Family Drug and Alcohol Court - Information for professionals

Cases will be identified by Birmingham Children’s Trust and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council. The usual threshold for proceedings applies and if families are not selected for the FDAC they will enter the usual family proceedings court instead.

There must be a history of parental drug or alcohol misuse that is impacting on, or likely to impact on, the children’s wellbeing.

However, it is expected that most families will have additional problems such as domestic abuse and parental mental health difficulties.

FDAC is most likely to help families who are already demonstrating some willingness to change. There are only a limited number of places in FDAC. If a family is selected for FDAC they will be given written information before the First Hearing and meet the FDAC team manager. The FDAC is voluntary and if parents do not wish to proceed, their case will be heard in the usual family proceedings court.