Atlanta, GA — The Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), in partnership with the Council of Accountability Court Judges (CACJ), is pleased to announce it has received a $2.1 million, five-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These funds will support the expansion of substance abuse treatment in Georgia’s Family Treatment Drug Courts (FTDC) through the Accountability Court Program, managed by CACJ with funds administered by CJCC. Other partners include the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) and the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

Specifically, funding from this grant will be used to strategically enhance the treatment options for participants in seven (7) existing Georgia FTDCs throughout the state. The primary goal for this proposal is to equip Georgia FTDCs with evidence-based programs designed for children of FTDC-involved parents. The services will address the needs of the family as a whole and include direct service provision to children (18 and under) of individuals served by this project. Grant funding will also increase the amount of training for direct service providers such that they can effectively deliver the additional treatment services. Additionally, this funding will establish a sustainable evaluation process so the FTDCs can continually improve in terms of fidelity to the FTDC model and adaptability to unmet needs and emerging trends. Based upon historical data, over the entire five-year project period, we anticipate the FTDCs will serve 1,235 parents and 1,965 children.

Governor Nathan Deal was pleased to learn Georgia had received the award and shared that, “These funds enhance our comprehensive response to the family, allowing Georgia to continue to build upon our successes with the Accountability Court Program. Through our Family Treatment Courts, we repair families and increase public safety through a more effective justice system.”

CJCC Executive Director, Jay Neal, says he is honored to accept CJCC’s first SAMHSA grant award: “We are honored Georgia was selected as a SAMHSA award recipient to expand treatment options in Georgia’s Family Treatment Drug Courts. These programs are a true testament to Georgia’s commitment to reforming our justice system through evidence-based models that benefit communities by treating families as a whole.”

Taylor Jones, CACJ Executive Director, added, “CACJ strives to implement programs that are continuously improving; resulting in better outcomes for participants, their families, and their communities. The SAMHSA grant will allow us to expand and evaluate substance abuse treatment in our Family Treatment Courts.”

SAMHSA awards grants through a competitive process. This award was made in response to SAMHSA’s 2017 solicitation to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Family Treatment Drug Courts (FTDCs).

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About Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC)
Created by the Georgia General Assembly in 1981 as an Executive Branch agency, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) represents the culmination of many efforts to establish a statewide body that would build consensus and unity among the State's diverse and interdependent, criminal justice system components. For more information visit the CJCC website: https://cjcc.georgia.gov/.

About Council of Accountability Court Judges (CACJ)
Established in 2015 by Georgia House Bill 328, the Council of Accountability Court Judges’ (CACJ) mission is to provide a unified framework that promotes and improves the quality, accessibility and administration of Accountability Courts. For more information visit the CACJ website: http://www.gaaccountabilitycourts.org/.

Samantha Wolf – Communications and External Affairs Director | Atlanta | 404/657-1958