Recovery Coach Program Increases Family Reunification
TASC works with mothers and fathers whose children have been taken into the child welfare system due to parental maltreatment related to substance use disorders. Initiated in 2000, TASC’s Family Recovery and Reunification Program (FRRP—previously known as the Recovery Coach Program) has been evaluated extensively as part of its design.
- Faster family reunification: Families whose parents participated in FRRP were reunited faster—on average, five months sooner. The research also shows that FRRP program clients reunify with their children at a rate slightly higher than the control group.
- Cost savings: The program saved the State of Illinois more than $11 million between 2002 and 2017.
- Reduced recidivism: There was a 53% lower re-arrest rate among adolescents whose parents were involved in TASC’s Family Recovery and Reunification Program, thereby blocking a “pipeline” from the child welfare system to the juvenile justice system to the adult criminal justice system.
Furthermore, studies have shown that most child welfare and juvenile justice programs have disproportionate outcomes, to the disadvantage of racial minorities. An added value that sets FRRP apart is that the program has been shown to eliminate racial disparity in family reunification. Regardless of race, families in this program are equally likely to reunify.
This 2012 outcomes report outlines some of the earlier results.