Fifth Judicial District Family Drug Court Programs

The purpose of the Family Drug Courts Program is to build the capacity of states, state and local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments to develop and establish drug courts for substance-abusing adults involved with the family dependency court as a result of child abuse and neglect issues. The program must provide services to the children of the parents in the program as well as to the parents. The program provides seed money, not long-term support. OJJDP expects successful applicants to develop and implement a sustainability plan during the grant period to continue operation of the family drug court when the grant ends. The program is authorized under 42 U.S.C. 3797u, et seq.

The Minnesota Fifth Judicial District plans to implement two family dependency treatment courts, each having a capacity of 10-12 families per year. At least 50 families will be served during the grant period. A multi-disciplinary team led by the District Court Judge will be convened to identify chemically dependent parents involved in the child welfare system; promptly assess their treatment and other service needs, enroll them into appropriate treatment services, and provide intensive court supervision and case management to monitor their progress. Program outcomes will include tracking: a) number of clients who enter and successfully complete the program; b) the number of treatment and court sessions attended; c) number of drug tests completed and number of clean tests; d) reduction in the number of substantiated child abuse or neglect reports during the program and 18 months after completing the program; e) number of participants employed fulltime or fulltime student; and f) number and types of referrals made to other services and utilization of services. All child protection petitions will be screened for family dependency court eligibility according to established criteria. The program will give incentives for making positive behavior changes; and hold participants accountable when they are not following the rules by imposing sanctions. CA/NCF