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.
Effects of a Multidisciplinary Family Treatment Drug Court on Child and Family Outcomes: Results of a Quasi-Experimental Study
Bruns, Pullmann, Weathers, Wirschem, & Murphy (2012)
Child Maltreatment, 17(3)
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Presents the results of an evaluation of a multidisciplinary consultation within Family Treatment Drug Courts (FTDCs) and its impact on family outcomes.
Family Drug Courts in Child Welfare
Choi (2012)
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 29(6)
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Reviews the policy and theory behind family drug courts, empirical evidence of family drug courts, and develop policy and intervention implication based on this review.
Guidance to States: Recommendations for Developing Family Drug Court Guidelines (PDF- 2,730 KB)
Children and Family Futures (2013)
Provides information on best practices and collaborative principles to develop and sustain Family Drug Courts. The Guidelines will assist policy makers and practitioners to enhance and expand these programs across the country.
How Does Family Drug Treatment Court Participation Affect Child Welfare Outcomes?
Gifford, Eldred, Vernerey, & Sloan (2014)
Child Abuse and Neglect, 38(10)
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Examines the effectiveness of FDTCs in North Carolina on child welfare outcomes. The report considers three types of parental participation in a FDTC referral, enrolling, and completing an FDTC program.
Nipping it in the Bud: Adopting a Family Drug Court Approach to Fighting the Cycle of Alcohol Addiction for Children When Parents Are Convicted of DUI
Spartaro, (2011)
Family Court Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 49(1)
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Offers States information and resources to justify the inclusion of an alcohol education and counseling program aimed at children of alcohol-related offenders based on the Drug Court Model. Program implementation for additional States is provided.
Show Me the Money: Child Welfare Cost Savings of a Family Drug Court (PDF - 75 KB)
Burrus, Mackin, & Finigan (2011)
Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 62(3)
Summarizes the results of outcomes and selected costs of a system-wide reform located in Baltimore, Maryland indicating that positive outcomes resulted in cost savings, including reduced foster care expenditures.
Six-Month Behavioral Health Outcomes Among Family Dependency Treatment Court Participants
Moore, Barrett, & Young (2012)
Journal of Public Child Welfare, 6(3)
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Evaluated families involved with the child welfare system and the significant substance abuse issues and effects on the family while participating in an FDTCs.
Strengths Based Approaches to Practice and Family Drug Courts: Is There a Fit?
Lloyd & Brook (2015)
Journal of Family Strengths, 14(1)
Examines the intersection of family drug courts and strengths based practices, and encourages to reader to consider that while the court system would at first blush appear to belie the foundation of the strengths perspective, the two approaches are theoretically and practically quite compatible.