About the Family Recovery Court Program
Pierce County's Family Recovery Court is a federal grant-funded recovery court model recently established in Pierce County. It involves a partnership between the Pierce County Department of Assigned Counsel (DAC),
Office of the Attorney General,
Pierce County Superior Court and the
Pierce County Alliance, a private recovery treatment facility. The program was designed to provide a means for rehabilitating the drug-addicted parents of juveniles involved in dependency cases prompted by the
State Department of Social and Health Services.
The program demands a rigorous drug treatment schedule, which is monitored and scrutinized judicially. The model encourages family contact during the treatment period with the intent of motivating and providing positive reinforcement to all parties involved.
Objective
The objective of the program is to reunite families involved in drug-related state dependency cases by providing drug-addicted parents with an alternative to the potential termination of parental rights.
Positive Program Outcomes
Since its inception, the program has achieved a very high success rate in reuniting families who faced separation. Other positive results of the Family Recovery Court program have been a reduced demand for foster placement resources and less-frequent redundancy cases.