Do you want to achieve the following aims?

•           Improve permanency outcomes for children

•           Achieve higher rates of control/cessation of substance misuse

•           Provide parents with a problem solving rather than adversarial approach

If so, you may be interested in an exciting opportunity that has arisen for a Mental Health Specialist in the Family Drug and Alcohol Court Team.  This is an exciting opportunity where we are being supported by the Centre for Justice who are the national leaders for change within care proceedings. Birmingham and Solihull FDAC are one of 12 FDAC’s nationally. 

The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) help families where children are put at risk by parental substance misuse. FDAC is a problem-solving court where the same Judge reviews the case every fortnight and is supported by an independent multi-disciplinary intervention team. FDAC work focuses on the parents while keeping the child central. Parents are given ‘a trial for change’ that provides them with the best possible chance to overcome their problems. At the same time FDAC tests whether the family can make enough change in a timescale compatible with the children’s needs.

FDAC achieved significantly better outcomes than normal proceedings in an independent evaluation led by Lancaster University:

• More parents addressed their problems by the end of the proceedings.
• 40% of FDAC mothers were no longer misusing substances, compared to 25% of the comparison mothers.
• 25% of FDAC fathers were no longer misusing substances, compared to 5% of the comparison fathers.
• More children remained with or returned to their parents at the end of proceedings. 35% of FDAC mothers stopped misusing and were reunited with their children, compared to 19% of the comparison mothers.

Within the last three years Birmingham and Solihull FDAC have evidenced that:

• 69% of children were reunited with one or both parents or family and friends
• 63% of parents had not had a lapse or relapse
• 52% of parents had achieved abstinence
• 26% had returned to employment, education or volunteering
• 97% of parents had no further arrests or cautions during proceedings or during the post-FDAC support period.

We are looking for a Mental Health Specialist who has experience in clinical/therapeutic settings to join our team to assist in assessing parents and delivering one to one and group interventions. You will become part of the established team on this exciting journey of innovative practice across Birmingham and Solihull.

This is a specialist role in our Birmingham and Solihull FDAC, so naturally we’re looking for experience of working with vulnerable children, families, statutory bodies and voluntary agencies. You’ll back all this up with excellent interpersonal skills – including communication, sound judgement, analytical thinking and teamwork.

Interviews will take place on : Wednesday 28^th & Thursday 29^th August 2024

For an informal discussion about the post please contact:  

Helen Davies FDAC Manager

Mobile Number:  07860906073

Email Address- Helen.Davies@Bham-SolFDAC.co.uk

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunities Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed on merit.

We actively deliver services that are culturally responsive to the needs of the children, parents and carers we work with to deliver equality, diversity and inclusivity in all we do. 

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