April 2020
Full Court Press
is the newsletter of the University of Baltimore School of Law
Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC).
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How Family Courts Are Meeting the
Challenges of the Opioid Epidemic
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By Barbara A. Babb
I hope you are adapting to the realities of COVID-19 as best as you can. We started the latest issue of CFCC’s
Unified Family Court Connection
months ago, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was not dominating our every thought and action. Yet there's a real connection between these two life-defining events — the coronavirus and the opioid crisis.
The Spring 2020
Unified Family Court Connection
examines ways in which family courts have responded to the opioid epidemic, a nationwide public health crisis that, as of the date of this writing, has affected more than 2 million Americans, plus millions more when one includes family members, friends, and communities.
Family court cases always reflect what is occurring in our communities. While the number of drug overdose deaths decreased 4% from 2017 to 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 67,000 people died from drug overdose in 2018. Of these deaths, almost 70% involved a prescription or illicit opioid. In addition to this tragic loss of life, the wake of the opioid epidemic has devastated individuals, children, and families. Courts have dealt with opioid involvement in divorce, custody, child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence, and other cases.
As a result of the opioid epidemic, courts have had to take a hard look at how substance use and its aftermath are managed in court. Increasingly, family courts are addressing substance use disorders with a greater understanding of holistic and therapeutic approaches. We can apply what we are learning from the opioid epidemic response to the likely enormous consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that more extensive use of therapeutic jurisprudence should and will prevail as we rise to meet the challenges of both the opioid epidemic and COVID-19.
Barbara A. Babb is an Associate Professor, University of Baltimore School of Law, and the Founder and Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts.
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In this Issue of
Unified Family Court Connection
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Our authors look at the growing use of a trauma-responsive justice framework, best practices, and evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, specialized court dockets for cases involving opioid use disorder, and person-centered collaborations between substance use service providers and family courts.
Click to download this edition of Unified Family Court Connection.
Kristan N. Russell, M.A.
, a doctoral candidate in social psychology, and
Shawn C. Marsh, Ph.D.
, the director of the Judicial Studies Graduate Degree Program and Associate Professor of Judicial Studies, Communication Studies, and Social Psychology at the University of Nevada, examine the challenge of the opioid crisis and moving toward an injury-model response for trauma-responsive family courts.
Judge Peggy Fulton Hora (Ret.)
, who served on the Superior Court of California for 21 years, writes about how evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder is helping battle the opioid crisis. She says, "It is imperative that all family court participants understand best practices for addressing OUDs."
Judge Denise Herman McColley
, who presides over the Henry County Family Court in Ohio,
Melissa Peper Firestone, J.D.
, a magistrate in the Henry County Family Court, and
Abigail Badenhop
, the Henry County Family Intervention Court Coordinator, write about how specialized dockets in family courts can help stem the opioid crisis.
Abigail M. Judge, Ph.D.
, a clinical and forensic psychologist, and
Stephanie Tabashneck, Psy.D., J.D.
, a forensic psychologist and attorney, discuss the value added when family court professionals collaborate with substance use disorder service providers to inform referrals to evidence-based care, reduce court involvement, enhance compliance with court orders, and improve family outcomes.
We are grateful to this exceptional roster of authors, as well as to
Georgene Kaleina, J.D.
, a UB School of Law graduate and former CFCC Student Fellow, for their excellent work on this issue. Georgene has been shepherding the
Unified Family Court Connection
from start to finish for now more than 20 issues and 13 years!
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CFCC's
Unified Family Court Connection
is the only publication
in the U.S. devoted to the development and advancement of unified family courts.
For a listing of previously released issues,
click here.
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CFCC’s Truancy Court Program:
15 Years of Challenges, Growth
and Accomplishment
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Did You Know?
CFCC's Truancy Court Program (TCP) has inspired and influenced the operation of truancy prevention programs
both in Maryland and across the United States.
Montgomery County, MD, for example, has
modeled its truancy prevention program on the TCP.
Led by
State's Attorney John McCarthy, JD
, a UB Law graduate, the program was started in 2010 by CFCC in two middle schools, thanks to federal funds secured by Sen. Barbara Milkuski. It has expanded to 19 Montgomery County middle schools, with plans to add more.
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CFCC's Truancy Court Program was featured top-of-the-fold on page 1 of the
Montgomery County Gazette
in 2013. That's
Assistant State's Attorney George Simms, JD,
right, who served as a volunteer TCP Judge, and
Andrea Bento
, TCP Coordinator, left, both pictured working with a student at A. Mario Loiederman Middle School, Silver Spring, MD.
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Noteworthy
Presentations, Collaborations, and Events
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October 8, 2020 —
20th Anniversary Celebration of CFCC
and
15th Anniversary Celebration of CFCC’s Truancy Court Program
. For more information, contact
[email protected].
October 9 to 10, 2020 — CFCC will cohost the prestigious
Therapeutic Jurisprudence Scholars' Convening
with the International Society for Jurisprudence (ISTJ). The convening allows experts in the field of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) to present and collaborate on works in progress. Practitioners new to TJ are also welcome to attend. Contact
[email protected]
for more information.
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Gearing Up for the 2020 Fall Semester of the Post-J.D. Certificate in Family Law
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Now exclusively online,
the University of Baltimore School of Law Post-J.D. Certificate in Family Law
provides an
in-depth, interdisciplinary, and practice-focused curriculum that prepares attorneys for the full range of issues in the fast-growing, in-demand practice of family law.
Fall 2020 classes will focus on
Financial Foundations for Family Lawyers
and
Psychology, Child Development, and Mental Health in Family Law Matters
Application deadline:
Aug. 1, 2020
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Authors
Barbara A. Babb and
Judith D. Moran envision the family court as a “care center" and make a compelling case that reforms to the family justice system are necessary to achieve positive, long-lasting outcomes for families and children.
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CFCC's
Truancy Court Program Toolkit, Second Edition provides a step-by-step guide on how to start and maintain an effective truancy reduction program. The
Toolkit can be adapted to suit individual schools or entire jurisdictions.
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About CFCC
The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) promotes policies and practices that unite families, communities, and the justice system to improve the lives of children and families and the health of communities. CFCC advocates the use of therapeutic jurisprudence, the understanding that the legal system has an effect on behavior, emotions, and mental health, and an ecological or holistic approach to problem-solving.
CFCC is led by Barbara A. Babb,
Associate Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law; Founder and Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC); Director of the Post-J.D. Certificate in Family Law program at the University of Baltimore School of Law; and Editor-in-Chief of
Family Court Review,
published by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC).
CFCC Staff and Contributors
Rebecca Stahl, CFCC Deputy Director; Michele Hong, CFCC Program Manager; Arion Alston, Truancy Court Program Mentor; Eileen Canfield, Truancy Court Program Social Worker; Katie Davis, Truancy Court Program Attorney;
Spencer Hall, Truancy Court Program Coordinator;
Katrice Williams, CFCC Program Administrative Specialist.
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