Family Drug Dependency Court Gets Grant

Douglas County’s Juvenile Court has been awarded a $40,321 grant to continue to serve men and women suffering from addictions.

The grant was provided by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council through the office of the Governor and will allow the continuation of the Douglas County Family Treatment Program which is an Accountability Court Program, designed to transform the lives of parents whose drug dependencies jeopardized their well-being and keeping custody of their children.

“The purpose of our court is to provide immediate services to parents that have a substance abuse problem and become involved with the deprivation court and their children might be removed and placed in foster care or with another care taker because they can no longer remain with the parents. At that point if they are willing we enroll them in our Family Treatment Program,” said Juvenile Administration Programs Director, Jenny McDade.

The program is strictly voluntary. Once a participant is enrolled they spend the next 12 to 18 months working on a structured plan where clients must complete one phase before they move on to the next.

“We have a licensed clinical psychologist who completes a very thorough evaluation of the clients that covers substance abuse, trauma and mental health. The majority of our clients that come through our program have been women and almost all have experienced trauma in their childhood,” said McDade.

She added, “The trauma usually stems from domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse. A lot of their issues are driven by this. When they get into treatment and start addressing all that has happened, the substance abuse issues tend to resolve.”

The Drug Dependency and Accountability Court began in 2008 thanks to a federal Regional Partnership Grant from the Bureau of Justice.

“We have served 60 adults, 52 families and 110 children since the beginning of the program. We have had 15 graduations,” said Jennifer King, Assistant Director of Juvenile Programs.

Of those served, several have gone on to find work using their experiences to help others who have found themselves in similar situations.

“When I think of our program, I think of how we work closely with these clients and build relationships that connect them and support them. There are so many who have had major trauma in their lives and we see them transform through treatment and support to become successful and to see themselves as valuable,” King said.

Both McDade and King along with Juvenile Court Judge Peggy Walker and a team of other professionals work closely with those in the program and are able to share in all their joys and triumphs of life.

“We have seen babies born, we have been to weddings, and we have been to celebrations. We’ve shared in disappointments and tragedy. We’ve shared tears with these clients and shared joy with them. It is work that isn’t just work,” King said.

According to Juvenile Court Judge Peggy Walker, This program allows the Court to work in a kinder more supportive role of encouraging, supporting and engaging the parents to move from addiction to recovery, to understand their children’s needs and how to meet their needs, to build healthy support systems for themselves and their families, and to find balance in their lives to stay in recovery.

She added, “The program helps us reunify at a faster rate where there has been a removal and helps us know early in a removal case if reunification is likely to occur.  Children benefit from knowing that they are in a stable, permanent placement.  They also benefit in knowing that their parents are safe and caring for themselves.  Children who have acted as parents to the parent can be children again.”