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PEER LEARNING COURT PROGRAMJEFFERSON COUNTY DRUG COURTLEAD AGENCYJefferson County FamilyDrug CourtLOCATIONBirmingham, AlabamaFIRST DATE OFOPERATIONFebruary 2012CAPACITYAdults: 100NUMBER OF GRADUATESTO DATEAdults: 27NUMBER SERVEDAdults: 176Children: 322MODELParallelDEMOGRAPHICS1Population: 660,793Children under 18:153,303Persons below povertylevel: 118,942PROGRAM OVERVIEW AND BACKGROUNDInitiated in February 2010, the Jefferson County FamilyDrug Court (FDC) was established to serve parents withsubstance use disorders who have lost custody of theirchildren. The mission of Jefferson County FDC is to createchange, rebuild families, and strengthen communitiesthrough recovery.The program is a collaboration between Jefferson CountyFamily Court, University of Alabama at Birmingham’sTreatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (UABTASC), and Jefferson County Department of HumanResources (DHR).The FDC extensively enhances and augments thetraditional manner of addressing parental substance usedisorders. Through the use of ongoing judicial interaction,frequent and random drug testing, intensive casemanagement, and access to a continuum of substanceabuse treatment, participants are assisted in developingparenting and coping skills that allow them to provide asafe and stable home environment.Jefferson County is the largest county in the State ofAlabama, encompassing the City of Birmingham 29additional municipalities. In 2012, Jefferson Countyaccounted for 15% of the state’s reports of child abuseand/or neglect. In order to expand the target population,in October 2014, the FDC expanded to include a secondtrack dedicated for parents with a substance abusediagnosis. The track lasts 6-9 months and consists of twophases. A separate therapeutic group, court staffing andcourt review sessions are held for these individuals.Additional plans for growth include adding another divisionwithin the jurisdiction, hiring a peer advocate, andproviding technical assistance to other Alabamacommunities to expand the scale of FDCs within the state.1United States Census Bureau. (2013). State and County Quick Facts. Retrieved 73.htmlPage 1 of 5
JEFFERSON COUNTYPROGRAM GOALSPLC DESCRIPTIONThe primary program goals of the Jefferson CountyFDC are to:1. Decrease the incidence of child abuse andneglect2. Assist FDC parents to become emotionally,financially, and personally self-sufficient andto develop adequate parenting and copingskills3. Enhance cross-system communication andcollaboration4. Increase the capacity of courts to intervenewith substance-involved adults withallegations of child abuse and neglect5. Expedite permanency for the childrenTARGET POPULATIONThe FDC is intended to serve parents whosesubstance use is identified as the primary concernin the safety of children. To be eligible for FDC, aparticipant must be 18 years old and reside inJefferson County. In addition, the participant musthave a substance abuse or dependence diagnosis.Exclusionary criteria includes those individuals witha life threatening illness requiring intensive medicalcare, individuals with prior allegations of sexualabuse or a history of violent behavior.PROGRAM SERVICESReferrals are accepted through Family Court andDHR. In addition to unsolicited referrals, the FDCreceives copies of all dependency petitions filed inJefferson County. The case manager makesinterest known in relation to cases that appear tomeet qualifications for the FDC. The presence ofthe FDC has increased the number of referralsreceived by judges, attorneys and DHR.Implementing this early identification practiceprovides an opportunity to build rapport with theparent at the earliest possible point in thedependency case.Children and Family Futures hasidentified best-practice modelsfrom across the nation anddesignated them as mentorsites called Peer LearningCourts. These exemplaryprograms are willing tohelp further education aboutFamily Drug Courts throughpeer-to-peer technicalassistance.Peer Learning Courts provide: Consultation Site Visits Sharing of Program Policies& Procedures Peer-to-Peer VirtualLearning Opportunities Developing TechnicalAssistance Action Plans Operational tune-upsPage 2 of 5
JEFFERSON COUNTYAt the beginning of the FTC process, the FDC staffmakes appointments with each perspectiveparticipant and fully explains the program’s purposeand requirements to ensure full understanding andto ascertain interest. Individuals expressinginterest are assessed to determine eligibility.The case is then reviewed by the entire FDC teamand recommendations are made for both programappropriateness and what treatment and otherservice referrals are needed. Program participationand referrals are integrated into the IndividualService Plan (ISP).FDC participants will have both a DHR caseworkerand a TASC case manager assigned to their cases.The TASC case manager will offer support andencouragement, working with the participant tomaintain treatment goals, secure housing, obtainemployment, meet any educational aspirations, anddevelop life skills.Parents have access to an array of evidence-basedpractices, including The Strengthening FamiliesProgram, Seeking Safety, Beyond Trauma and NewLife for Women. FDC parents also have access tomultiple levels of substance abuse treatmentincluding in-patient, day treatment and intensiveoutpatient. All treatment centers offer mentalhealth services for parents who have a co-occurringmental health diagnosis.In addition to substance abuse treatment, otheroutside resource referrals are made, includingparenting classes, individual counseling, angermanagement, domestic violence preventioneducation, or any other service or program deemedappropriate by the FDC team.Program children receive services through OasisCounseling for Women and Children. The agencyprovides mental health/developmental assessmentsas well as play and family therapy. Two inpatienttreatment providers allow children to accompanyparents.OPERATIONS: HIGHLIGHTSEvidence Supported Practices Seeking Safety Strengthening Families Motivational Interviewing Intensive Case Management Beyond TraumaServices for Children Developmental Assessments Play Therapy Family CounselingSubstance Abuse Treatment forParents Intensive and ExtendedOutpatient Intensive Inpatient Co-Occurring Residential Care& Gender ResponsiveTreatment Day TreatmentScreening and Assessment ASAM Mental Health Screening FormIII Trauma ScreeningHighlights In-home ServicesPage 3 of 5
JEFFERSON COUNTYKEY OUTCOMESA mixed-methods evaluation of the JeffersonCounty FDC was conducted in 2013. A comparisonstudy of FDC parents and non-FDC parents wasconducted to assess the outcomes of the program.Program Period Data consisted of 104 FDC childrenand 34 non-FDC children. These data were fromFDC or potential FDC participants during the periodFebruary 2010 to August 2013. The potentialparticipants were parents who refused to participatein the FDC. Comparison Years Data consisted of104 FDC children and 59 non-FDC children. Thisdata set contained information from parents andchildren during the three years prior to the FDCprogram. An analysis of number of days from DHR intaketo close indicated that for the Program Perioddata, the mean number of days for FDCchildren was 208.4 and for non-FDC childrenthe mean was 337.4, a difference of 129.0days. For the Comparison Years data, themean for non-program children was 334.0, fora difference of 125.6 days.For Program Period data, 28% of FDC childrenversus 25% of non-FDC children were reunitedwith parents. For Comparison Years data, 17%of non-FDC children were reunited withparents.KEY PARTNERS AND AGENCIESChild Welfare & Services forChildren Department of HumanResources (DHR)Substance Abuse & MentalHealth Oasis Counseling for Womenand Children Gateway Focus Aletheia House Beacon Addiction TreatmentCourts Parents’ Attorneys Guardian ad litem DHR LegalOther University of Alabama atBirmingham’s TreatmentAlternatives for SaferCommunities (UAB TASC) Fellowship HousePotential cost savings to the State of Alabamabased on this data were calculated. An estimate of 15 per day for foster care or group home care perchild was used. With 65% of children placed infoster or group home care, the savings for programchildren would be around 1,884 per child.Additionally, estimating 21,642 as the annual costfor treating one child who was drug exposed, theprogram’s 13 nondrug exposed children resulted ina savings of approximately 281,346.Page 4 of 5
JEFFERSON COUNTYARE YOU INTERESTED IN VISITING JEFFERSON COUNTY FDC?Day and Time of Court Hearings:Pre-filing FDC – 9:00 a.m. Thursday, Traditional FDC – 3:00 p.m. ThursdayHosting Availability:QuarterlyVisitor Capacity:10Nearest Airport:Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM)CONTACT INFORMATIONPROGRAM DIRECTORJUDGESUZANNE MUIRHONORABLE ALAN W. SUMMERS401 Beacon Parkway WestBirmingham, AL 35209Jefferson County Family Drug CourtPhone: (205) 917-3784120 2nd Court NorthBirmingham, AL 35204Phone: (305) 638-5691This project is supported by Award No. 2013‐DC‐BX‐K002, awarded by the Office ofJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs.Page 5 of 5
The program is a collaboration between Jefferson County Family Court, University of Alabama at Birmingham's Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (UAB TASC), and Jefferson County Department of Human Resources (DHR). The FDC extensively enhances and augments the traditional manner of addressing parental substance use disorders.
