Yellowstone County Family Drug Court Expansion-Indian Child Welfare Act Family Drug Court Docket

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.

Montana’s Yellowstone Family Recovery Court will enhance its program by (1) increasing the number of families served by the county’s family drug court with a focus on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) families involved with Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) services; (2) increasing the cultural competence of the court to better understand and address the strengths and needs of families who identify as AI/AN; (3) improving parenting, child, and family services; (4) improving outcomes for Native American families within the dependent neglect system; and (5) enhancing data collection and performance monitoring. This project is among the first in the nation that is bringing together a family treatment court and an ICWA court. CA/NCF