Draft Memo

To:
From: Michelle Piller
CC:
Date:
Re: Unified Family Court Pilot Project

The Plumas County District Attorney, Jeff Cunan, initiated Unified Family Court services in Plumas County in April of 2008. This pilot program ran through September 2008. The pilot program included case management through initial home visits with families involved with Child Protective Services, comprehensive referrals for county and community-based services, and involvement throughout the court process of a multi-disciplinary team designed to meet each family’s individual needs. In all cases in the pilot program, the children had been removed from the home.

The pilot program served five Plumas County families from Chester, Greenville and Portola. Referrals to the program were made both from the District Attorney and from the Superior Court Judge. Initial family assessments and service referrals were made by the case manager, who was subcontracted from Plumas Rural Services for this project. The case manager provided the D.A. with updates, progress reports and a recommendation of services best suited to benefit each family well in advance of each client’s court date.

Client service recommendations included:
 Plumas County Mental Health (evaluation and counseling);
 PRS-Family Focus Network (in-home visitation and life skills building);
 Parenting classes;
 Random drug testing;
 Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous classes;
 Anger management;
 Work Connection Job Search (or continue gainful employment); and
 Women’s Group.

The pilot program served 6 adults and 10 children (ranging in age from 7 months to 17 years old). Contacts through the program’s case manager were made at least monthly. She offered both home visiting support and court accompaniment services to participants.

All participants in this pilot program met the requirements of their participation to satisfy the court and were reunified with their children. The case manager’s reflections on the program indicate that the universal success is attributable, at least in part, to her ability to be non-judgmental about their past, invested in their success, and who could show them a different approach to their life choices. By providing a wrap-around approach to the complex needs of the entire family, the case manager was able to help clients address the root causes of their involvement in the justice system with county and community service providers.

This program has the potential to facilitate many more successful family reunifications in Plumas County, and may be able to support cases in other areas where family history and environment are a major contributing factor. As a court-based model, its success relies on the guidance and support from the court, the District Attorney, and the area’s defense attorneys.