ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the history of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court service and service/model description and the principles behind FDAC: early intervention, prevention of multiple removals of children from the most vulnerable population of mothers, specialist assessment, rapid access to treatment for substance misuse, problem-solving justice, a relational basis to the work with vulnerable mothers and fathers. It also looks at research findings about the effectiveness of the model, and how the FDAC teams work to support and promote change in parents – moving from a drug-centred lifestyle to a child-centred lifestyle. Some case studies are presented, illustrating what it’s like to work in the team, what it’s like to experience the service as a parent – a first-hand account from a service user, innovations – working with mothers pre-birth and also pre-proceedings, and working with mental health problems and domestic violence in a problem-solving manner within care proceedings. The chapter also covers the increasing relevance of treating trauma and the roll-out of the model nationally – opportunities and challenges.
