Inside the Family Drug and Alcohol Courts keeping children out of care

Without central government support, the future of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts, that help addicted parents and reunite families, looks uncertain.

By Jamie Roberton

The future of a specialist family court system that tackles addiction and keeps children out of care is in jeopardy without stronger government funding, experts have warned.

Family Drug and Alcohol Courts - known as FDAC - have been hailed for their “problem-solving” approach in providing intensive therapy for the root causes of addiction and mental health issues.

Channel 4 News has been granted unprecedented access to the system, which sees parents four times more likely to achieve abstinence as well as dramatically better rates of family reunification.

An estimated 52% of children were returned to parents in FDAC proceedings compared with 13% in the standard care system, according to a 2023 study.

But two family drug and alcohol courts have been forced to close in the past year with the fragile state of local authority funding blamed.

In a rare interview, two of the most senior family court judges in England told Channel 4 News that “the stats speak for themselves” and there was a universally positive “impact on individuals and the communities they live in”.

One parent, who went through the system and has now regained full custody of her children, said: “If I hadn’t been through FDAC, I’d be dead”.

A government spokesperson did not respond to specific calls for greater funding, but said: “The Department for Education has supported the development of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts and will ensure that the lessons learned from the scheme will ensure children in care can be better supported through difficult family legal proceedings”.

Breaking the cycle

Founded in 2008, FDAC combines judge oversight with strong therapeutic intervention, utilising multi-disciplinary teams of social workers, psychologists and addiction specialists.

Judges are also encouraged to build a rapport with the parents entering the system, holding regular meetings with them to assess their progress.

Experts also point to the court’s effectiveness in responding to domestic abuse.

Meeting for the first time after their separate proceedings, Nickii, pictured above to the right, and Kia, pictured left, credited FDAC for breaking the cycle of addiction and changing the trajectory of their children’s lives.

Kia said: “I remember walking into FDAC and I hated myself. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror - but they show you that you have got a purpose, that you are a decent human being.”

Nickii, who now has custody of her three children, said: “I used [drugs] for the first time when I was about 13, 14, was a heroin addict at 18 and in jail by 21.

”I took my kids on the run in a Fiesta at five in the morning because I thought I was saving them from social services - that was my normal.”

‘Incredibly rewarding’

Drug and alcohol use is a major factor in nearly two thirds of cases in which a local authority initiates care proceedings over suspected abuse or neglect of a child.

The number of looked-after children in England reached a record high of 83,630 in March 2024 - an increase of more than 20% in a decade.

The figures fell by 2% last year but experts say the children’s social care system remains under significant pressure and earlier intervention is required.

Pointing to FDAC as a critical solution, Judge Carole Burgher, pictured above, said: “It’s about the wider impact on individuals and the communities they live in - there’s a reduction in criminal activity, there’s a reduction in anti-social behaviour, housing circumstances are resolved.”

Judge Burgher, who oversees FDAC proceedings in Birmingham, added: “I cannot imagine a scenario where all those families who have been through FDAC have not had the opportunities that they have had.”

Judge Patrick Peruško, pictured below, the designated family judge for Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire, said: “Seeing what people are capable of with the right support at the right time, that’s incredibly rewarding.

“Even when you think on paper, there’s no way that they’re going to make it, they do.”

Postcode lottery ‘a travesty’

But despite its documented success in keeping children out of care, FDAC is reliant on cash-strapped local authorities with no central government funding offered since 2019/2020.

Newcastle’s FDAC closed last year while the Black Country initiative shut on 31st March, leaving 13 FDACs across England and Wales.

Without more central funding, those working inside the “groundbreaking” system fear more specialist courts will have to suspend operations.

Supporters of the initiative say for every £1 spent on an FDAC team, £3.20 net savings are returned to the taxpayer due to savings across health, criminal justice and social care.

Cherie Blair KC, lawyer and wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, said in October that FDAC offered “hope, rather than despair, which deserves not only to survive but to grow”.

Vicki Mulligan, pictured above, interim director of the Centre for Justice Innovation, said the postcode lottery of FDAC was “a travesty”, adding: “There is a question as to why this isn’t everywhere - why don’t we see this in more places?”

She added: “They are facing very, very challenging financial circumstances and hopefully we can keep them all going but that isn’t certain.”

A government spokesperson said it was investing £2.4 billion in measures to stop children entering care by keeping families together alongside the roll-out of “child-focused courts nationally”.

The spokesperson added: “We are committed to improving the experiences of children and families in family courts and getting them the support they need, and we will publish our Family Justice Strategy later this year.”

Inside the court breaking the cycle of addiction for families