Harris County STAR Family Intervention Court Capacity, Services and Training 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 either implement new drug courts or enhance pre-existing drug courts for substance-abusing adults involved with the family dependency court as a result of child abuse and neglect issues. Applicants 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.

Harris County, Texas is requesting OJJDP FY 2010 Family Drug Court Program Category 2: Enhancement funds in the amount of $350,000 for the 247th STAR Family Intervention Drug Court (FIC). FIC goals are to improve child safety, decrease the length of time children spend under state supervision, and achieve permanency placement for children by providing timely judicial intervention to families in the child welfare system. FIC achieves these goals by implementing a pre-adjudicated long-term, family intervention drug court model, providing integrated substance abuse treatment and ancillary social services to parents with a case of alleged abuse/neglect where children have been removed due to parental substance abuse or parents in violation of custody orders where substance use is a significant factor. A Drug Court team of judges, court staff, defense attorneys, prosecutors, child welfare staff and treatment providers oversees client program participation and implements a system of incentives and sanctions to support treatment outcomes. Families receive a continuum of services, including substance abuse and mental health treatment, parenting education, educational/vocational planning, and case management. The requested funds will be used to increase treatment services capacity and improve the functioning of the program by implementing quality staff training for team members.
CA/NCF