Mission Statement:

To protect children from abuse and neglect associated with the substance use of a parent or caregiver by addressing the comprehensive needs of children, parents, and family members through an integrated, court-based collaboration of court, child welfare, treatment and social service providers who work as a team to achieve timely decisions, coordinated treatment and ancillary services, judicial oversight, and safe and permanent placements.

What is Family Treatment Court?:

Drug Courts are the most effective justice intervention for treating drug-addicted people. Family Treatment Court Program (FTC) is an evidence based court-directed family centered program that utilizes community collaboration and multi-disciplinary approaches to provide effective, wrap-around intensive outpatient services with the goal of reunifying children with their parents in a safe and nurturing environment.

The program is open to anyone who has an adjudicated dependency case or In-Home Services case within Dona Ana County. The participant  has to have a need for treatment for drug and/or alcohol treatment. They also must have the willingness to complete an intensive out patient program.

About Our Family Treatment Court Program:

Core Values

The core values we want to see in our participants are self reliance and autonomy, stability, honesty, integrity, insight, spirituality, strengthening inter-personal relationships, safe and appropriate parenting and respect.

Goals and Objectives:

• Identify and engage participants into appropriate treatment as quickly possible.

• Assist the participant to reunite with their children in a timely manner.

• Assist participants in removing barriers to  treatment.

• Respond to relapse in an immediate and therapeutic manner.

• Increase the number of children placed in safe environment with a parent.

• Increase the completion of successful substance abuse treatment and decrease the incidence of drug and alcohol abuse among the participants.

• Collaborate with the community to increase the effectiveness of services to families struggling with substance abuse issues.

• Increase reunification rates and achieve permanency within statutory timelines.

Supervision Services include home visits that   consist of substance abuse testing, curfew and compliance checks,  and are in addition to regular visits with their Permanency Planning Worker from the Children, Youth, and Families Division (CYFD).

Treatment Services include group, individual,   family counseling sessions, relapse prevention groups, substance abuse groups, anger management, parenting groups, case-management services, on-going, random substance-abuse testing, victim impact panel attendance, mentoring program, and aftercare services.

Why We Do This?

• Cost Effectiveness

For every $ 1.00 invested in Drug Court,    taxpayers save as much as $ 3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs alone. When considering other cost offsets, such as savings from reduced victimization and healthcare service utilization, studies have shown benefits range up to $ 27 for every $ 1 invested. First responder’s time is freed up for emergencies by a reduction in accidents caused by DUI/ DWI incidents. Children spend less time in out-of-home placements, such as foster care when parents are not incarcerated, resulting in    savings for the foster care system. Clients are required to maintain employment or attend school, resulting in a multiplier effect with   clients contributing to the economy as taxpayers vs. straining the already fragile and limited State budget.

• Reductions in Drug Usage

Clients are subjected to frequent drug testing, held accountable for relapses and provided with treatment services to prevent future relapses and promote long-term recovery.

• Intensive Supervision

Supervision and court monitoring, where little existed before drug court, is a huge part of it’s success. Clients receive immediate sanctions and are conditioned to appear before the drug court judge regularly to present their progress or issues.

• Safe Homes for Children

Children are unified in a safe permanent home with their parent/s. Parents have focused on their recovery and have learned to effectively care for and parent their children, which is a direct result of the services they  received in the program.

Drug Court Sessions:

Generally, there is one drug court       sessions held each month and is       regularly held on the second Wednesday of each month. During holidays, the drug court dates may be changed  according to the Court’s schedule for closings.

Drug Court sessions begin with a team staffing session prior to the  actual drug court session. The team staffing begins at 11:00 a.m., and is followed by the drug court session, which begins at 12:00 noon. Sessions may include graduations, sanctions, incentives, and introductions of new participants.