King's College London

The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) aims to address the problems which have led the local authority to bring the parent(s) to court by using a ‘problem-solving’ approach. This involves a specialist multi-disciplinary team working closely with a judge and other professionals to provide intensive support to parents, with the aim of reducing their substance misuse issues.

Following an evaluation of the impact of FDAC by the National Centre for Social Research, researchers from the NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit conducted a pilot evaluation of Gloucestershire FDAC’s post-proceedings support (PPS), the report from which has just been published. The PPS focuses on providing on-going support for families after graduation from the FDAC programme. It focuses on permanency planning for children, with a view towards recommending a 12-month supervision for families who have successfully been through the FDAC programme. It consists of a range of support from social workers and specialist workers.

Mary Baginsky, Ben Hickman and Jill Manthorpe found that the ‘PPS model in Gloucestershire fits well with the FDAC model in place, in terms of the intervention and population. It provides a substantial package of support for parents in the months after graduation from FDAC.’ They conclude that ‘[p]rofessionals involved with PPS were in no doubt that it was a vital part of the recovery process and most of the parents who were seen were very relieved that it was in place to provide the support they believed they needed after the intensity of the support they received while in FDAC.’—quotes taken from the report, which was commissioned by the What Works Centre for Children & Families (What Works Centre project page).

This publication

Baginsky, M., Hickman, B., & Manthorpe, J. (2023). Post-Proceedings Support in Gloucestershire’s Family Drug and Alcohol Court. London: Foundations. What Works Centre for Children & Families.