Islington Tribune - News: £1.6m for US - style drug and booze court

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Islington Tribune - by MARK BLUNDEN
Published: 18 May 2007

£1.6m for US-style drug and booze court

FUNDING has finally been agreed for a US-style alcohol and drug court for Islington.
The courts, which are “aimed at preventing family breakdown”, have secured a grant of £840,000 from Her Majesty’s Courts Service and the Department for Education and Skills.
The three councils that will use the service – Islington, Camden and Westminster – have raised a further £150,000.
The total cost to pilot the Family Drug and Alcohol Court over a three-year period is £1.6 million.
It will sit at the Inner London Family Proceedings Court at Wells Street, Fitzrovia, for the first time in January 2008.
Care proceedings and services dealing with parents who have drink and drug problems will be brought together for the first time, tackling issues early on to protect children and “prevent family break-up wherever possible”.
The same judge will deal with a case at each hearing and there will be a court-based team with various agencies present. They will make same-day referrals for help, advice and support in cases where children are exposed to substance misuse in the home.
It is hoped the scheme will get parents to stay in drug and alcohol rehabilitation schemes so their children can return home more quickly, provide a fast means of getting at-risk children into foster care and will save money and time in traditional court proceedings.
Councillor Ursula Woolley, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Children and Young People, said: “All too often drug and alcohol addiction tears families apart. In Islington we want to be able to step in early, to prevent children and parents being separated.
“That’s why I believe the Family Drugs and Alcohol Court is so important – it means we can tackle a serious problem head on, and make a crucial difference to the lives of families struggling with addiction.”