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Family Treatment Drug Courts (FTDCs) have been implemented to assist families involved with the child welfare system due to substance use. This article describes an enhanced version of a Family Treatment Drug Court intervention which builds on the traditional FTDC model but includes adaptations that add theoretically driven components to the basic FTDC model that aim to strengthen not only permanency outcomes but also address child well‐being including several precursors to child well‐being: parent well‐being and family well‐being so that the additional child welfare outcome of child well‐being can be met. The enhanced FTDC model described in this paper offers three phases of treatment but also utilizes data gathered for evaluation purposes as continuous quality improvement information to inform providers regarding participant engagement so that targeted re‐engagement efforts can occur to reduce dropouts. Thus, this paper also describes the measures utilized in the comprehensive evaluation. Data include 33 standardized scales from multiple sources, including clients, therapists/treatment providers, court personnel, and child welfare workers, at multiple points ranging from weekly to quarterly. Implications are discussed regarding how this enhanced FTDC model and use of evaluation/CQI data impact client engagement and multiple outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about factors associated with child welfare case duration. Understanding factors associated with case duration may help stakeholders make more informed decisions about funding and service allocation and improve compliance with federal law. This study had two research questions: (1) What factors are associated with child welfare case duration? And (2) Do factors differ depending on whether children were placed exclusively with parents or with others (e.g. relatives and foster care) during the case? The study sample consisted of families (N = 874) with co‐occurring child maltreatment and substance use in one midwestern state in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Linear regression models were used to identify correlates of case duration while controlling for child placement status. Overall, having a child under 1 year of age, benzodiazepine use, methamphetamine use and injection drug use were all associated with longer case duration, whereas marijuana use with no other substance use was associated with shorter case duration. Additionally, factors associated with case duration differed based on child placement status during the case. These findings suggest important heterogeneity in families involved with child welfare services and may allow for proactive mitigation of cases at greater risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To (1) compare the probability of cigarette smoking cessation for pregnant women with and without past‐year mental illness by the trimester of pregnancy; and (2) examine the association between the receipt of past‐year mental health treatment and prenatal cigarette smoking cessation among pregnant lifetime‐smokers with mental illness. Methods: We conducted secondary analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2008–2014. The NSDUH included 2019 pregnant lifetime smokers aged 18–44 years, 528 of whom had a mental illness. We used multiple logistic regression to model the probability of prenatal cigarette smoking cessation. Results: Pregnant lifetime‐smokers with mental illness had a lower rate of cigarette smoking cessation than women without mental illness (47.9% vs. 61.7%, p = 0.001). Compared to pregnant women without mental illness, pregnant women with mental illness had a significantly lower odds of smoking cessation in the first trimester (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 0.34, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.18–0.66), but not in the second (AOR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.46–1.63) and third trimesters (AOR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.51–1.72). The likelihood of quitting smoking did not differ significantly for pregnant lifetime‐smokers with mental illness who received and did not receive mental health treatment (AOR: 1.69, 95% CI: 0.87–3.28). Conclusion: Pregnant lifetime‐smokers with mental illness are less likely to quit smoking than those without mental illness; overall, pregnant women tended to quit smoking as they progressed in their pregnancy. The receipt of mental health treatment was not associated with quitting smoking. Mental health care providers need to screen for cigarette use among pregnant women and strengthen smoking cessation efforts. Clinical relevance: Pregnancy presents a unique opportunity for mental health care providers to screen for cigarette use in women with mental illness and support their smoking cessation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]