Characteristics of substance-addicted mothers that predict graduation from the family treatment court.

Introduction: In the United States, substance addiction is a major contributing factor to incarceration of mothers and separation of children from their families. Five hundred Family Treatment Courts (FTC) operate across the country to combat the growing problem of women addicted to drugs. The FTC model provides mothers with substance addiction treatment, intensive judicial monitoring, repeated drug testing, counseling, incentives or sanctions, and case management with the goal of reaching long-term sobriety and reunification with their children.

Design: This retrospective study examined the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and substance use characteristics, in predicting participants' graduations from the FTC program.

Methods: Data were gathered from 317 participants from five Family Treatment Courts in the southeastern United States and analyzed using logistic regression.

Results: Participants who completed the FTC program were more likely to be older, completed Cognitive Behavioral Training, completed high school, and Caucasian.

Conclusion: Age and completion of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy were the greatest predictors of graduating from the Family Treatment Court. These results convey the need for development of interventions tailored to each participant's age to maximize the success of the FTC participants. In addition, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy should be integrated into all FTC programs.

Clinical Relevance: The findings from this study will offer research scholars a foundation for designing future studies, aid researchers in creating interventions to increase success in substance addiction treatment programs, and contribute to the framework for theory development. In addition, understanding characteristics that may influence graduation from the Family Treatment Court will provide valuable information on developing interventions to support participants' success.