13th Judicial Circuit Treatment CourtFamily Treatment Court

In March 2017, Callaway County established a Family Treatment Court.

The Callaway County Family Treatment Court is a court-supervised treatment program for parents who have a substance use disorder and have children in the Juvenile Court system. The Treatment Court may be a voluntary program or ordered as a condition of Juvenile Court. Participation includes regular court appearances before the Treatment Court Commissioner, Juvenile Court hearings, random drug testing, individual and/or group counseling provided by the Compass Health, family support team meetings, visiting/caring for child(ren), and parent education classes.

The participant is also expected to obtain and maintain employment or involvement in vocational or educational programs. They are encouraged to attend regular 12-step meetings (Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous). The length of the Family Treatment Court Program is determined by each participant’s progress and will be a minimum of 14 months and no longer than two years.

The mission of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Treatment Court Program is to assist all participants in their recovery process, acknowledging that recovery is a courageous choice that will benefit the participant, their family members, and the community as a whole. We are committed to treating all participants with dignity and respect as they gain insight into their circumstances and internalize the values that will help change their lives, keep them drug and crime free, and render our community safer. The Callaway County Family Treatment Court also seeks to ensure child safety by focusing on healthy and sober parenting with a goal of family reunification or other permanency for the child.

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Treatment Court Programs aims to accomplish its mission by:

• Providing drug-addicted and substance abusing offenders with judicially supervised treatment;


• Providing participants with the education needed to curb drug and alcohol addiction, criminal thinking, and promote a life of recovery and sobriety;


• Providing rigorous supervision and case management to ensure that each participant complies with their individual treatment goals and objectives;


• Providing immediate interventions to reduce high-risk behaviors and promote responsible behaviors while holding participants accountable for their actions;


• Assisting participants with their vocational, educational, employment, and health care needs through community partnerships;


• Encouraging participants to maintain a drug and alcohol free lifestyle by administering random drug and alcohol testing;


• Maintaining a cohesive team that can help assist participants with life changing behaviors through continued education and professional growth;


• Perform regular evaluation measures to help promote effective practices and improve ineffective practices.

A Family Treatment Court participant will be required to appear in Family Treatment Court on a regular basis, to be determined by the treatment team based on a participant’s progress. At each appearance, the Commissioner will be given a progress report prepared by the treatment team regarding drug test results, attendance and participation in treatment and compliance with Treatment Court goals. The Commissioner may ask the participant questions about his/her progress, and discuss any specific problems the participant may have been experiencing. If doing well, the participant will be encouraged to continue with the program and work with the treatment team toward graduation. If not doing well, the Commissioner will discuss these issues with the participant and the treatment team and determine further action. In the event of program violations; i.e., missed or dirty urine screens, failure to attend individual or group counseling, failure to attend 12-step meetings, etc., sanctions may be imposed by the court. Repeated violation of the program expectations, and failure to progress satisfactorily may result in termination from the program.

If a participant cannot appear in court as scheduled, the Service Coordinator must be notified as soon as possible.

The following violations may result in termination from the Family Treatment Court Program: warrants and/or new arrests; missing drug tests; demonstrating a lack of program response by failing to cooperate with treatment, and violence or threats of violence directed at the treatment team or others. The Treatment Court Commissioner will make the final decisions regarding termination from the program.

If your child remains in foster care for 12 months, state and federal laws require the court to make a permanent plan for your child. If you complete your program, the plan would be reunification. If you drop out and/or do not complete your program, your child’s permanent plan could be termination of your parental rights and adoption, guardianship with a relative, or a planned permanent living arrangement for your child. According to current laws, long term foster care is no longer considered a permanent plan. The court believes you can succeed on your journey to a clean and sober life and reunification with your child(ren).

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court having united in purpose with the Callaway County Juvenile Office, Callaway County Children's Division, designated substance abuse treatment providers, agree to collaborate in an effort to address substance abuse activity in Callaway County and work with parents of children who have become involved in juvenile court, with the goal of reunification.

In an effort to support a comprehensive program of services to meet the needs of qualified participants we, the team members, commit to the following:

TREATMENT COURT COMMISSIONER: The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court agrees to provide a Commissioner who will preside over the Family Treatment Court.
The Treatment Court Commissioner is responsible for adhering to the Missouri Treatment Court Rules and all revisions to the rules with special consideration being given to the promulgation of any community-based rules deemed necessary for the success of the Family Treatment Court. As a member of the Callaway County Family Treatment Court Team the Treatment Court Commissioner will preside over the court proceedings and monitor appropriate application of disciplines, sanctions and incentives while maintaining the integrity of the court.

SERVICE COORDINATOR: The Service Coordinator will oversee the daily operations of the project, make referrals and conducts screenings, and provides ancillary services to the participant to enhance treatment services. The services will include making referrals to primary healthcare, low-income housing, educational opportunities, vocational rehabilitation services, mental health services, support groups, parenting classes and any other needs indicated. Duties will also include assisting Missouri Children’s Division case workers in coordinating services and making referrals for the children involved. The coordinator will be the person primarily responsible for identifying necessary case management services. The coordinator will advocate for the participant in the community to ensure available services are offered in an expedient manner. Additional responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, encouraging and increasing collaboration among the partners of FTC, enhancing community support, building and maintaining relationships with existing community resources, collecting and reporting data, creating and submitting grant reports, handling the financial responsibilities of the award, and handling the administrative duties of the project.

TREATMENT COUNSELOR: The treatment providers for Callaway County are Compass Health and Reality House. The treatment providers’ responsibilities include screening the potential participants, and developing, reviewing, and maintaining an individualized treatment plan compatible with the various levels of the programs. They provide evidence-based treatment in the form of MRT along with residential, outpatient individual and group counseling, and group education. They will provide screening and services for co-occurring disorders and MAT. The treatment provider will appear at all FTC staffing and court sessions and report each participant’s progress to the FTCs. The counselors assigned to the FTCs have significant experience working with the population of focus and specifically this region’s treatment courts.

DEPUTY JUVENILE OFFICERS: The Deputy Juvenile Officer will assist in identifying families that are appropriate for the Family Treatment Court. The role of the Juvenile Office will include initial removal of children from the home, identifying when substance abuse is a factor and making an expedited referral to the FTC. One deputy juvenile officer will be assigned to all FTC cases. That officer will attend weekly staffing. The duties may include making home visits and drug testing.

MISSOURI CHILDREN’S DIVISION CASE WORKER:Children’s Division workers assist in identifying families that are appropriate for the FTCs. They are responsible for reporting to the court on behalf of the MCD, supervising visits, coordinating FST meetings and making home visits. They are also responsible for assessing the needs of the children of FTC parents, keeping the FTC informed regarding those needs, and working with the FTC case managers and Service Coordinator to address those needs.

GUARDIAN AD LITEM: The GAL’s responsibilities are representing the child’s best interests in the Juvenile Court proceedings and in the FTC.

ATTORNEY FOR THE PARENTS: It is important to maintain contact and collaborate with local attorneys. If they understand the FTC programs they are able to advise them of the benefits of the program and assist them with any of the preliminary legal proceedings.

CALLAWAY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE: Each team member will be responsible for dissemination of information to their respective agency with regard to confidentiality laws that apply specifically to Family Treatment Court participants. Likewise the sharing of information between team members is a vital part of working as a Team. Team members will also be charged with the education of peer professionals on the program and develop community linkages which enhance the effectiveness of the program.

In creating this partnership and uniting in a single goal of addressing an underlying problem affecting our community, we are pledged to enhance communication between the courts, law enforcement and treatment programs.
Through this linkage of services, we expect wider participation and greater effectiveness in addressing drug offenders involved in the criminal justice system.