Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Oklahoma City, OK

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), on behalf of the Tulsa County Family Drug Court (TCFDC), proposes to improve permanency, enhance safety, and increase well being of the TCFDC's participants, their children, and caregivers through the use of interventions in three areas: assessment and service linkage; parent, child, and family skills training and education; and the establishment of a training agenda for community-wide capacity building. It is hoped that these interventions, which will serve more than 80 children, 65 adults, and 70 community members annually, will improve well-being of children, improve child permanency outcomes, and build community capacity. More specifically, the three areas include: 1) overall well-being assessments and service linkages for children and adults that include six key domains (development, education, primary healthcare, mental health (MH), familial substance abuse (SA) screening, and comprehensive trauma assessment and treatment); 2) the incorporation of two evidence-based parenting education programs (Celebrating Families and Strengthening Families) into the TCFDC's structure that are designed to increase child, adult, and family functioning, increase the likelihood of timely reunification with birth families, and decrease the likelihood of maltreatment recurrence; and 3) to increase the capacity of the community through the implementation of a multi-year community- wide education initiative about SA, child welfare, and trauma-informed interventions. The TCFDC, established in 1998, currently serves 36 families, 61% of whom are methamphetamine- involved. Children of participants are in out-of-home placement, with a goal of family reunification. Eighty percent of these children are under age seven and in need of trauma- informed assessment and service delivery systems. The impact of the program will be evaluated as to number of successfully completed assessments and service linkages; changes in child, parent, and family behaviors related to parenting and child skills education; and timeliness of reunification and maltreatment recurrence.