The Early Intervention Family Drug Court (EIFDC) was started in 2010 in Sacramento, CA to protect the welfare of children while giving parents the opportunity and resources to access substance abuse treatment services. EIFDC is different from family court in that it is a voluntary pre-plea or administrative court. Participating parents and caregivers receive intensive case management, parenting classes intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment and cognitive behavioral strategies, mental health counseling for adults and children as well as screening and assessment for both substance use disorders and child welfare issues. Initially, EIFDC targeted mothers who had used substances during pregnancy or who had a newborn test positive for substances at the time of delivery. The program has now expanded to include fathers of infants who have been exposed to substances.
Specific to substance abuse treatment services, 86.8% entered treatment after enrollment in EIFDC, 2.1% began treatment the day they started EIFDC, and 9.5% entered treatment before beginning the program. Although the EIFDC parents were not more likely to complete treatment than the comparison parents, they stayed in treatment longer than comparison parents (131.6 vs 102.7 days). Compared to families receiving services and usual, more EIFDC children remained at home after cases closed (92.1% vs. 69.5%). Overall, the program has led to a decrease in child welfare caseloads, a decrease in traumatic experiences for children and an overall decrease in Child Welfare costs. For more information on EIFDC, please visit this website.
SAMHSA. (n.d.). Early Intervention Family Drug Court (EIFDC). Retrieved from https://ncsacw.samhsa.gov/technical/rpg-i.aspx?id=80