Family Treatment Court
Family Treatment Court (FTC) is a special program designed to help respondents and their children get back together and stay together. This program is for individuals who have a neglect case against them with alcohol or substance abuse allegations. The FTC staff help the parents recover from alcohol or substance abuse and work toward reuniting mothers and fathers with their children.
Family Treatment Court is like Drug Court, except that the focus is parenting and child safety. Respondents attend frequent hearings at Court, allowing program staff to respond quickly to problems in treatment, visiting, or other issues. As respondents move through the phases of the program, they are rewarded with reduced supervision and increased visit time. This helps restore parents to their role as mother or father in a more timely way.
The Family Treatment Court’s case management unit has the ability to quickly identify and link addicted parents charged with neglect to appropriate drug treatment programs. The Family Treatment Court monitors compliance, responds to progress and/or problems through graduated sanctions and rewards, establishes cooperation and communication among agencies involved in the reunification process, assures all information is up-to-date and comprehensive and ultimately seeks to speed the entire court process, enabling the children to return more swiftly to recovered parents or achieve other permanent homes.
Once a person is accused of child neglect and a neglect petition is filed with the Family Court by ACS, a Family Treatment Court screening clerk determines if substance abuse has been alleged and if the case meets other specific screening criteria for the Treatment Court. Eligible cases are sent immediately to Treatment Court for intake, arraignment and orientation. Eligible cases include:
- Child neglect cases
- Alcohol or substance abuse alleged in the petition by the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS)
- Respondent is over 18 years old and
- Respondent’s whereabouts must be known.
Petitions containing allegations of child abuse, excessive corporal punishment, serious domestic violence, and mental illness are excluded, (except for depression).
Court Appearances
Court appearances in Family Treatment Court are very detailed sessions. Each respondent is tested for alcohol and illicit substances on-site at the treatment court at every court appearance. At each appearance, respondents compliance with treatment and permanency planning for the children will be addressed. Also, the placement, educational status, health and potential service needs of children are reviewed. Existing orders are updated and new orders are drafted. Detailed visitation orders, including time, frequency, location and supervision status are developed and modified regularly in the courtroom.
For more information about Family Treatment Courts in NYC, click here.
