Overview | Impact | Permanent Shifts | Governance | Partners
Overview
BFF is a collaborative approach to working with all child welfare cases, including those with substance use disorder (SUD), regardless of risk or need. BFF offers statewide change throughout child welfare, family court, as well as SUD and mental health treatment practices by integrating effective family treatment court (FTC) principles into the broader legal/judicial child welfare system. This process includes early identification, quality assessment, and trauma-informed responses to families.
Why the BFF Approach?
“National research tells us that there are 8.7 million children living with parents who need treatment for substance use disorder.”
–Lipari RN, & Van Horn SL (2017). Children living with parents who have a substance use disorder.
“Ninety percent of those who need treatment services do not receive them.”
–McCance-Katz, E.F. (2018). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health: 2018.
What We Noticed
38% of neglect/abuse cases in NYS involving children under 3 alleged substance use in the petition
29% of neglect/abuse cases involving children 3 & over alleged substance use in the petition
Source: NYS Unified Court System, Universal Case Management System, CWCIP Data Metrics, 2013–2021
Theory of Change
The BFF approach to serving families (i.e., data collection and sharing; multisystem cross training) seeks to reduce recurrence of maltreatment and increase the number of children remaining safely in their homes, timely permanency, support recovery, and increase judicial capacity. Steps include:
1. Early identification
2. Enhanced judicial practices
3. Timely access to treatment
4. Increased family and case team communication and information sharing
5. Increased use of evidence-base
How BFF Aligns with and Supports Problem-Solving Courts
Problem-solving courts focus on a specific family need, such as SUD, mental health, or very young children. These judge-led, multidisciplinary teams receive specialized training to: 1) effectively identify and respond to the family’s strengths and needs, and 2) connect to appropriate therapeutic strategies. While admission offers go out to all parents meeting eligibility for the problem-solving court, participation is typically voluntary. Each jurisdiction determines eligibility, and local resources dictate capacity.
BFF is not a specialized problem-solving court, but rather a collaborative approach to working with all child welfare cases, including those with SUD, regardless of risk or need. Given its universal applicability and broad capacity, BFF suits a wide range of jurisdictions, especially those with limited community resources.
Family Treatment Court
FTCs serve children, parents, and families involved in the child welfare system when parental substance use and/or co-occurring mental health disorders contribute to child abuse or maltreatment. Judges, court personnel, attorneys, child protective services, treatment professionals, and other community partners collaborate on and coordinate services. All strive to promote: 1) safe, nurturing, and permanent homes within mandatory timeframes for all children; 2) stability and recovery for all parents; and 3) access to needed services and supports for all family members. FTCs provide intensive judicial monitoring along with family-focused interventions, services, and supports drawing upon the families’ strengths and meeting their comprehensive needs.
Strong Starts Court Initiative
Strong Starts brings expertise in early child development to all stages of a child welfare proceeding to strengthen families and interrupt intergenerational cycles of system involvement. The program focuses on families (with children 0-3) involved in the family court due to allegations of abuse and neglect. Infants and parents benefit from enhanced judicial practices, clinical assessments, customized service plans, increased collaboration and problem solving, and access to a network of community and evidence-based services. Services include those in the domain of child development, adult development, and those supporting infant mental health, parent-child attachment, and family stability.
The New York State Unified Court System received a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to work with other state agencies in 2020. Goals include prioritizing early identification of families in need of SUD treatment while supporting enhanced access to quality treatment. The grant allows the Child Welfare Court Improvement Program (CWCIP) to build on its BFF project pilots—originally funded through a prior OJJDP grant—and continue to expand training and technical assistance that promotes FTC best practices in counties without FTCs. The grant also supports the enhancement and expansion of FTCs in collaboration with the Division of Policy and Planning. The project provides resources and technical assistance to promote continuous quality improvement through sharing data, cross-training, supporting the use of universal screening, access to quality assessments, more frequent court reviews, and integration of trauma-informed care practices.