Implementation of a Family Drug Court

The Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program is designed to assist states, state courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments in developing and establishing drug courts for substance-abusing adult and juvenile offenders. Drug court programs funded by the Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program are required by law to target nonviolent offenders. The Program supports the following activities: Adult drug court implementation, Juvenile drug court implementation, Family drug court implementation, Single jurisdiction drug court enhancement, Statewide drug court enhancement, and planning efforts.

The King County Family Drug Court will select and serve 50 children and approximately 35 of their parents in which a dependency petition has been filed by the Division of Children and Family Services, which includes allegations of a parent's substance abuse. The goals of the project are to: (1) establish a fully staffed Family Drug Court; (2) ensure alcohol and other drug treatment services are integrated with juvenile dependency case processing; (3) ensure legal rights, advocacy, and confidentiality for parents and children, using a non-adversarial approach; and (4) redirect parents from continued involvement with the dependency system and involvement with drugs.

CA/NCF