OJJDP 2020: Enhancing Family Drug Courts, Project Step Forward

The OJJDP Family Drug Court Program seeks to build the capacity of states, state and local courts, units of local government, and federally recognized tribal governments to sustain existing family drug courts or establish new family drug courts. Category 1: Enhancing Family Drug Courts will support courts that are fully operational (for at least 1 year) to enhance services of existing family drug courts.

The Fourth Judicial Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC) will address the impact of the opioid crisis, which prompted FTDC to create a Short-Term Foster Care track in 2017. To increase family maintenance, FTDC’s Project Step Forward will strengthen evidence-based services, train FTDC professionals, evaluate current practices, and promote aftercare for participants. Project STEP Forward’s goals are to improve participant and family outcomes, reduce team member burnout and reduce trauma symptoms and triggers in participants, increase participant retention and reduce reentry rates, and develop new program evaluation practices. The expected outcomes of Project STEP Forward include increasing program length of stay, reducing reentry by providing evidence-based services, reducing participant trauma symptoms and triggers, and increasing successful completion rates. Project STEP Forward will achieve these goals and objectives by (1) training and implementing evidence-based parenting curriculums; (2) increasing support for participants in the program (with recovery coaches) and postprogram (with an alumni group); (3) providing professional development in trauma, medication-assisted treatment, pregnancy, and substance-exposed newborns for FTDC professionals; (4) increasing access to supportive housing services for families; and (5) creating new shared outcome measures with partner agencies. CA/NCF