Family Drug Courts: Conceptual Frameworks, Empirical Evidence, and Implications for Social Work

Abstract

Families in the child welfare system who are affected by substance abuse face distinct challenges to achieving reunification. Family drug courts (FDCs), which are child welfare courts based on a therapeutic framework of legal scholarship, arose 2 decades ago as an alternative approach for adjudicating these cases. A comprehensive review of prior empirical research on FDCs is presented to ascertain whether the model is a best practice for this population. The results of this review suggest that children in families that are involved in FDCs spend less time in foster care and are more likely to achieve reunification. This analysis incorporates findings from qualitative literature and undertakes methodological and values-based critiques in order to develop implications for social work research, practice, and policy.