Effects of a family dependency treatment court on child welfare reunification, time to permanency and re-entry rates

Background: Family dependency treatment courts (FDTCs) have recently emerged as an innovative model for addressing the needs of families involved with the child welfare system and affected by substance use disorders. Method: A quasi-experimental research design was utilized to examine whether FDTC participation was associated with improved child welfare outcomes. Propensity score modeling was used to match FDTC participants (N = 95) with control cases (N = 424) from a demographically and geographically similar county with no FDTC program. Matching variables included demographic characteristics and caregiver criminal history. Child welfare outcomes included: 1) reunification (yes/no), 2) time to permanency (number of days it took to achieve final case disposition) and 3) re-entry into care in the child welfare system within 12 months after permanency was achieved (yes/no). Results: Participation in the FDTC program was significantly associated with: 1) increased odds of caregiver-child reunification (OR = 2.12, p<0.05), 2) decreased odds that children would re-enter care within twelve months after achieving permanency (OR = 0.12, p<0.01), and 3) longer time to permanency (IRR = 1.29, p<0.01). Conclusions: Findings indicate that FDTC participation increased the likelihood of reunification and decreased the odds that children would re-enter the child welfare system within 12 months of achieving permanency. Despite this, the increased time to permanency in the FDTC program may be more beneficial for families and less costly in the long-term by decreasing the need for re-entry into care in the child welfare system.