Research Assistant Professors Brook Kearley, PhD, shown above left, and Elizabeth Greeno, PhD, shown above right, received an award from the Maryland Judiciary, Department of Juvenile and Family Services to evaluate Harford County's Family Recovery Court.
The purpose of the project is to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of Harford County’s Family Recovery Court (HC FRC). HC FRC serves parents who have been named in a Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) petition and who, through a thorough assessment, have been determined to have a substance use disorder. The Court has recently undergone substantial revisions, to include the addition of a parent support group and implementation of an evidence-based parenting program. Using a mixed-methods design, the project will examine the impact of program involvement on: parental child-rearing attitudes; parental treatment stays; parental treatment outcomes, time children spend in out-of-home placements; family reunification; and future incidents of child maltreatment. The project has the potential to impact HC FRC's development and effectiveness, with a goal of improved services and outcomes for Harford County's children and families affected by parental substance use disorders.