Care Proceedings in Islington Children s Service using The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC)

Transcription

1 Care Proceedings in Islington Children s Service using The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC)

2 Presenter Miranda Gittos - Operational Manager CIN With contributions from Karen Gibbings Operational Manager CLA

3 Bi Borough Care Proceedings Pilot between Islington and Camden Children's Services. Proceedings to be completed with 26 weeks. Multi agency Operational and Strategic Group supporting this process for 1 year. Cases tracked and monitored by specialist project worker.

4 Assessment and Identification of Issues Clear referral to correct service needed and appropriate use of MASH Single Assessment first process towards identifying issues Use of in house drug testing Service of Specialist Substance Misuse Worker CP Plan FDAC may be identified as possibility at this stage LPM need for FDAC identified and agreed at this stage PLO/Proceedings

5 Pre Court Proceedings PLO LPM and ACRP Agreement PLO front loading of assessments - Parenting - Psychological - Psychiatric - FGC - Viability - FADC if pre birth Clear written agreement Tight time scales Monitored within ARCP

6 Issuing Proceedings On issuing proceedings application made for Family Drug and Alcohol Court FDAC. Aim for clear assessment in terms of future treatment and long term prognosis for parents. Consideration of treatment plan if appropriate in conjunction with SMART plan for the children. Cases where permanent placement outside of home is needed often become apparent in the early stages of FDAC.

7 On-going assessment and conclusion of proceedings CLA attend the LPM and are briefed on the case as early as possible. CLA attend the ARCP where proceedings and FDAC resources are agreed. Case transfers to Children Looked After (CLA) Service at first hearing. Parallel planning for long term placement and possible rehabilitation in conjunction with the FDAC process.

8 Contact Miranda Gittos Operational Manager Targeted and Specialist Children and Families Service 222 Upper Street Islington London, N1 1XR Tel: Pda: Fax: /43

9 Learning from the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) Sophie Kershaw FDAC Service Manager Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust Community Care Live 2013

10 What is FDAC? A specialist court within care proceedings For parents whose substance misuse is a key factor in the decision to initiate care proceedings It offers parents treatment for their substance misuse and other problems Voluntary- parent can opt for ordinary care proceedings

11 Why was FDAC set up? To respond to 3 main issues: 1. Frequency of parental drug or alcohol misuse in care proceedings 2. Concerns in relation to practice 3. Concerns in relation to court processes And: US evidence on specialist family drug courts for was promising

12 Goals of FDAC To improve permanency outcomes for children To achieve higher rates of control/cessation of substance misuse To increase the Court s confidence in decision making without the need to receive reports from a wide range of external experts

13 How does FDAC work? The child s timeframe and parents trial for change Nearly all the FDAC parents want to overcome their drug and alcohol problems and be united as a family However these ambitions are only achievable if they can be realised in the child s timeframe

14 FDAC devises a time limited trial for change with intensive support & compulsion

15 Support relies on our network of collaborators We, the FDAC team, sit at the centre of a vast network of court, social care, health, housing, and other services Houston we have a problem We broker, coordinate and monitor the best possible intervention package Years of work have gone into setting up this project and contributing agencies have clauses in their contracts to ensure cooperation

16 Compulsion authority of the Two dedicated District Judges and two others provide back up court Judicial continuity for families Regular court reviews of the case without legal representatives A dedicated pool of children s guardians, appointed at start of proceedings and they appoint their own solicitor

17 Key Differences Therapeutic relationships with the FDAC team including the Judge Goal-based Swift assessment, testing, referrals and planning via the FDAC Specialist Team promotes the family s problem solving capacities collaborative working FDAC team supports the family and coordinates, reviews and amends the interventions for up to a year Transparency Parent Mentors: credible role models of resilience and change Less adversarial court process Dedicated district judges Regular court reviews without legal representatives

18 Findings from the FDAC evaluation Substance misuse: more FDAC parents controlled their misuse Reunited families: higher rate of FDAC family reunification Services: more FDAC parents engaged in treatment and other services Length of proceedings: a more constructive use of court time Parents and professionals want FDAC to expand Costs: savings for local authorities and potential savings for courts and the Legal Services Commission

19 What might explain the results? Single biggest difference between the two samples was the receipt of FDAC In first 6 months FDAC mothers:- accessed substance misuse services more quickly and more successful at staying in treatment more received help with housing, benefits and domestic violence services No difference in the number and type of services received by the children Profiles of the sample were similar

20 Parents views on the intervention Based on interviews with 37 parents still in FDAC All but two would recommend FDAC to parents in a similar situation Judges- perceived as fair, knowledgeable about the case, important in problem-solving; valued his praise FDAC team: support (emotional and practical); strict ; available; valued being talked to as normal Mentors Influence on aspirations

21 Parents liked FDAC FDAC has helped me be the sort of person I want to be. It s helped me remain focused and motivated and instilled in me a real sense of achievement and confidence. I like it because they are strict and they try to help and support you They take time to listen. They don t judge you straightaway. Instead of fibbing we re encouraged to be honest...they were being honest with us and making it easier for us to be honest with them Its always nice to be given a chance. If you then mess up you can never say you weren t helped and given that chance. Normally if you are on drugs, you are seen as all bad (father).

22 Professionals liked FDAC Parents are carried, supported and nurtured in quite an intensive way so our role is much more focused on the child (social worker). There are no delays in the process it starts straight away (social worker) The consistency of judges is a great benefit. They remember the cases. (LA Lawyer) There is something about using the authority of the court to do social work that has been really helpful (guardian) In normal proceedings it is very much us and them. It is very good for parents to see the lack of antagonism between professionals in these cases (LA Lawyer)

23 Was FDAC more expensive? Average cost of FDAC team per family over life of case is 8,740 (2010 prices) Savings through shorter care placements, shorter hearings, fewer hearings with legal representatives present and fewer contested cases Work equivalent to that done by experts is less expensive

24 Challenges on the Journey Hard and chronic cases Few alcohol-only cases Balancing act of timescales Family Justice review 26 weeks Getting in early pre birth Creating a collaborative plan Post reunification support

25 To download full evaluation report and highlights: To contact the FDAC team