- Guidance to States: Recommendations for Developing Family Drug Court Guidelines, Children and Family Futures (CFF), NDCI, and OJJDP (2015).
Children and Family Futures produced this document with the National Drug Court Institute to offer guidance for implementing a Family Drug Court, including the development of partnerships, with a focus on improving services to families who are involved with the child welfare system and are affected by substance abuse and disorders. The document centers around its 10 recommendations: 1. Create a shared mission and vision; 2. Develop interagency partnerships; 3. Create effective communication protocols for sharing information; 4. Ensure cross-system knowledge; 5. Develop a process for early identification and assessment; 6. Address the needs of parents; 7. Address the needs of children; 8. Garner community support; 9. Implement funding and sustainability strategies; and 10. Evaluate shared outcomes and accountability.
- Family Treatment Court: Planning Guide, National Drug Court Institute and Center for Children and Family Futures (2018).
This guide provides step-by-step instructions for teams planning and implementing a Family Treatment Court (FTC) in their community. The guide provides key decision makers with the necessary information to recruit and motivate a multidisciplinary, collaborative team to begin the process of implementing an FTC.
- Family Drug Courts: Conceptual Framewokrs, Empirical Evidence, and Implications for Social Work, Margaret H. Lloyd, 96(1) Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services 49-57 (2015)
Families in the child welfare system who are affected by substance abuse face distinct challenges to achieving reunification. Family drug courts (FDCs), which are child welfare courts based on a therapeutic framework of legal scholarship, arose 2 decades ago as an alternative approach for adjudicating these cases. A comprehensive review of prior empirical research on FDCs is presented to ascertain whether the model is a best practice for this population. The results of this review suggest that children in families that are involved in FDCs spend less time in foster care and are more likely to achieve reunification. This analysis incorporates findings from qualitative literature and undertakes methodological and values-based critiques in order to develop implications for social work research, practice, and policy.
- Research Update on (State) Family Drug Courts, Douglas B. Marlowe, J.D., Ph.D., and Shannon M. Carey, Ph.D. (2012).
This small summary provides a review of the research currently conducted on family drug courts, including their effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, target population, and best practices.
- Family Dependency Treatment Court: Applying the Drug Court Model in Child Maltreatment Cases, Meghan M. Wheeler, M.S. and Carson L. Fox, Jr., J.D., NDCI Drug Court Practitioner Factsheet, Vol. V., No. 1 (2006).
A number of family courts across the nation are successfully applying the drug court model to child welfare cases that involve an allegation of child abuse or neglect related to substance abuse. This article overviews the rise and development of Family Drug Courts, including the link between child maltreatment and substance abuse; the Adoption and Safe Families Act; Family Dependence Treatment Courts; and Family Drug Court research.
- Transitioning to a Family Centered Approach: Best Practices and Lessons Learned from Three Adult Drug Courts, Children and Family Futures and National Drug Court Institute (2017).
This publication focuses on case studies of three adult drug courts in the process of transitioning from a traditional adult drug court program to one that has expanded services to families and children of program participants. The publication highlights 10 key strategies for implementing a family-focused approach in adult drug court.
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