NCJ Number
191092
Journal
Children's Legal Rights Journal Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 2001 Pages: 32-42
Date Published
2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This document highlights an innovative approach to dealing with abuse and neglect cases that involved substance abuse.
Abstract
The first Family Drug Treatment Court (FDC) was created in Washoe County, Reno, Nevada in 1994 as a result of an increasing number of child abuse and neglect cases directly related to illegal drug use by one or both parents in the household. Cases selected for FDC involve parents whose children are in the child welfare system due to child abuse or neglect that is directly related to parental substance abuse. The program is based upon the collaboration of the court, child protective services, substance abuse treatment providers, and other agencies with which families are involved. Collaborative efforts are important in enabling service providers to meet a broader range of family needs. Social workers from the child welfare system are represented by prosecutors at staff meetings and in drug court hearings. Treatment providers are given a voice in FDC that they have rarely had in the past. A parent who is considered for FDC undergoes a substance abuse treatment evaluation that incorporates a psychosocial assessment to identify the parent’s needs. The parent then participates in a yearlong treatment program that includes three additional months of aftercare upon graduation. The participant’s significant other may be required to participate as a full participant because of his own drug issues, or as a partial participant to support the addicted parent. The most effective way of ensuring that these families do not return to the system is to address all of the needs of the family in a holistic approach. The FDC may provide such an alternative answer. 79 endnotes