Family Drug and Alcohol Court
The award-winning Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) is run by Coram and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and is the first of its kind in the UK.
Launched in January 2008, FDAC is a new way of dealing with care proceedings when parental substance misuse causes harm to children and care proceedings are underway.
FDAC aims to help parents stabilise or stop using drugs and /or alcohol and, where possible, keep families together. It is based on a model widely used in the USA which is showing promising results. The process involves co-ordinating a range of services so that a family’s needs and strengths are taken into account, with everyone working towards the best possible outcome for the child; a stable and safe family.
It is run at the Inner London Family Proceedings Court and is currently offered to families referred via the commissing local authorities of Camden, Islington, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham and Southwark.
How is FDAC different?
The FDAC model aims to improve outcomes for children, in terms of children remaining or returning to their parents' care, or, if parents are unable to control their substance misuse, to ensure swifter decisions to find permanent alternative homes for children. It also aims to increase the court’s confidence in making decisions without the need for reports from a wide range of external experts.
Unlike conventional care proceedings, parents in FDAC:
- see the same judge throughout the course of the proceedings
- have regular court reviews without legal representatives
- receive support from a multi-disciplinary team linked to the court, carrying out tasks including assessment of parental substance misuse and parenting, developing intervention plans, fast access to substance misuse services and help with housing issues, domestic violence and financial hardship
- receive drug/alcohol testing via the FDAC team
- are extra offered support from volunteer parent mentors who have been through their own difficulties
- benefit from a dedicated pool of children’s guardians attached to the court.
Evaluation and achievements
- At the time of the final court order, 39% of FDAC mothers were reunited with their children compared to 21% of mothers from a comparison group in ordinary care proceedings.
- All but two parents said they were in favour of the FDAC approach.
- FDAC reduced costs for local authorities since more children stayed with their parents and because there were shorter care placements, shorter court hearings and fewer contested cases.
- The Munro Review of Child Protection (May 2011) was ‘impressed’ by the pilot and used it as an example of how multi-disciplinary teams can provide effective interventions for vulnerable children.
- The Family Justice Review interim report (March 2011)stated FDAC showed ‘considerable promise’ and ‘potentially justifies a further limited roll out’. It also emphasised the importance of judicial continuity by having the same judge follow a family through all stages of proceedings.
National awards
FDAC has also been recognised for its impact and innovation in numerous national awards:
- The Partnership Working award – Children and Young People Now Awards 2012
- Working in Partnership Award - British Medical Journal Improving Health Awards 2012
- Outstanding Achievement Award - Judge Nicholas Crichton, Family Drug and Alcohol Court - Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards
- Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Family Law (Judge Nicholas Crichton) - Family Law Awards 2011
- Psychiatric Team of the Year 2011 - Royal College of Psychiatrists Awards
- Children and Young People's Service Delivery Award - Guardian Public Services Award 2011
