Family Law

Our award-winning Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) will be showcasing the work they do to support some of the most vulnerable families at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) today (Wednesday, 7 October). Told through the voices of the parents who have been through the Court, and the multi-disciplinary team that run the service, we’ll hear how FDAC is radical yet obvious.

Since its conception in 2008, FDAC has continued to grow, develop and help bring more families together. Earlier this year, funding from the Department for Education (DfE) has seen the development of a National Family Drug and Alcohol Court Development Unit. Comprised of practitioners, policy makers and researchers, the national unit is dedicated to nurturing new specialist drug and alcohol courts across the country.

Last year, an independent evaluation team led by Professor Judith Harwin from Brunel
University found that parents who had been through FDAC, as opposed to ordinary care proceedings, were more likely to stop misusing substances and, if they did so, more likely to be reunited with their children.

You can hear more about the work of the National FDAC Development Unit at this special event and get to grips with how their ground-breaking approach to care proceedings is being developed across the country.

The event is timely, as the National Family Drug and Alcohol Court Development Unit will also be launching their new website www.fdac.org.uk at the same time.

Sophie Kershaw, Co-Director at the FDAC National Unit, said:

'This event provides a great platform to showcase the work we do and to hear about our work and the families we have helped. FDAC is radical, yet obvious. Rooted in the idea of problemsolving justice, it offers demonstrably better outcomes for children and families. Families get every possible support and treatment.'

The National Unit is led by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and is supported by a group of partner organisations: The Centre for Justice Innovation; Coram; Brunel University London; Lancaster University; and RyanTunnardBrown.

You’ll also get the opportunity to meet our Chief Executive, Paul Jenkins and our Chair, Angela Greatley. In part two, we’ll hear what’s been pre-occupying the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust for the last year and what we’ll be focusing on in the year to come.