Family Drug Treatment Courts As Comprehensive Service Models: Cost Considerations.

Literature on family drug treatment courts ( FDTCs) suggests that parental participation in these courts is associated with improved substance abuse treatment and child welfare system outcomes. Despite these beneficial outcomes, FDTCs serve only 7-10% of eligible child welfare involved families. As part of a FDTC evaluation, this FDTC site sought to provide stakeholders with information about costs and benefits. Considering the program costs alongside the cost avoidance from reduced time in foster care, this analysis determined that FDTC participation resulted in a net savings per child of $9,710. The cost component of the evaluation proved valuable, challenging, and informative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]