Page 10 - Robeson Living Spring 2018

Dancing with the

Robeson County Stars

DANCING FOR FAMILIES IN CRISIS

5th Dancing with the Robeson County Stars to Benefit Family Treatment Court

On March 23 and 24, ten couples will take the stage to raise
money for United Way of Robeson County in support of the “We heard you – and we are responding.
Robeson County Family Treatment Court. A community fa- In every community in Robeson County,
vorite, Dancing with the Robeson County Stars is an oppor- people are concerned about substance use
tunity for local civic leaders and professionals to show off disorders, crime, and families in crisis. We
their smoothest dance moves and raise money to address have listened to community conversations
some of the most pressing needs in our county. In previous and read your comments in the Community
years, the event has provided funding for the Dolly Par- Health Needs Assessment. And the money
ton Imagination Library, a program providing free books to raised from our 5th Dancing with the Robe-
county children ages 0-5. son County Stars will help to sustain the
Robeson County Family Treatment Court.”
This year’s competition is inspired by the need to continue ~Latricia Freeman, Executive
funding for the Robeson County Family Treatment Court; Director, United Way of Robeson County
an important program in our community that is providing
services for parents and families struggling with substance
use disorders. The Family Treatment Court is a court-mon- grew out of the success of the state’s adult drug court pro-
itored substance use disorder program that works with par- grams, which began in 1995 with state General Assembly
ents who are at risk of losing custody of their children. The funding. In 2001, the General Assembly expanded drug
purpose of this problem-solving court is to help break the courts to include juvenile offenders and parents with sub-
cycle of drug and/or alcohol addiction that can influence stance use disorders who are involved with the child wel-
the abuse and neglect of children by their parents. This is fare system. This state funding, along with a seven-year
done through intensive judicial intervention, intensive ad- federal Regional Partnership Grant, supported the imple-
diction treatment, and support services. The Family Treat- mentation of the Robeson County FTC.
ment Court is currently trying to raise $90,000 to stay in
operation and without this vital funding, the future of the Robeson County drew on the state’s adult drug court ex-
program may be at stake. United Way of Robeson County perience and research to develop its program. The result
is calling on our community to help sustain this program by was an FTC model of intensive judicial monitoring, high
supporting Dancing with the Robeson County Stars. levels of coordination between the court, child welfare and
community treatment agencies, effective communication,
The family treatment court movement in North Carolina and services designed to improve outcomes for families

Page 10 Robeson Living ~ Spring 2018