The UK's first Family Drug and Alcohol Court sat for the first time on Monday (28 January) and aims to tackle substance misuse before it splits up families.
A judge, drug and alcohol treatment specialists and social workers will see cases where children might have to go into care because of their parent's substance misuse and can make same-day referrals for help, advice and support. The court will sit at Inner London Family Proceedings Court in Wells Street and will run as a pilot for three years covering the London boroughs of Camden, Islington and Westminster.
Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust will deliver the project in partnership with children's charity Coram.
Renuka Jeyarajah-Dent, director of operations at Coram, said: "Working at a multi-agency level will allow professionals to intervene and give families a greater chance to stay together."
