Pubdate: Tue, 24 Jun 2003
Source: Poughkeepsie Journal (NY)
Copyright: 2003 Poughkeepsie Journal
Contact:  http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1224
Author: Larry Fisher-Hertz
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

ADDICT PARENTS GET HELP REGAINING CUSTODY

When Dutchess County Family Court Judge Peter Forman was asked to oversee a 
new program designed to help drug-addicted parents become reunited with 
their children, he was more than a little skeptical.

After six months of running Dutchess County's Family Treatment Court, 
Forman said he's convinced the new approach is working. Forman hosted an 
open house Monday in the Family Court building in Poughkeepsie to mark the 
program's first six months.

Family Treatment Courts require those who have lost custody of their 
children to address their addiction with a team of attorneys, social 
workers and other specialists. When the parents meet all the requirements 
of a contract drawn up by the team, custody is restored.

Agencies on the Family Treatment Court team include the county attorney's 
office, the Department of Mental Hygiene, the Department of Social 
Services, the Office of Probation and Community Corrections, the Astor Home 
for Children and the Lexington Center for Recovery.

Fourteen clients are enrolled. While no one has completed all the 
requirements, Forman said he was impressed by their progress. "My first 
reaction to Family Treatment Court? I scoffed at it," Forman said. "It 
seemed too much like social work. But I've changed my mind."

Signs of Success

Forman said he knew the program was working when he observed the behavior 
of a recently enrolled woman.

"She'd lost custody of her child due to drug addiction and she was 
pregnant," Forman said. "Then, within two weeks, her grandmother died and 
she had a miscarriage. Instead of relapsing, she showed up here in court 
asking for help. That told me all I needed to know. We were on the right 
track."

Judge Joseph J. Trafficante Jr., director of the state's Office of Court 
Drug Treatment Programs, said Forman's skepticism was common among judges 
across the state -- but so were the success stories.

"I used to think judges shouldn't be social workers either," Trafficante 
said in a brief address to about 60 people who attended Monday's open 
house. "But once I attended a graduation (marking a client's successful 
completion of the program), I changed my mind.

"If you don't cry at one of those ceremonies," he said, "there's something 
wrong with you. You realize you're involved in an endeavor that changes 
people's lives." 
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