FDAC to grow after government pledges £15m to keep children out of care
Published 12/06/2019
Following the success of the Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC), The Government is using the same model to increase protection of children's rights and prevent their going into care through the 'Supporting Families: Investing in Practice' project.
On 22 May 2019 the Government announced that they will grant £15m to expand the Family Drug and Alcohol Court model in order to ensure that children are being kept out of care. The specialist court was introduced in London in 2008 by the late district judge Nicholas Crichton and research showed a higher family reunification rate due to the parents being successful in stopping drug or alcohol abuse by the end of family proceedings. The new programme, Supporting Families; Investing in Practice, will help families work on issues together, including those impacted by domestic violence, substance misuse or addiction, in order to help create stability in the home for young people and prevent them being taken into care, where that is in their best interests. This is part of wider Government work to improve outcomes for children in need of support of a social worker, by creating home and school environments in which they can thrive. The £15m will be used to assess what further improvements could be made to existing courts, as well as introduce family group conferences where children at risk of being taken into care will be involved in a conference with their extended family with the support of an advocate.
