Dependency Drug Court Enhancement

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 San Francisco Superior Court aims to extend the San Francisco Dependency Drug Court (DDC)'s capacity to serve parents with children in long-term foster care.
The DDC will work to decrease the incidence of child abuse and neglect, diminish family risk factors, and reduce negative outcomes for children by addressing the substance abuse of parents and providing services to their children. Program objectives include: (1) increasing the capacity of the DDC to intervene with substance-abusing adults involved with the court as a result of child abuse and neglect; and (2) reducing the number of children in long-term placement by promoting safe family reunification. Program activities include: case management, substance abuse treatment, mental health services,
court monitoring, and visitation services. The DDC will track the following measures: (1) number of participants in the family drug court program; (2) percent of participants who successfully complete the program and who reach pro-family milestones during the program; (3) percent of participants who exhibit desired changes in targeted behaviors; (4) percent of participants with new drug-related offenses; (5) percent of participants with new CPS referrals; and (6) percent of participants with new substantiated CPS cases. CA/NCF