01/07/2025
Natasha Harford
Trainee Solicitor Natasha Harford reflects on the introduction of FDAC (Family Drug and Alcohol Court) and what we can learn from it.
What is FDAC?
The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) helps families where children are at risk of significant harm from parental substance use. The focus of FDAC is supporting parents in overcoming addiction and reuniting families where possible, whilst still prioritising the safety and well-being of children.
FDAC is a problem-solving court where the same specialist judge, acting as an “agent of change”, meets the parents every fortnight at non-lawyer reviews; supported by an independent expert multi-disciplinary intervention team.
The court offers a collaborative environment where parents, social workers and the judge engage with a whole family approach.
Parents undergo a ‘trial for change’ that provides them with the best chance of overcoming their problems, testing whether sufficient change can be made in a timescale compatible with the children’s needs.
Along with other members of the family team at Russell & Russell, I recently attended the Child Concern Conference at Manchester Metropolitan University. Throughout the conference, insightful and thought provoking talks were given by Mr Lord Justice Peter Jackson, His Honour Judge Berkley, Ms Rebecca Hollingdale (Service Lead FDAC) and Professor Sarah Dennis (Professor at MMU); who discussed the positive impact that FDAC is having in practice and raised questions as to how we, as professionals, can consider implementing the methods of FDAC into our professional working.
So, what is involved in the FDAC process, what makes it different to standard care proceedings and how can the court system continue to evolve from, perhaps, outdated traditions?
What are the aims of FDAC?
- To improve permanency outcomes for children.
- To achieve higher rate of stabilization/abstinence of drugs and alcohol.
- To use a problem-solving approach as opposed to an adversarial approach.
- To use a trauma-informed approach to give parents the support they need to effect and sustain change. To enhance parents’ knowledge of the impact of parental substance use on their children and assist them to develop strategies in the future.
The FDAC process
Any referrals to FDAC are made at the discretion of the Local Authority. Due to funding being limited, there are often only a small number of matters which can be referred to FDAC.
Certain cases will not be accepted by FDAC. These include; where there has been allegations of sexual assault against a child/children or if there are acute mental health difficulties, which the FDAC team would not be in a position to support.
It is important that parents evidence their motivation to engage with professionals and their ability to do so. The FDAC process requires an intensive level of engagement from parents and will not be beneficial if they are not willing to meaningfully commit and engage.
FDAC is a choice for parents and they do not have to agree to engage with it.
If accepted by FDAC at the referral stage, the Local Authority will make it clear on the C110A (application for a care order) that the parents have been accepted by FDAC and the first hearing will be listed within a few days after the application is issued. This is much earlier than within standard care proceedings as it has been found that intervention at the earliest opportunity is crucial.
At the first hearing, the initial FDAC assessment of the parent will be directed. This assessment considers the suitability of the family to engage with the programme and, if so, is used to comply the intervention plan.
The assessment report and intervention plan shall be filed before the second CMH. Assuming the assessment recommends the family is suitable for the programme, the parents will “sign up” at the second hearing. If the assessment concludes that the family is not suitable then this second hearing is used as a standard CMH and the proceedings revert to the standard care proceedings track.
In FDAC parents will be expected to engage with at least 3 – 4 appointments a week; ranging from recovery work, social work assessments and sessions, psychological assessments, relationship support work and non-lawyer reviews (every fortnight). Greater Manchester FDAC hearings are always listed on a Tuesday.
FDAC cases, like standard proceedings, should conclude within 26 weeks. However, applications for an extension of 8 weeks can be applied for. Consideration to any extension must take into account any impact it may have on the welfare of the child under s.32 Children Act 1989.
Guidance on when extensions are likely to be considered necessary can be found in the judgement given by Sir James Munby in the case of Re S (A Child) [2014].
What makes FDAC different to Standard Care Proceedings within the Family Courts?
FDAC uses a problem-solving approach unlike standard care proceedings.
It adopts a collaborative approach between parents and professionals ensuring that they do not feel ostracised throughout the proceedings. It allows parents to feel heard and therefore they are usually brought along with the decision making.
In standard care proceedings, “parents perceived themselves to be outsiders or by-standers at court proceedings. They sat at the back of the courtroom when attending in person and were muted in virtual hearings. They had few opportunities to speak unless providing formal evidence to the court and they understood little of what was being discussed by the judge and legal professionals”.
For professionals, the noticeable difference is that the parents, social workers and guardians sit at the front of the courtroom and their legal representatives on the bench behind. The Judge will address parents first, by their first name, and they will likely acknowledge any anxieties and explain the process in court. Judgements are also delivered as if directly speaking to the parents, with less legal jargon. Specialist support and assessments can be carried out by the in-house FDAC team, meaning third party experts are less likely to be required.
There is also no threshold criteria for a parent receiving support from FDAC, nor is there a waiting list.
Parents have access to resources which may not be available during standard care proceedings and there is a reduction in delays with receiving the necessary work, support and coping strategies. There are also non-lawyer reviews every fortnight at court, which are minuted and filed within the proceedings.
The Social Worker and Child’s Guardian are encouraged to attend these reviews to continue to enforce the collaborative approach. The Courts have expressed that these reviews could not be more effective to consider the progress made. Along with the reviews, parents have the opportunity to engage with drug testing three times per week. The FDAC team has seen how motivational this is to parents.
Frequent negative tests encourage a parent to sustain the positive changes made. The process allows parents to feel validated and in turn improves motivation and sustainability. The family’s commitment is under regular review substantiating their engagement and progressive changes.
It would seem that FDAC also reduces the stigma that parents have towards professionals (particularly Social Workers) by reducing the hostile nature that is habitually present within those relationships, and creating an alliance between parents and the social work team.
Does FDAC Work?
There are approximately 25,000 care proceedings a year, with 90,000 children currently in care, in England and Wales. Of those thousands of care proceedings issued by a Local Authority, drug and alcohol use is a major factor in nearly two thirds.
It has been found that:
- 52% of children in FDAC were returned to their parents care compared to 12.5% in standard proceedings.
- 28% of children in FDAC were placed with their wider family members with the support of the parents.
- Parents are 4 times more likely to achieve cessation of substance use in FDAC.
- Only 2% of FDAC cases require Part 25 (expert) applications compared to 37% in standard proceedings due to the in integrated support of the FDAC team, reducing the need to rely on external services.
FDAC does require funding by the Local Authority, on average the cost per case is approximately £18,000. However, due to the success rate of parents achieving abstinence within the process it also increases their prospects in respect of caring for future children and reduces any potential costs within criminal proceedings and to the health services. It is estimated that agencies will collectively save £3 for every £1 spent.
Additionally, there is not the requirement for external experts and there are largely uncontested final hearings. Parents tend to develop an understanding of the Local Authority’s concerns and accept that they need to work on themselves before providing care for their child(ren).
Parents are more likely to struggle to show such understanding within standard proceedings, because they have not been involved with the decision making, in turn, impacting their understanding of their ability to care for a child. Parents often go on to have further children shortly after standard proceedings have finalised without addressing the concerns raised. Parents will find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle; FDAC aims to break this cycle.
Future of FDAC
FDAC is in its early stages, however the statistics, outlined above, suggest FDAC achieves positive outcomes for both the children and parents. There is a long way to go in providing FDAC opportunities to more families.
Greater Manchester is leading the way for FDAC with Stockport Council being the first Local Authority in this region to sign up to FDAC as part of its pilot, in early 2021. Since then, FDAC has been growing and five out of the ten Local Authorities within the Greater Manchester area now have access to FDAC. There are six Greater Manchester Judges sitting in FDAC, comprising of two Circuit Judges and four District Judges.
The FDAC team currently comprises of a service lead, three senior social workers, four social workers, a substance use specialist, a domestic abuse specialist, a parenting worker, a clinical psychologist and a team administrator. This team is ever expanding and in order to allow more families access to FDAC this team will need to continue to grow to provide the support offered throughout this process.
Challenges within FDAC
Everything considered, FDAC does not come without its challenges. FDAC requires engagement by the families and there may be resistance due to past negative experiences. 40% of 354 mother’s in recurrent care proceedings had spent a period of time in care themselves.6 Difficulties arise in eliminating the distrust that parents have in professionals, based on their previous lived experiences.
Whether families can be referred to FDAC is somewhat of a postcode lottery, and will remain this way until all Court areas can establish an FDAC and all local authorities sign up. Families in similar circumstances may reach very different conclusions simply due to geographical location affecting the support they can receive.
Questions may be raised as to whether FDAC is too parent-focused. It is important to consider the risk to the children and their welfare being paramount in both FDAC and standard care proceedings.
Notwithstanding the above statistics, we must bear in mind that FDAC is still at its infancy. Are these cases successful long-term? What happens to the parents’ progress when the intense level of support and review is reduced?
It is expected that funding will continue to be a major challenge in respect of the growth of FDAC.
Changes to Standard Care Proceedings
Undeniably FDAC is achieving positive outcomes and so we ought to ask how the principles of FDAC can be introduced into standard care proceedings, and how we as professionals can help to implement the same. At the recent Child Concern Conference professionals were encouraged to give thought to the methods and practices that we employ.
Is there scope for family courts to adopt the FDAC layout?
This will allow parents to feel seen and heard within the court room. Can professionals adapt their language and use plain English to ensure parents understand and can follow the process? Can we refer to parents by their first name to provide a more personal environment?
Can FDAC’s therapeutic approaches be used and can court practice become more trauma-aware and less adversarial?
These arguably simple changes could result in drastically different outcomes for families. My personal insight is that it is important to be mindful of how our own conduct can impact upon the engagement and commitment of a parent within care proceedings.
Natasha Harford | Trainee Solicitor
Please note that this article is meant as general guidance and not intended as legal or professional advice. Updates to the law may have changed since this article was published.