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Camden New Journal - by TOM FOOT
Published: 29 November 2007

District Judge Nicholas Crichton

Get-tough family court a lifeline for parents who abuse drugs

A PIONEERING court aiming to help parents with drug abuse problems keep hold of their children was launched on Monday.
The Family Drug and Alcohol Court, a three-year pilot running in Wells Street, Fitzrovia from January 28, will throw 60 parents who misuse drugs and alcohol a lifeline.
The £1.6 million scheme – the first of its kind in this country – is joint-funded by Camden, Westminster and Islington councils and follows shock statistics showing more than two-thirds of children in care in the three boroughs are put there because their parents are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
District Judge Nicholas Crichton, who sits in the Inner London Family Proceedings Court where cases will be heard, said: “I am sick to the back teeth of taking children away from parents who misuse drugs. In one terrible case I removed 14 children from the same mother. This is a massive problem and everyone knows it.”
In a departure from the strict laws governing family justice, where children of parents who misuse drugs and alcohol are placed in foster care, Judge Crichton will adopt a holistic approach.
Parents will be put into a tough regime with a special in-house team of carers and specialists until they can prove they are better role models.
They will first have to sign a form confessing their addictions before being put into a care programme working with a special team of expert psychologists and social services – from the Bloomsbury-based children’s charity Coram Family and the Tavistock and Portman Foundation Trust in Swiss Cottage – before regularly reporting back to Judge Crichton in the court.
Progress will be rewarded with flowers, restaurant vouchers and badges.
The idea is based on a successful American model that started in California and is backed by Governor Arnold “The Terminator” Schwarzenegger.
California’s Judge Leonard Edwards, the scheme’s founder who campaigns for special drug courts around the world, said: “It is the court’s duty to problem-solve.
“This is soul work. There is a lot of psychology involved and it works. We all know the old system was not working – there is a revolving door and there are a lot of frustrated judges who are fed up with it.”
Sharon Simms, from Kensington, a recovering drug addict, told how her baby was taken away from her one week after being born.
She said: “The hardest part is admitting your kids are better off without you. I was seeing spiders and rabbits with pink ears – I knew I had to do something.”
After proving she could be a proper role model, the 36-year-old is back on track and will serve as a “parent mentor” to addict parents coming into the court.

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