug courts, use a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to serve families with substance use disorders (SUDs) and who are involved with the child welfare system.
Can family treatment courts improve outcomes for families affected by substance use disorder?
This brief is part of a series on family treatment courts developed in partnership with Children and Family Futures. Additional briefs on this topic discuss practice-level strategies to improve outcomes for families affected by a parent’s substance use disorder and the role of family treatment courts as a catalyst for systems change.
What is a family drug court?
Family drug courts, also known as dependency drug courts, utilize a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to serve parents and families that enter child welfare due to parental substance use disorders. Resources on this page present research on the benefits of family drug courts. State and local examples.
What is the integrated model of Family Court?
The integrated model consists of a single docket (often referred to as one judge, one family) where the same judge oversees both the parent’s treatment and recovery plan, and the child’s dependency case plan. This happens through weekly or biweekly case reviews for treatment court components, with separate dependency hearings.
What is family treatment court?
Family Treatment Court is an alternative to regular Dependency Court for parents who need access to drug and alcohol treatment, judicial monitoring of their sobriety, and individualized services to support the family. It is a "drug court" for families involved in the child welfare system.
Is family time a risk?
For most families, family time is now able to occur in person. COVID -19 continues to pose a risk to everyone, so family time providers will ask everyone involved about any possible symptoms or exposures before each contact. Everyone over age 2 is required to wear a mask during family time.
Does sober support stay in place?
Current court ordered sober support attendance will remain in place along with drug testing requirements. If parents have concerns about drug testing, please contact their FTC Social Worker immediately to problem solve those circumstances.
What is family treatment court?
Family treatment courts, also known as family drug courts and dependency drug courts, utilize a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to serve parents and families who enter the child welfare system due to parental substance use disorders. Resources on this page present research on the benefits of family treatment courts.
What are the issues addressed in the CARES Act?
The issues addressed include notification/reporting requirements; assessment of the infant and family; development of the plan of safe care; services for the infant, parents, or other caregivers; and monitoring plans of safe care.
What is the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 2020?
Examines State laws and policies regarding the development and implementation of plans of safe care that are required by the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure the safety and well-being of infants who are identified as being affected by prenatal substance use.
National Strategic Plan for Family Drug Courts
This publication outlines a coordinated national strategy to enhance and expand the use of Family Drug Courts (FDC) to reach more children and families.
National Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards
The eight Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards provide clear practice mandates to improve outcomes for children, parents, and families.
Family Treatment Court Planning Guide
Developed through a contract with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, this document includes over 100 articles and peer-reviewed studies on the following topics: Treatment Court Overview and Approaches/Models, Outcomes Studies, Treatment and Child Welfare Outcomes, and Judicial Perspectives.
What is family dependency treatment court?
This monograph, Family Dependency Treatment Courts: Addressing Child Abuse and Neglect Cases Using the Drug Court Model , was produced under contract number 282–98–0023, funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockwall II, Suite 621, Rockville, Maryland, 20857, telephone 301–443–5052. The contractees were the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI) and ROW Sciences, Inc. Bruce Fry, J.D., served as the CSAT government project officer. Betsy Earp, ROW Sciences, Inc., wrote this monograph, and Kathleen R. Snavely, NDCI, served as managing editor. NDCI and CSAT would also like to acknowledge the hard work of Susan Weinstein and Rita Trapani of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals for their invaluable editorial assistance and massaging of the text.
How does the family dependency court work?
The court works directly with hospitals that identify new mothers who are substance abusers, and the program attempts to keep new mothers with their babies to ensure the critical early bonding of the newborns can take hold. Program proponents believe that the unique needs of each stage of child development must be met to protect the emotional stability of the child. Therefore, courts must move quickly to provide either a safe home with the parent or a stable and permanent living environment outside the parent’s home. Delays in permanency decisions or frequent changes in placement can cause irreparable psychological damage to the child. To achieve these goals, the court works to stop substance abuse by parents when the substance abuse threatens the safety and welfare of their children. The court provides supervision and specialized treatment to parents who are abusing substances, led by a team that specializes in dependency cases.
How does FDTC help with substance abuse?
Efforts are made to provide a variety of services in one location (one-stop shopping) to make it easier for the mothers. Rather than focusing only on getting the mother off drugs, the court also ensures that the needs of the children are met.
What is FDTC court?
The family dependency treatment court (FDTC) draws on a rich judicial history, blending drug court practices with those of traditional family dependency courts. To clarify its place within the justice system, the focus group identified key factors from adult drug courts, traditional dependency courts, and family dependency treatment courts for comparison. The results of their discussion are shown in table 1.
How does Suffolk County Family Treatment Court work?
To bridge the systemic barriers between substance abuse treatment and child welfare, the Suffolk county family treatment court develops a comprehensive service plan for each case, with input from both substance abuse treatment providers and child welfare representatives. The plan includes specific goals to meet the treatment needs of the parents and the service needs of the children. The team ensures speedy alcohol and drug assessment of the parents and identifies barriers to treatment. The members of child protective services conduct a risk assessment. A court-appointed special advocate is appointed for each child. The entire team reviews the service plan for consistency. The primary goal is preserving or reuniting the family and developing a permanency plan for the children.
What is FDTC in juvenile court?
As defined in Juvenile and Family Drug Courts: An Overview (Drug Court Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance Project at the American University, 1998), an FDTC is “a court that deals with cases involving parental rights, in which an adult is the party litigant, which come before the court through either the criminal or civil process, which arise out of the substance abuse of a parent.”
Why did the drug court start?
The family drug court in Reno, Nevada, began in 1995 in response to the rising number of child abuse and neglect cases involving parental substance abuse. Heavy caseloads prevented social service caseworkers from meeting with parents more than once a month, and because of a backlog in the judicial system, children languished for years in foster care. In addition, the same families often cycled repeatedly through criminal and family courts because of problems related to substance abuse. Judge Charles McGee of Washoe County, Nevada, became motivated to try a new approach to help children and parents with substance abuse problems.
What is a family treatment court?
A family treatment court (FTC), considered a problem-solving court by leading judicial and legal organizations, 1 is a family court docket for cases of child maltreatment in which parental substance use is a contributing factor. FTCs offer a promising model for all courts, providing insight into better ways of engaging families both before ...
What are the three main groups that support family court?
1 The Conference of Chief Justices, Conference of State Court Administrators, and the National Center for State Courts all support family treatment courts as problem-solving courts that seek to understand the underlying problem (s) contributing to involvement. 2 Partner organizations are represented on each level.
What is the FTC model?
FTCs may exhibit one of two common structural designs: the integrated model (one docket), or the parallel model (two dockets). One model is not inherently superior to another — the choice typically is dictated by the community environment (for example, urban vs. rural) and the total number of children the FTC intends to serve. In both models, case plans receive more frequent hearings and reviews than the parent would receive in a traditional dependency docket.
What is the role of FTCs in child welfare?
All stakeholders within the child welfare system — including agency and judicial leaders, and community and substance use disorder treatment providers — play a crucial role in promoting proactive approaches to engaging families. FTCs are well-tested interventions that support positive outcomes, including improved recovery for adults, ...
What is child protective services?
Child protective services, treatment professionals, court personnel, and community partners coordinate services with the goals of ensuring that children have safe, nurturing, and permanent homes; parents achieve stable recovery; and each family member receives the services and supports needed.
Can FTCs serve before children are removed?
Although some FTCs are able to serve families before children are removed or a petition is filed , the number of preventive or early intervention FTCs is still relatively small. Limited studies suggest that children of FTC participants experience fewer removals and fewer placement changes while in foster care.
