The Family Treatment Court (FTC) Best Practices Standards published by the Center for Children and Family Futures (2019) and the National Association of Drug Court Professionals provide local jurisdictions, states, tribes, and funders with clear practice guidance to improve outcomes for children, parents, and families affected by substance use and co-occurring disorders who are involved in child welfare.

The FTC Standards reflect the rigorous research and rich practice experience from treatments courts, dependency court, child welfare, SUD treatment, mental health treatment, children’s developmental services, and related health, educational, and social services. The eight FTC standards are interdependent and intended to be followed in whole as much as possible. Each Standard includes the following:

Provisions — Clearly written mandates for FTCs designed to be directive and measurable.

Rationale — High-level statements summarizing the applicable research supporting each provision.

Key Considerations — Additional information and considerations to assist in the understanding and implementation of the standard.

References — References are included at the end of each standard for readers who want to know more about particular studies (e.g., sample size, location, population).

This project was supported by Grant #2016-DC-BX-K003 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.

Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards Training 

This training includes a series of 8 videos which review each of the Family Treatment Court Best Practice Standards. Each of the standards are important and intersect with one another. We encourage you to 1) view the training with your team, 2) discuss alignment of your FTC with the standard, and 3) build a team action plan to outline goals and next steps. Select a standard to get started and reach out to us with any TTA needs! 

Standard 1: Organization and Structure 

Description of Standard 1: 

The family treatment court (FTC) has agreed-upon structural and organizational principles that are supported by research and based on evidence-informed policies, programs, and practices. The core programmatic components, day-to-day operations, and oversight structures are defined and documented in the FTC policy and procedure manual, participant handbook, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs). 

Standard 2: Role of the Judge  

Description of Standard 2: 

Judicial leadership is critical to the effective planning and operation of the family treatment court (FTC). The FTC judge works collectively with leaders of partner agencies and other stakeholders to establish clear roles and a shared mission and vision. He or she has the unique ability to engage the leaders and stakeholders in the development, implementation, and ongoing operations of the FTC. The judge is a vital part of the operational team, convening meetings that encourage team members to identify shared values, voice concerns, and find common ground. Additionally, the judge’s development of rapport with participants is among the most important components of the FTC. 

Standard 3: Ensuring Equity and Inclusion  

Description of Standard 3: 

Family treatment court (FTC) has an affirmative obligation to consistently assess its operations and those of partner organizations for policies or procedures that could contribute to disproportionality and disparities among historically marginalized and other underserved groups. The FTC actively collects and analyzes program and partner organization data to determine if disproportionality or disparities exist in the program; if so, the FTC implements corrective measures to eliminate them. 

 

Standard 4: Early Identification, Screening, and Assessment  

Description of Standard 4: 

The process of early identification, screening, and assessment provides the greatest opportunity to fully meet the comprehensive needs of children, parents, and families affected by substance use disorders (SUDs) that come to the attention of the child welfare system. Family treatment court (FTC) team members and partner agencies screen and assess all referred families using objective eligibility and exclusion criteria based on the best available evidence indicating which families can be served safely and effectively in the FTC. Team members use validated assessment tools and procedures to promptly refer children, parents, and families to the appropriate services and levels of care. They conduct ongoing validated assessments of children, parents, and families while also addressing barriers to recovery and reunification throughout the case. Service referrals match identified needs and connect children, parents, and family members to evidence-based interventions, promising programs, and trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and family-centered practices. FTC team members take on varying roles for this process to occur in a timely and efficient manner. 

Standard 5: Timely, High-Quality, and Appropriate Substance Use Disorder Treatment  

Description of Standard 5: 

Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is provided to meet the individual and unique substance related clinical and supportive needs of persons with SUDs. For participants in family treatment court (FTC), it is important that the SUD treatment agency or clinician provide services in the context of the participants’ family relationships, particularly the parent-child dyad, and understand the importance of and responsibility for ensuring child safety within the Adoption and Safe Families Act timeline for child permanency. A treatment provider’s continuum of services includes early identification, screening, and brief intervention; comprehensive standardized assessment; stabilization; appropriate, manualized, evidence-based treatment including medications if warranted; ongoing communication with the FTC team; and continuing care. The parent, child, and family treatment plan is based on individualized and assessed needs and strengths and is provided in a timely manner including concurrent treatment of mental health and physical health. 

Standard 6: Comprehensive Case Management, Services, and Supports for Families 

Description of Standard 6: 

Family treatment court (FTC) ensures that children, parents, and family members receive comprehensive services that meet their assessed needs and promotes sustained family safety, permanency, recovery, and well-being. In addition to high-quality substance use and co-occurring mental health disorder treatment, the FTC’s family-centered service array includes other clinical treatment and related clinical and community support services. These services are trauma responsive, include family members as active participants, and are grounded in cross-systems collaboration and evidence-based or evidence informed practices implemented with fidelity. 

Standard 7: Therapeutic Responses to Behavior 

Description of Standard 7: 

The family treatment court (FTC) operational team applies therapeutic responses (e.g., child safety interventions, treatment adjustments, complementary service modifications, incentives, sanctions) to improve parent, child, and family functioning; ensure children’s safety, permanency, and well-being; support participant behavior change; and promote participant accountability. The FTC recognizes the biopsychosocial and behavioral complexities of supporting participants through behavior change to achieve sustainable recovery, stable reunification, and resolution of the child welfare case. When responding to participant behavior, the FTC team considers the cause of the behavior as well as the effect of the therapeutic response on the participant, the participant’s children and family, and the participant’s engagement in treatment and supportive services. 

Standard 8: Monitoring and Evaluation 

Description of Standard 8: 

The family treatment court (FTC) collects and reviews data to monitor participant progress, engage in a process of continuous quality improvement, monitor adherence to best practice standards, and evaluate outcomes using scientifically reliable and valid procedures. The FTC establishes performance measures for shared accountability across systems, encourages data quality, and fosters the exchange of data and evaluation results with multiple stakeholders. The FTC uses this information to improve policies and practices in addition to monitoring the strengths and limitations of various service components. Evaluation results and data are also critical components of effective stakeholder outreach and sustainability helping the FTC “tell its story” of success and needs.