CABELL COUNTY, W.Va. –Cabell County now has a court program that aims to help parents with substance use disorders and then safely reunite them with their children.
The Family Treatment Courts, which are under the supervision of the Supreme Court of Appeals, began as a pilot program in 2019, established by the legislature. The program became permanent in 2021. The goal of the program is to help parents with their substance use disorders (SUD) in a timelier manner, achieve reunification more quickly, and ensure that fewer children experience subsequent maltreatment and return back to foster care.
Cabell County has become the 14th court to launch a Family Treatment Court in West Virginia. The court was officially launched earlier this week, on Monday. Family Treatment Courts now serve a total of 18 counties across the state.
Sixth circuit judge Sean Hammers will preside over the cases and Clarissa Mill-Pyles will serve as the case coordinator.
Hammers said that he hopes that this can serve as a new beginning for these families.
“This is the beginning of a commitment to families in crisis with substance abuse disorder and the loss of their children, where the state takes their children out of the home,” he said.
The parents involved in the program are those who have active child abuse/neglect proceedings in Circuit Court, have been adjudicated as an abusing/neglectful parent, granted an improvement period, and have met the clinical criteria for a substance use disorder.
Judge Hammers said that once Cabell County learned it would be approved for the new program, he volunteered to serve as the presiding judge.
He said he believes the program can truly make a difference in the county.
“This program I would hope would promote reunification and healing with these families and hopefully get these parents in a better place to where they can be better parents,” Hammers said.
In order to be put into the program, families will have to either be referred by a judge, CPS, a treatment service provider or anyone who has knowledge of the parent’s SUD and case involvement.
Hammers said that they have already gotten a couple of referrals from different judges which has been handed over to the case coordinator.
“She interviews them (parent’s) just to see what their situation is and whether family treatment court is actually a tool that can help them try to get their child or children back,” he said.
He noted that once the interviews are completed, the coordinator will prepare a report, which will be reviewed by the treatment team. The team will then they will make a recommendation to him, and he decide whether participation in the program will be beneficial for the parent.
Hammers added that he and the treatment team will begin meeting every Thursday afternoon to discuss the cases they’ve received.
He explained that after they meet, they’ll bring in the parent’s and go over their week and see what programs they are attending.
The program consists of intensive court monitoring, frequent and random drug testing, regular case planning and SUD treatment, regular court appearances, and frequent parenting time.
Hammers said that the program is designed to be nine months, with a 90-day aftercare period.
However, he noted that if they don’t meet certain criteria during the nine months or if they mess up it may take longer.
“If they have hiccups along the way, or if they mess up along the way, we may need to hold them back or take a week of participation away from them or two weeks it just depends on what the violation is,” Hammers said.
He said that he is excited to be able to get the program started because of the effects he believes it will have on the families but the foster care system as a whole.
“And I think it will definitely save money by way of the foster care system, I think it’ll be less time spent in foster care by children because this program is helping reunify families quicker,” Hammers said.