I visited the King County Treatment Court last week and had a great day observing court. When I stepped off the bus I was greeted by a very big hostel on the opposite side of the street from the courthouse. There was a lot of police around and many groups who belonged to the homeless community.
After going through the security checks to enter the court I met with Jill Murphy, the Family Treatment Court Program Supervisor. Jill’s office window looked out onto a square patch of grass that had been cordoned off with police tape. Jill explained that their is approximately 5000 homeless people in a city of 705,000 residents. The police had recently thrown the people staying in tents from the area, and other homeless individuals off the site in an attempt to clean up the area. Recently a Juror from the Court House had been attacked so it had received a lot of publicity and therefore pressure, to be seen to be addressing the issue. The big hostel opposite the Court House, I learned, was actually a Harm Reduction House which offers showers, toilets, washers and dryers, a day-and-night shelter, indoor meals and counselling services to homeless people in Seattle.
The state has the authority to step in and protect a child from harm in a procedure known as a dependency action. A dependency action begins when a written request is filed in Superior Court. This petition must allege that the child is “dependent” and has:
- been abandoned by his or her parent, guardian, or other custodian;
- been abused or neglected by a person legally responsible for his or her care; or
- no parent, guardian, or custodian capable of providing adequate care.
The Family Treatment Court is an alternative to regular dependency court and is designed to improve the safety and well being of children in the dependency system. The program provides parents with access to drug and alcohol treatment, judicial monitoring of their sobriety and individualized services to support the entire family. Parents voluntarily enter the program and agree to increased court participation, substance use treatment and intense case management in order to reunite with their children. Court Hearings initially occur every other week and then become less frequent as parents progress through the program. Jill informs me that the court does not always plan for reunification of a child to their family, but will formulate a plan in order to ensure a child does not spend too long within the dependency system. Through the regular dependency courts, approximately 30% of children are reunited with their family and in the Family Treatment Court, that rises to 50%. The multi-disciplinary team who support the family include, parents’ lawyers, assistant attorney general, social worker, substance use counselor, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), for the child and/or child’s lawyer, FTC treatment specialist, FTC program manager, and the judge. A new addition to the team, as of last year, are peer mentors who have successfully been through the process and graduated from the program themselves enabling them to provide support to parents currently involved in the process.
The program has 3 levels that parents need to complete before being referred for graduation. In the court there are 3 boards with children’s pictures on, which are the children involved in the FTC. Once a parent has moved up a level, they can move their child’s picture to the board on the level up. When the Court is in session every parent stays for the duration of everyone else’s hearing. The idea behind this is that the parents in recovery can learn from one another and celebrate their successes.
In the morning, I was able to observe the case discussion held with the judge and the other professionals involved with each family. This allows the judge to be updated on each family’s current circumstance and what message should be conveyed in the Court session that afternoon.
Before the Court begins in the afternoon, parents can attend peer meetings, facilitated by the Family Recovery Support Specialist. This allows some time for any anxieties to be aired and any issues that need raised outside of, or before the court begins.
The Court Session got under way and it was a busy room filled with the 20 families currently involved in the program (including small children), various lawyers, social workers and CASA’s. The first case is heard and decision is made that the parents children may return to her care. This particular parent has made significant changes and the Judge asked the parent to share with the Court Room why they think they have succeeded. The parent declared she has been clean and sober for 90 days and the whole Court Room erupts into enthusiastic applause! As the session continues, so does the clapping. Every parent had to submit how many sober supports they have used this week, and as long as the number is above 0, the parent receives a round of applause. I am a little confused but I, politely, clap along anyway. By the end of the session, I am really enjoying the clapping and become keen to hear how many sober supports each parent has managed to use! I discussed this with Jill and stated how reserved we are in Britain because no-one claps in our courts of Children’s Hearings. With amusement Jill advises the Family Treatment Court is known as the ‘happy-clappy’ court, much to the exasperation of some of the lawyers in the Court Session.
I really enjoyed my day in Court and I admired the fast pace and structured intervention this program provides the families. The outcomes show this program provides positive outcomes for the children involved and supports parents to make better choices for their children. The values of this program remind me of the values that Circle works by such as acknowledging that improving circumstances for the parent will improve circumstances for their children and by providing a strength based, solution focused intervention allows for parents to have control over their own journeys. The Family Treatment Court also relies on peer led models to enhance the program and recognises the power of parents learning from one another.
Keeping Families Together Safely 