Family Law in Partnership’s support for the Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC) was highlighted in a feature on BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show (26/07/2018).

James Brown of Hall Brown Solicitors, who are leading the campaign to raise funds for the National Unit which supports the FDACs, and Tim Loughton MP appeared alongside parents who had benefitted from the innovative FDAC programme. Ten FDACs currently operate out of 15 courts across the country supporting families drawn from 23 local authorities. The goal is to have half of all family courts across the country supported by an FDAC in the future.

The FDACs were founded in 2008 with the aim of returning children placed in care to their formerly addicted parents. The FDAC process gives parents a voice and the reassurance that the court genuinely wants to help them to be reunited with their children. Parents attend the FDAC every fortnight and meet a judge and other specialists including social workers, psychiatrists, substance abuse counsellors and domestic violence experts who work together to encourage and support the parents to give up their addictive behaviour. Research has shown that the work of the FDAC saves £23,000 per case having regard to the cost of supporting these parents and their children within the community.

For further information on Family Law in Partnership’s support for the FDAC initiative, contact Sarah Cloke at Family Law in Partnership: E: sc@flip.co.uk or T: 020 7420 5000.