By Miles Hill, Delaware County CASA, Staff Advocate—
Muncie, IN—On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, the Delaware County Family Recovery Court will honor the two most recent participants to complete the program with a graduation ceremony. The graduates will add two to the program’s total graduate count of six.
The Delaware County Family Recovery Court has been helping families who have been affected by substance use disorder since July 2019. The court operates under Circuit Court 2 with Judge Kimberly Dowling and Juvenile Magistrate Amanda Yonally presiding. The participants have open Department of Child Services cases where parental substance use was an issue.
A multi-disciplinary team consisting of representatives from the Delaware County Department of Child Services, Delaware County Juvenile Court, Centerstone Behavioral Health, Children’s Bureau, Delaware County Department of Community Corrections, and Delaware County CASA meet weekly to discuss the cases and collaborate on case planning. The participants attend weekly hearings with Magistrate Yonally.
Family Recovery Courts are problem-solving courts with the objective of improving outcomes for families impacted by substance use, to assist parents in achieving and maintaining sobriety, and to reunify families. Engagement and participation is incentivized using a Court Bucks system, where participants are able to earn “money” by attending court, completing writing assignments, participating in recovery and family events, completing treatment, and other case milestones. The money can be spent in the court’s Wellness and Recovery Shoppe which is stocked with household items, cleaning supplies, books, toys, clothing, kitchen supplies, and much more.
The graduates have completed Substance Use Disorder treatment, parenting classes, Recovery Coaching, therapeutic services, among many other services. The participants were expected to adhere to program responsibilities including making daily contacts with Recovery Court team members, keeping appointments, participating in drug screens, participating in pro-recovery and pro-social activities and abstaining from substance use. The two latest graduates have been reunited with their children and their Department of Child Services case has been closed successfully.
For more information about the Delaware Family Recovery Court please visit our Facebook Page or call the Juvenile Court office at 747-7887.