Care crisis: Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC)

In the same week as we saw the launch of the Care Crisis Review undertaken by the Family Rights Group with the support of the Nuffield Foundation came the news that the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) National Unit has had to withdraw its application for funding to the Life Chances Fund because of lack of support from local authorities and that the National Unit would be closing in September because of the lack of continuing funding from central Government. This is grim news not least at a time when as both I and my designated successor made clear at the launch the care system is in crisis.

FDAC is the most researched of the recent innovations in family justice. Rigorous high quality academic evaluation conducted by Professor Judith Harwin has proved conclusively that FDAC works. As Professor Harwin’s evaluation has demonstrated more children are reunified with parents if the case has gone through FDAC than through the normal family court and there is significantly less subsequent breakdown. Similarly rigorous independent evaluation proves that...

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