Reconsidering success for an integrated family dependency treatment court

Moore, Kathleen A.; Sharp, Amanda; Alitz, Paige; Yampolskaya, Svetlana; Kleinman, Mary; Carlson, Melissa; Argerious, Alexa

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105037

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…This study demonstrated that FTC-involved cases were anywhere from 170% to 292% more likely to reunify and from 58% to 183% more likely to achieve permanency within the study period (depending on the start date of the analysis), after controlling, through propensity score matching, for multiple variables which are known to influence child welfare outcomes. These findings are consistent with previous research that find positive effects of FTC involvement on both reunification (Zhang et al, 2019) and permanency (Moore et al, 2020). Some studies find no significant difference between FTC and comparison cases on these outcomes, however (Moore et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

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Family treatment court participation and permanency in a rural setting: Outcomes from a rigorous quasi‐experiment

Sieger

Becker

Brook

2021

Child & Family Social Work

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Substance-affected families are frequently cited as the most challenging families to serve within the child welfare context, particularly in rural settings where treatment services may be few and far between. Growing evidence suggests that family treatment courts (FTCs) may be more effective than their traditional counterpart at achieving key child welfare goals; however, prior studies have been limited in their methodological rigour. This study used treatment and matched comparison data to test foster care exit patterns of families with children in foster care due to parental substance use. Treatment group data were collected on a sample of 91 children with open dependency cases in an integrated FTC in a rural Midwestern town. Propensity score nearest neighbour one-to-two matching was used to identify a comparison group of 146 children. Findings suggest that FTC participation significantly influenced foster care exits. Survival analyses revealed that FTC children were 170% more likely to reunify, and 58% more likely to achieve permanency, than comparison cases. The effect of FTC participation on likelihood of reunification and likelihood of permanency was stronger when models estimated outcomes from FTC start date, rather than child removal date. Implications for social work practice, research, and education are discussed. K E Y W O R D S child welfare system, family treatment court, parental substance use disorder, permanency, survival analysis 1 | INTRODUCTION Families in the foster care system due to parental substance use disorder (SUD) are frequently cited as the most challenging families to serve within the child welfare system (CWS). These families often struggle with multiple co-occurring issues such as domestic violence, poverty, homelessness and mental illness (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2014; Testa & Smith, 2009). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reveals that almost half (48%) of adults who reported a past year SUD also reported a co-occurring mental illness in the past year (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], 2019). Compared with other children in child welfare, children affected by substance use face worse child welfare-related outcomes compared with children in the CWS for other reasons (Barth et al., 2006). These children have longer stays in foster care (Vanderploeg et al., 2007), are less likely to reunify (Lloyd & Akin, 2014) and are more likely to face termination of parental rights (TPR) (Connell et al., 2007) compared with children without substance-related removals. This is unfortunate given that removals due to parental drug use have increased nearly 150% between 2000 and 2017, while entries for other removal reasons mostly declined (Meinhofer & Angleró-Díaz, 2019). In 2018, nearly a quarter of a million children were in foster care due to parent drug use (Children's Bureau, 2019).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…These findings are consistent with previous research that find positive effects of FTC involvement on both reunification (Zhang et al, 2019) and permanency (Moore et al, 2020). Some studies find no significant difference between FTC and comparison cases on these outcomes, however (Moore et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Family treatment court participation and permanency in a rural setting: Outcomes from a rigorous quasi‐experiment

Sieger

Becker

Brook

2021

Child & Family Social Work

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“…Child and McIntyre (2015) found the best predictors of reunification rates was participation in support group meetings as well as negative results of substance use tests, which underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach within FTCs. Additionally, a study from Moore et al (2020) found that permanency placements were achieved faster once families were already enrolled in an FTC. These results echo the benefits of FTCs among families with substance use issues and the importance of quick FTC engagement (Moore et al, 2020).…”

Section: Time Spent In Foster Care and Reunification Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, a study from Moore et al. (2020) found that permanency placements were achieved faster once families were already enrolled in an FTC. These results echo the benefits of FTCs among families with substance use issues and the importance of quick FTC engagement (Moore et al., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost analysis of a rural family treatment court: Is this enhanced approach “worth it”?

Sieger,

Nichols,

Becker

et al. 2023

Juvenile Family Court J

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The rate of children entering foster care due to parental substance use continues to climb, particularly in rural areas. States and localities grappling with how to best serve these cases may be interested in implementing family treatment courts (FTC) but unsure of the return on investment for this enhanced approach. The few existing cost analyses of FTC focus primarily on large programs in urban settings. We present findings from a 4‐year quasi‐experimental study of a Midwestern rural FTC and conduct a cost analysis of observed effects on time in foster care. Using survival analyses to capture daily differences in permanency rates between groups and calculating the integral of the difference between survival curves, we observed that treatment group children spent, on average, 361 fewer days in care compared to children in the traditional system. The difference between FTC implementation costs and daily foster care costs avoided for the 91 treatment group children was estimated at over $26,000 per child served.

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“…When these children do reunify with their families, they have higher rates of repeated maltreatment and re-entry into out-of-home care compared to other children who had been removed for and reunified for different causes of maltreatment (Brook & McDonald, 2009;Connell et al, 2007;Font et al, 2018;Mowbray et al, 2017). Research has found that FTDCs improve parents' rate of achieving and maintaining sobriety, improve reunification outcomes, decrease participant mental health symptoms, and decrease the length of time that children spend in out-of-home care (Bruns et al, 2012;Brook et al, 2015;Edwards & Ray, 2005;Gifford et al, 2014;Green et al, 2007;Moorea et al, 2020, Worcel et al, 2008van Wormer & Hsieh, 2016;Powell et al, 2012;Drabble et al, 2013). Parents who were involved in FTDCs were more likely to enter treatment and stay in treatment and were twice as likely to complete treatment when compared to other child welfare families (Boles et al, 2007;Worcel et al, 2008;Green et al, 2007).…”

Section: Impact Of Family Treatment Drug Courtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Engagement on Child Welfare Families Involved with Family Treatment Drug Courts

Logsdon¹,

Antle²,

Katz³

et al. 2021

Juvenile Family Court J

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Reconsidering success for an integrated family dependency treatment court

Cited by 9 publications

References 27 publications

Family treatment court participation and permanency in a rural setting: Outcomes from a rigorous quasi‐experiment

Family treatment court participation and permanency in a rural setting: Outcomes from a rigorous quasi‐experiment

Cost analysis of a rural family treatment court: Is this enhanced approach “worth it”?

The Impact of Engagement on Child Welfare Families Involved with Family Treatment Drug Courts

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