Engaging Fathers in Family Drug court

The Importance of Gender Specific ProgrammingHon. Karen AdamAnne Chamberlin

Keith Brunson

How we’re different from other family drug courts

• FDC Judge is not Dependency Judge

**Judge Adam will recuse herself from a dependency case if a parent on her caseload wants to join FDC.**

• Dependency decisions not made in FDC so attorneys

not required.

Eligibility for FDC

• Parents with an open dependency (children with CPS) based on substance abuse

• Mothers and fathers eligible

• Domestic violence/high conflict eligible

• Non-offending parent in sexual abuse case

Ineligibility for Family Drug Court

Parents under age 18

Parents who do not live in the Tucson area (i.e., in Ajo)

Significant others who are not a party to the dependency case

Parents who are assigned a Guardian Ad Litem (due to severe mental illness or developmental disabilities)

FDC Ineligibility (2)

Parents who have committed murder, manslaughter or rape (other violent offenses will be considered on a case-by-case basis)

Parents who are sex offenders

Parents in cases where the children have been out of the home for over 4 months (if the children are under age 3) or 7 months (if the children are age 3 or older)

Members of the FDC team:

• FDC Judge

• FDC Supervisor

• FDC Case Specialists, Case Aide, Recovery Support Specialist & Support Specialist

• Treatment Providers

• CPS Case Managers

Reunification rates2001

Adoption

29%

Guardianship

12%Reunification

16%

Other

43%

What was your life like at the time your children were removed?

Underlying mental health issues

DepressionAnxietyPTSD

SubstanceAbuse

ChildhoodTrauma

…and have few resources. They are often:

• Unemployed

• Uneducated

• Unhealthy

• Homeless

• Disconnected from community

• Unmarried

• Disconnected from extended family

Childhood Trauma

• Dr. Vincent Felitti and Dr. Robert Anda, Centers for Disease Control: Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE)

• http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/

Severe childhood trauma in Family Drug Court Clients

2005

• Reported by 94% of all clients

• Only 47% believed this had been addressed to any extent in any treatment

The formula for failure

Drug or alcohol addiction+ Few resources+ Underlying mental health issues+ Multiple – and overloaded - systems to navigate

(court, CPS, community substance abuse treatment)

+ 12 months to remedy the situation (only 6 for children zero-to-three)

= Severance of Parental Rights

Goals:

• Increase graduation rates from Family Drug Court

• Increase substance abuse treatment completion rates for all FDC clients

• Maintain 90%+ reunification rate for FDC graduates

• Decrease reactivated dependencies for FDC graduates

There’s no such thing as a magic bullet, but…

Correlation between completion of trauma therapy and graduation or successful

completion of Family Drug Court is…….

1:1

The Formula for Success

Family Drug Court+ Intensive Case Managers+ CPS Case Aides+ Trauma Therapy+ Community-Based Substance Abuse Treatment+ Specialized Parenting Services

= Recovery + Reunification

Family Drug Court Graduates Reunified with their Children 2001-2009

92%

That’s 349 children no longer in

foster care

Family Drug Court Graduation Rates

41%

41%

42%

42%

43%

43%

44%

44%

45%

45%

2006

2009

Substance abuse treatment completion rates

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

2006

2009

Reunification Rates2001-2006

Adoption

30%

Guardianship

13%Reunification

29%

Other

28%

Why it’s so important to engage fathers

Father presence/father involvement

• Better School Performance

• Attachment to School

• Staying out of Trouble

• Delayed Sexual Activity

• Fewer Teen Pregnancies

Father absence/father not involved

• 63% Youth suicides from fatherless homes

• 85% Children exhibiting behavioral disorders

• 90% Homeless and runaway youth

• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers

• 70% juveniles in state-operated institutions

Engaging fathers

• 2007 Family Law Protocols– Tripled # paternity establishments and filings– Father access to custody, visitation, and child support

• 2008 Separate Men’s sessions at FDC– Could accept both parents, regardless of DV

• 2010 Engaging Fathers as CPS Focus– Getting fathers involved in the beginning

• 2010 Engaging Fathers as Model Court Goal– Keeping fathers involved throughout the case

All cases Reunification Rates 2010

27%18%

8% 0

Mother

Father

Both parents

Family Drug Court Enrollment

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Gender specific programming in fdc

• Male case specialist

• Male case aide from CPS

• Trauma therapy for men

• Separate sessions for men and women

• Referrals to gender specific support groups and programs (resource booklet)

• Wish list: Male support specialist and treatment

Gender data

Fathers

• 82 % compliant

• 5% absent excused

• 23% absent unexcused

• 29% relapse non-compliance

• 52% graduation

• 10% voluntary termination

• 38% unsuccessful termination

• 45 reunified, 92 children, 16 single dads

Mothers

• 78% compliant

• 6% absent excused

• 27% absent unexcused

• 18% relapse non-compliance

• 42% graduation

• 19% voluntary termination

• 39% unsuccessful termination