Family Dependency Treatment Court

The Family Drug Court Implementation and Enhancement Program builds the capacity of states, state and local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized tribal governments to either implement new drug courts or enhance pre-existing drug courts for individuals with substance abuse disorders or substance use and cooccurring mental health disorders, including histories of trauma, who are involved with the family dependency court as a result of child abuse, neglect, and other parenting issues. This program is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 3797u, et seq.

Pinellas County Government, on behalf of the Sixth Judicial Circuit (SJC) of Florida, will implement the Family Drug Treatment Court (FDTC) as part of the SJC's Unified Family Division. The primary goal will be to implement a FDTC in Pinellas County that will provide substance-abusing parents with support, treatment, and access to services that will protect children, reunite families (when safe to do so), and expedite permanency. The target population will be parents who have had a dependency adjudication where a primary cause for the neglect or abuse is parental substance abuse and who have a history of substance abuse disorders with or without co-occurring mental health problems, and histories of trauma. The FDTC will serve 35 adults (parents) annually and their families. Participants will be offered integrated screening and assessments, individualized treatment planning, individualized and evidence-based substance abuse treatment services, recovery support services, case management services, aftercare/relapse prevention services, and evidence-based parent/family education sessions.

CA/NCF