Family Recovery Court
A Family Recovery Court (FRC) is a specialized court program that works with families involved in the child welfare system when parental substance use disorder is a contributing factor to abuse or neglect allegations. Its primary goal is to help parents achieve recovery, stabilize their families, and safely reunify children with their caregivers whenever possible. FRCs use a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach in which judges, child welfare workers, treatment providers, attorneys, peer mentors, and other partners work together as a team.
Parents appear regularly before the same judge for frequent court reviews, allowing progress to be closely monitored and providing consistent encouragement, accountability, and timely responses to setbacks. Participants are connected to comprehensive services, including substance use disorder treatment, mental health care, parenting support, housing assistance, and other needed resources, with a strong emphasis on supporting the parent–child relationship through supervised visitation, family therapy, and early childhood development services.
Recovery supports such as peer recovery coaches, alumni programs, and community-based resources help sustain long-term sobriety. Unlike traditional child welfare cases that can often be adversarial, Family Recovery Courts focus on support, accountability, and timely decision-making to reduce out-of-home placements and improve outcomes for both parents and children.