What is a Family Treatment Court?
House Bill 3057 in 2019, codified as ยง62-15B-1(d)(4), permitted the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia to create and implement a Family Treatment Court pilot program in at least four counties to serve individuals with substance use disorders who are also involved in a child abuse and neglect case. The Supreme Court provides oversight, technical assistance, and training. The Court established a State Family Treatment Court Advisory Committee, as called for in the law, and local family treatment court advisory committees in the counties where there are Family Treatment Courts. Each local advisory committee sets criteria for the eligibility and participation of adults who have a substance use disorder and have been adjudicated to be abusive or neglectful parents and who have been granted a post-adjudicatory improvement period. Family Treatment Courts are designed to return children to a safer home environment and achieve permanency faster and more effectively than traditional methods.
