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Travis County Family Drug Treatment Court:

Parenting In Recovery

About
PIR.jpg

Family Drug Treatment Court: Parenting in Recovery (FDTC-PIR) was created for parents who are suffering from a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and are involved in the Child Protective Services Civil Court system of Travis County

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The goal of FDTC-PIR is to maintain children in the care of their parents while they begin the journey of recovery from their SUD and develop the skills and ability to safely parent their children. This focus of support and accountability for the parents and their children is to promote the goal of stopping the cycle of abuse and neglect and to promote strong mental health for the next generation.

The Program

Participants’ average length of participation in FDTC-PIR is 12-18 months, during which time they engage in programs, services, and activities that challenge, encourage, and help guide them to recovery from substance dependence, maintain or regain custody of their children, and improve quality of life for themselves, their children, and their families.

FDTC-PIR, in collaboration with its community partners, offers the following supports and services for participants and their families:

Stones of Meaning

  • Inpatient & outpatient substance abuse treatment

  • Psychiatric & psychological evaluation & care

  • Individual, child & family counselling

  • Collaborative case management with program partners

  • One-on-one parenting skills training

  • One-on-one recovery skills training

  • Supportive transitional & permanent housing

  • Child-care assistance

  • Mental health services

  • Medical, dental, eye care, & pharmacy services

  • Educational & employment support

  • Social, emotional, & developmental assessment of, and treatment for, children of all ages

  • Comprehensive treatment plan to meet all medical, developmental, educational, and psychological needs of the children

  • Specialized services for children Concrete services for children such as limited assistance to purchase furniture, diapers, formula, and other household needs

FDTC-PIR participants are held accountable throughout the program through the use of frequent judicial supervision in the form of weekly drug court hearings. Accountability and the ongoing relationship with the Judge is an integral part of the program. The presiding Judge for the FDTC-PIR is the Honorable Aurora Martinez Jones, Presiding Judge of 126th Judicial District Court of Travis County.

The FDTC-PIR program consists of Four Phases, designed to last a total of approximately 12-18 months. Parents who agree to participate in the FDTC-PIR program may advance through the phases based on phase advancement criteria and written requests to move to the next phase. A parent must have successfully completed all four phases prior to commencement from the FDTC-PIR program.

The FDTC-PIR program is designed to be a non-adversarial approach. It is the goal of the FDTC-PIR team that the participants will view the team as a resource and an additional support to help them with their lifetime goal of sobriety, continued recovery and safely parenting their children. All members of the FDTC-PIR team focus on building healthy and respectful relationships with the participants, to promote the empowerment of the participants to continue similar positive relationships in the future.

Eligibility 
Baby's Hand

FDTC-PIR participants are Travis County residents who have been identified by the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services, Child Protective Services (CPS) as exhibiting symptoms of substance use disorders that impact the care and well-being of their young children (ages 0-5).

 

Eligibility for FDTC-PIR starts with the nature of the CPS referral, which may occur under any of the following three basic admission criteria:

  • A mother gives birth to a baby who tests positive for drugs.

  • A mother is pregnant and tests positive for drugs and has at least one child under age five in the home.

  • A parent is using drugs and has at least one child under age five in the home.

Eligible parents meet the following conditions:

  • Parent presents with a substance use disorder.

  • Parent is not in acute distress due to a mental health diagnosis such that it would preclude him/her from actively participating in substance abuse treatment.

  • The residence and caretaking plan of the children fit into one or more of the following categories:

    • Children are with mother and will accompany her into treatment.

    • Children are with relatives or fictive kin in Travis or a contiguous county.

  • Parent demonstrates his/her willingness to participate in FDTC-PIR by entering substance abuse treatment and enrolling in FDTC-PIR.

Motherhood

Please Note: In order for a parent to be considered for the FDTC-PIR program, the parent must be the respondent of a civil suit filed by the District Attorney’s Office representing the Department of Family and Protective Services (Child Protective Services). Parents must also be part of a Court Ordered Services case (where the Department seeks only for the Court to order the parent(s) to comply with requested services). Cases that are filed initially as Temporary Managing Conservatorship cases (where the Department seeks temporary custody of the subject child/ren) may not be eligible for FDTC-PIR participation.

Partners, Contacts & Resources

FDTC-PIR brings together a large coalition of public agencies and community service providers who cooperatively provide a flexible, comprehensive continuum of services to parents, children, and families who are involved in the state child welfare system as a result of maternal drug and/or alcohol dependence. 

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