Family Treatment Courts (FTCs) seek to address the substance use and other behavioral healthcare treatment needs of parents involved with, or at risk of involvement with the child welfare system. This article is intended to establish a baseline understanding of current FTC operations in terms of their design, capacities, locations, and the participant populations they serve across the United States. Researchers sent each of 360 known FTC programs in the United States a link to the online study survey. This study relied on the Family Treatment Court Best Practice Self-Assessment Tool (FTC BeST). The FTC BeST is a Web-based survey that includes 171 items and takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. Survey results indicated that FTCs vary substantially in structure, size, and implementation. Furthermore, findings indicate that the scope (in terms of services) and scale (in terms of program capacity) fall short of potential need. This study, based on a survey of all FTCs in the United States, provides significant insight into the operations of these programs, and uncovers structural and implementation variability. This variability may indicate that there is a need for research regarding what programs work best. Furthermore, the size and distribution of programs suggest that communities need more information about the strengths and limitations of FTCs and how they fit into the continuum of services for families who are vulnerable.
(Publisher abstract provided.)