A NEW PATH FOR SUBSTANCE-ABUSING PARENTS

Voluntary Program Aims to End Addictions and Reunite Families

Union County's court system is taking a "non-adversarial approach" to
dealing with parents with substance abuse problems, Chief District
Judge Chris Bragg says.

The county will start hearing cases in its Family Drug Treatment Court
(FDTC) on Wednesday.

The FDTC will treat parents for substance abuse whose children are in
foster care due to abuse or neglect. The court aims to get the parents
clean, then reunite them with their children.

The court plans to work with 15 to 20 families at a
time.

The program is voluntary. When a child is in social services' care
because of abuse or neglect, social services can petition for the
parent to go to FDTC if substance abuse is suspected.

"If they want their children back, then ordinarily this is something
they will do," said family court administrator Martha Sue Hall.

If the parent chooses not to go to FDTC, the case will remain within
the Department of Social Services. A team of participants from various
departments will be involved with the FDTC, including the department
of social services, family court, the health department and the
parent's attorney.

"It's a holistic approach that we're taking here, and it's worked,"
Bragg said.

Mecklenburg County launched its first FDTC in 1999.

At that time, a half of one percent of children who were taken from
their parents with substance abuse problems were returned. Now, more
than 25 percent of families are reunited, said Janeanne Tourtellott,
drug treatment court program director in Mecklenburg.

Throughout the nation, 153 similar courts are set up; 148 family drug
courts are in the planning stages, including Union's.

The court will meet every two weeks to track participants' progress.
Participants will live in the community and attend daily treatment
sessions for as long as necessary. Their children will live in foster
homes.

The court's approach will implement incentives, such as additional
visitation with children, as well as sanctions. The parents "will see
and know how important it is for them to stay clean," said Hall.

The participants will continue going to the court for approximately
one year.

"It is a way to assist someone who has substance abuse issues get
themselves back to the point where they can take care of their
children," said Dale Ann Plyler, attorney for the department of social
services.

Social services will emphasize learning parental skills, she
said.

FDTC is under the family court's jurisdiction. The court system made
an initial request to launch the court in 2004, and participants from
various departments have been training and planning since that time.

Bragg said the court will save the county money by getting children
out of the foster care system and back in their own homes.

"If we can get their parents off drugs and reunify them in the year
we're talking about, we're saving the taxpayers of Union County
money," he said.