The Family Treatment Court was created through a partnership between the Family Court and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Children, Youth, Families, and Elders, in cooperation with key District health and human services stakeholders. It is a court-supervised, voluntary, comprehensive specialty court that uses a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to serve parents and caretakers with substance use disorders who are the subject of child welfare proceedings in the District of Columbia Superior Court.
Since its creation in 2003, the Family Treatment Court has held more than a dozen commencement ceremonies. During each ceremony, parents and caretakers are recognized and celebrated for successfully completing the Family Treatment Court program and for reunifying with their children.