Sept. 24, 2010
Core Components of Successful Family Dependency Treatment Court Dockets to be Studied
The Supreme Court of Ohio has selected a Portland, Oregon-based research company to study the effectiveness of the state’s family dependency treatment court dockets.
By identifying the core components of successful family dependency treatment court dockets in the state, the Supreme Court hopes to assist other communities in developing these specialized dockets and in enhancing the existing dockets with new ideas and research-based information, said Christine Raffaele, Specialized Dockets Program manager.
Family dependency treatment court dockets involve cases of dependency, abuse, or neglect, as a result of parental substance dependence where the parents are subject to child protection court proceedings to establish permanency for the family either through reunification or alternate permanent plans for children. Ohio has 18 family dependency treatment court dockets.
With the assistance of NPC Research, the Court will select seven dockets for process evaluations and four of those for outcome evaluations.
Outcomes to be studied include treatment completion rates, rates of reunification, time in parental care, recidivism rates back into the child protection system, and child protection case plan compliance.
The Court issued a request for proposals in December to conduct the three-year evaluation, which is funded by the federal Court Improvement Program grant.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow, 614.387.9250.