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Six-month behavioral health outcomes among family dependency treatment court participants
- Authors:
- MOORE Kathleen, BARRETT Blake, YOUNG M. Scott
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Public Child Welfare, 6(3), July 2012, pp.313-329.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
National prevalence estimates of substance abuse problems among families involved with the child welfare system range from 50-80%. Family Dependency Treatment Courts (FDTCs) are partnerships among the child welfare, court, and treatment systems designed for substance-abusing parents whose children are removed from the home primarily due to abuse or neglect. FDTCs enable the court to mandate treatment and make child reunification dependent on treatment compliance. This study reports on preliminary outcomes for clients’ first 6 months in a FDTC. The participants were 83 substance-abusing parents involved in the child welfare system who were referred to FDTC. The participants completed interviews at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. The results indicated statistically significant reductions in past-month substance use, with 81.1% of participants abstaining from substance use in the 30 days prior to the 6-month follow-up interview. In addition, the results indicated a significant reduction in anxiety and depression over the course of the study as well as high rates of therapeutic alliance between the participants and programme staff.