Judge Dellick appointed to Statewide Family Drug Court Reform Subcommittee

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning County Juvenile Court Judge Theresa Dellick has been appointed a member of the Statewide Family Drug Court Reform Subcommittee which will be responsible for the oversight and implementation of a statewide plan to enhance family dependency Treatment Courts. Family Dependency Treatment Courts are proven to be effective in improving treatment and child welfare outcomes.

The competitive grant, offered by the US Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention, was awarded to the Supreme Court of Ohio in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and the Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services. Only five states nationwide, including Ohio, Alabama, Colorado, Iowa and New York were selected to receive the award. The grant also includes substantial hands-on technical assistance services from Children and Family Futures.

Family Dependency Treatment Courts (FDTC), were developed as a response to the growing challenge of families affected by parental substance use and disorders and child abuse and neglect. It is uniquely positioned to integrate treatment and other health and social services across systems to achieve results superior to those achieved by the core collaborative partners – child welfare, treatment and the courts. FDTC has achieved higher rates of parental participation in substance abuse treatment; longer stays in substance abuse treatment; higher rates of family reunification; shorter lengths of stay in foster care for children; and less recurrence of maltreatment. The research supports moving towards statewide implementation of the principles and methods of FDTCs across the child abuse and neglect court dockets.

Judge Dellick was selected for her first –hand knowledge of specialized dockets, having served as vice chairperson for the 22 member committee that advises the Supreme Court and its staff regarding the promotion of statewide rules and uniform standards concerning specialized dockets, the development and delivery of specialized dockets services and the creation of training programs for judges and court personnel in Ohio courts, and her administration of Mahoning County Juvenile Court’ Family Dependency Treatment Court.

Created in 2003, Mahoning County Juvenile Courts Family Dependency Court was one of the first in the state of Ohio and has served as a model for other courts.

“By partnering with social service agencies through Family Dependency Court, the Court is able to change the lives of parents whereby making them responsible and productive parents," Judge Dellick said.

The Ohio Joint Subcommittee will consist of grant partners including the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Court Improvement Program, members of the Advisory Committee on Children and Families, the Commission on Specialized Dockets, other key statewide stakeholders, and representatives from local family dependency treatment courts. Planning efforts will address the scale and scope of Family Dependency Treatment Courts including the penetration rate of parents with substance abuse issues in the child welfare system into family dependency treatment courts and the range of services available to both the parents and children involved with family dependency treatment courts addition to other grant activities.