What does research say about FDACs?

Many of the families involved in care proceedings have multiple and complex needs. For example, drug and alcohol use is a major factor in nearly two-thirds of the cases in which a local authority is initiating care proceedings due to suspected child abuse or neglect.1 Moreover, some parents are repeatedly brought back in front of the courts with their subsequent children removed and put into state care (called recurrent care proceedings), with recent research suggesting that approximately 1 in 3 care applications are made regarding a mother who has already had previous children removed from their care.2 Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDACs) try and break these patterns, providing parents with access to intensive treatment and support, while the court regularly reviews their progress. The primary aim of FDAC is to improve outcomes for children and families, ensuring that children can either live safely with parents at the end of care proceedings (reunification) or, where reunification is not possible, have the best chance for permanency and stability outside the family home.

Since the first FDAC pilot site opened in 2008, the model has been of significant interest to researchers. The initial pilot was the subject of a robust quasi-experimental outcomes evaluation3 which was later revisited to review long-term outcomes for FDAC families.4 Beyond this, there have been two mixed-methodology studies of local sites5 and a number of qualitative studies seeking to understand the functioning of the FDAC model.6 Most recently, Foundations, the Government what works centre for children’s social care, published a major national evaluation of FDAC, conducted by Natcen, which compared all cases from 14 FDAC sites with a matched comparison group, in the most comprehensive study of the model to date. Outside of the UK, the US Family Drug Treatment Court model, of which FDAC is an offshoot, has been the subject of extensive outcomes research which was brought together in a meta-analysis in 2019.7

Our review of the evidence suggests:

  • There is strong evidence that being in FDAC significantly increases the likelihood of children being reunified with their parents at the end of care proceedings. There is promising evidence that the family reunifications created by FDAC are safer and more stable than those in standard proceedings. This stability is likely to cut the likelihood of recurrent care proceedings.
  • There is evidence that FDAC significantly increases the number of family or kinship care placements, and decreases the likelihood that children are placed in local authority care.
  • There is strong evidence that parents in FDAC are significantly more likely to become abstinent from substances by the end of proceedings than those in standard care proceedings cases, and there is promising evidence to suggest this cessation is sustained over time.
  • Qualitative studies consistently report that parents in FDAC experience the court process as fair. Parents report finding FDAC judges to be supportive and respectful and value the opportunity for direct engagement in non-lawyer reviews.
  • Compared to standard care proceedings, FDAC generates cashable savings for local authorities as well as providing financial benefits for other statutory agencies.
  • There are promising evidence-based reasons to believe that FDAC works in ways likely to be effective in reducing the occurrence of domestic abuse, although empirical research is needed.

Based on this, the Centre believes there is a strong case for additional investment in FDAC in England and Wales so that every family who could benefit from an FDAC is able to access one.

This summary is from our FDAC evidence review, which you can access in full here.

Resources to download

FDAC Quarterly Report (April - June, 2024)

Download resource

FDAC: The Case for Investment

Download resource

Family Drug and Alcohol Courts: The case for investment: A summary

Download resource

FDAC: Cost benefit analysis tool

Download resource

Evaluation of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court in Wales pilot Final Report

Download resource

Research supporting service transformation: Family Drug and Alcohol Courts and understanding the factors that contribute to their success

Download resource

Family Drug and Alcohol Courts: the evidence

Download resource

2023 Multi-Site Evaluation of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts

Download resource

Evaluation of Family Drug and Alcohol Courts: Implications for Policy and Practice

Download resource

Interim Evaluation: FDAC Pilot in Wales

Download resource

Changing Lifestyles, Keeping Children Safe- an evaluation of the first Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) in care proceedings (May 2014)

Download resource

After FDAC- outcomes 5 years later Final Report (December 2016)

Download resource

Problem solving in court: Current practice in FDACs in England (summary)

Download resource

FDAC Evaluation Summary

Download resource

Problem solving in court: Current practice in FDACs in England

Download resource

How do Family Drug and Alcohol Courts work with parents to safely reduce the number of children in care?

Download resource

The independent review of children's social care: Interim Report

Download resource

Recurrent care proceedings: five key areas for reflection from the research

Download resource

Rolling-out Family Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC): The business case (2015)

Download resource

Child and Parent Outcomes in the London Family Drug and Alcohol Court Five Years On: Building on International Evidence

Download resource

Evaluation of Pan Bedfordshire FDAC

Download resource

Website under review


The FDAC website is currently under review to improve its design and ensure the content is up to date. We are keeping it open in the meantime so that information on FDAC is still available. If you have any questions about FDAC that you cannot see the answer for here, please contact Sophie on scarter@justiceinnovation.org

This will close in 26 seconds