Children and Family Futures – 2017
This brief explores evidence-based program implementation in the Prevention and Family Recovery (PFR) initiative, an initiative that is designed to help build the capacity of family drug courts and their partners to provide a more comprehensive family-centered approach that strengthens the parent-child relationship to improve parent, child, and family well-being. It notes the collective journeys of the first four PFR grantees (April 2014 – May 2017) provide valuable insights about the practice and policy changes needed for an FDC to shift from being an independent, adult-focused program within the court to an integrated cross-systems collaborative centered on the whole family. Information is then provided on the experiences and lessons learned from the PFR grantees on evidence-based program selection and early implementation, specifically within the context of FDCs and broader-based collaborative efforts. The initial planning and the assessing of community readiness and need of the grantees are discussed, as well as factors for determining the goodness of fit for families in the FDC and for the FDC collaborative, staffing and others supports for the initial planning and ongoing implementation needs, early implementation and strategies for ensuring service linkage and information sharing, and a focus on the positive effect on families and the community. Signs of positive outcomes are highlighted, and recommendations are made for integrating evidence-based interventions into FDC systems of care. 9 references.