Pima County Family Drug Court - “Pima County Family Drug Court” Abstract Serving substance abusing dependency-involved parents and their affected children, the “Pima County Family Drug Court” project uses a coordinated, trauma-informed, evidence-based, multi-system approach in attaining lasting permanency by ensuring child safety, providing comprehensive treatment through which improved parenting capacity, family functioning, and child well-being are achieved. The project will expand this proven model to additional families. There are just over 1,016,000 total residents in Pima County, containing portions of the San Xavier, Pascua Yaqui, and Tohono O’odham American Indian lands, and is located just 30 miles north of the U.S./Mexico international border. (US Census, 2016). With 50.8% female, 49.2% male, the ethnic and racial breakdown is 52.5% White persons/not Hispanic, 36.8% Hispanic/Latino(a), 4.1% Black/African American, 4.3% American Indian, 3.4% Asian/Native Hawaiian, and 2.9% mixed race (Id.). It is not necessarily surprising that Pima County dependency cases show disparate representation of Hispanic (41.2 %), African American (6.3 %), and Native American (6.3 %) people. (JOLTSaz database, FFY2017). In 2017, 73% of dependency petitions filed alleged substance abuse by at least one parent. (Id.) The clinical characteristics for primary drug use is reported as 32% methamphetamines, 27% heroin/opioids, 14% alcohol, 20% marijuana/hashish, and 5% crack/cocaine. (FDC database, FFY2015-2017). This is reflective of a recent upsurge in heroin/opioid use consistent with the current opioid epidemic throughout the United States. Intake assessments indicate 64.4% of FDC parents identified history specifically tied to childhood trauma, and 33% had indicators of currently-occurring PTSD. (Id.). FDC will provide recovery services to 467 parents and 673 children during the project, a 37.5% increase (Year 1: 80 parents, 115 children; Year 2: 86 parents, 124 children; Year 3: 93 parents, 134 children; Year 4: 100 parents, 144 children; Year 5: 108 parents, 156 children). Expansion efforts will focus on early identification and engagement. Access to FDC will expand to families with in-home cases and parents may join before adjudication. The primary project goals are to increase program eligibility, reunification rates, and graduation rates, while maintaining less than 5% reactivation rate for FDC graduates. Employing innovative approaches with a co-located unit from AZ Department of Child Safety (DCS), the case specialists are paired with Recovery Support Specialists to provide family-centered intensive case management. FDC/DCS staff advocate for the parent, child, and family’s needs to community partners so as to access timely, comprehensive, and appropriate assessments, treatment, and services. Addressing the trauma and dysfunction involved in a substance-abusing home must be undertaken by the entire affected family in order to enjoy lasting success.
