The Centre for Justice Innovation supports the delivery of the work carried out by Family, Drug and Alcohol Courts (FDAC), by providing hands-on assistance to practitioners. Part of this support includes the coordination of professional forums, where practitioners from the fourteen different FDAC sites situated across England have the opportunity to hear national and regional updates and are supported to ensure a consistent approach to delivering the FDAC model.
At present, the Centre coordinates forums for FDAC team manager and clinical leadership, though there are plans to extend this support to substance misuse and domestic abuse practitioners. The forums help develop a network for practitioners and support the exchange of ideas. This support both creates opportunities for meaningful interaction, and helps FDAC clinical leads to recognise the importance of self-leadership and their potential for influence. A key focus of the work is to share knowledge and understanding of the model, as well as principles and practice, to promote excellence in service provision.
Peer-supervision for clinical leads within FDAC will be introduced from February 2021, to help develop partnership working and promote innovation through the sharing of experience. We hope to see this maximise outcomes for both service users and practitioners, as it is effective example of promoting good practice, collaborative working and innovation within the field of family justice.