Wednesday, April 30, 2025
4/30/2025
Miami-Dade County Dependency Drug Court Response to Family Treatment Needs - Project Title: "Miami-Dade County Dependency Drug Court Response to Family Treatment Needs" Project Summary: In collaboration with Miami-Dade County, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Dependency Drug Court program and its partner, the Family Resource Center of South Florida, Inc., propose to implement a family focused, trauma informed service delivery and training project. The goal of the proposed project is to strengthen the continuum of care’s capacity to respond to the effects of trauma exposure on families affected by substance abuse disorder, and involved in the child welfare system. The partnership is submitting a grant request to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the amount of $2,125,000 to facilitate the envisioned initiative. Need for Proposed Project: A significant volume of research indicates that individuals who abuse drugs or alcohol have had a history of exposure to trauma. For parents engaged in the dependency system, the problem is compounded as the permanency, safety and wellbeing of children in abuse, neglect, and abandonment cases are brought to the forefront. Parents are more likely to recover and successfully reunify with their children when they have access to trauma informed, cognitive behavioral therapy. Since 1999 the Dependency Drug Court program has offered eligible participants intensive court supervision, access to trained child welfare counselors, risk and health assessments, individualized case management, and timely referrals to therapeutic crisis intervention services delivered by community-based service providers. However, Miami-Dade County has a pronounced shortage of trauma-informed and trauma-specific therapeutic services available to adequately address the recovery needs of both parents and children. Planned Services: If awarded by SAMHSA, the Court will use the five-year grant to expand and enhance the capacity of the local child welfare continuum of care by: (1) Per year, referring 40 parents to trauma informed cognitive behavioral therapy, and up to 45 children to therapists trained in early childhood development and cognitive behavioral therapy for older children; (2) Training 5 to 10 cognitive behavioral therapists per year, thereby creating a trauma-informed therapist pool that is dually competent to work with both parents and children; (3) Training drug court multi-disciplinary team in the principles of trauma informed care, including the presiding judge, program coordinator, caseworkers, prosecuting and defense attorneys; and, (4) Strengthening the bridge of communication between the children’s therapists and parent’s therapists to ensure the best approach is taken.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).