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Family Treatment Courts are specialized docket courts that use a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to serve families with substance use disorders and who are involved with the child welfare system.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt takes courage for a parent to face their challenges head on, takes strength to admit they need help and determination to stay the course,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Sixth Circuit Judge Sean ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œCorkyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Hammers said.

Hammers, who will preside over the Family Treatment Court, said it will support people on their journey with treatment accountability and guidance.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThis court represents a new approach ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” one that recognizes that family wellbeing means community wellbeing,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Hammers said.

He told those in attendance that recovery and reunification are not only possible ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” they are the goal of the court. Its programs are designed to permanently return children to a safer home environment.

Cabell County has the second-highest number of children in foster care due to abuse and neglect cases in the state, said Clarissa Mills-Pyles, Cabell CountyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s case coordinator. Most of those cases involve substance abuse issues, she said.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œFamily Treatment Court was a perfect fit for Cabell County to offer more support and help,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Mills-Pyles said.

Parents are put in the program through a referral process made by someone in the court system, a child protective services (CPS) worker, their attorney, a judge or the programÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s coordinator.

The courts use a structured, five-phase model, including an average nine-month program with a 90-day aftercare component. Each phase in the treatment court process has a different amount of days, which includes random drug screening several times a week, meeting with Mills-Pyles in her office, and occasional check-ins.

The program also offers classes on relapse prevention, codependency issues and parenting and life skills. A big component of the program will be visitation with participantsÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ children, Mills-Pyles said.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œAs they progress in their phases, they will gain more and more access with their children. By the time theyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re in the fourth milestone, thatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s when we start doing overnight visits and even start a trial reunification, and by the time they get to the fifth milestone the children are back ... in their homes, and itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s really more like an aftercare program at that point,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� she explained. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re just making sure the kids are comfortable in the home; the parents, if they need any more services or anything we can step in.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

Cabell CountyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s program includes a team of 12, including a representative from the prosecutorÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s office, representatives from public defenders, a guardian ad litem, CPS worker, Mills-Pyles and Hammers. The team also includes a representative from Western Regional CASA, a program of the TEAM for WV Children, Project HOPE, Recovery Point of Huntington, Huntington Addiction Wellness Center and a representative from Grace Haven.

Mills-Pyles said having a family treatment court in place will allow the county to not only address substance use issues with parents or guardians, but also ensure that the children involved are out of their homes for a shorter period of time.

The national average for a child to be in foster care is 22.6 months, she said. In a traditional abuse and neglect case in West Virginia, the average is 18.8 months. Children of families who participate in the stateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s family treatment courts average 10.8 months at a home, Mills-Pyles said.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThis program is intense and will be hard work but these participants will have a full team behind them ... to handle all the possible bumps that could occur during the sobriety journey,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Mills-Pyles said.

Cabell CountyÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Family Treatment Court will be the 14th such court launched in West Virginia. They now serve 18 counties across the state.

Family treatment courts were created as a pilot program by the state Legislature in 2019 and were later made a permanent program under supervision of the Supreme Court in 2021, according to information from the state Supreme Court.

Of the 418 children reunified with their parents, who are family treatment court graduates from programs across the state, only 12% have re-entered foster care within two years as of February, according to the state Supreme Court.

Family treatment courts cost between $85,000 to $100,000 to operate annually. The programs have been funded through grants and settlement funds from major drug manufacturers.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThis program is a marathon; itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s not a race,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Mills-Pyles said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe know that there will be bumps in the road as we begin this adventure, but we also know the result of being able to reunify families is worth all the struggles. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are ready to get started.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�