
Mental Health Specialist Intervention Worker in the Family Drug & Alcohol Court (FDAC) Team.
SALARY: £42,839 - £51,356
RESPONSIBLE TO: FDAC Manager
LOCATION: Stirchley, Birmingham, West Midlands.
HOURS OF WORK: 36.5 Hours
CLOSING DATE: 17th October 2025
Do you want to achieve the following aims?
• Improve permanency outcomes for children
• Achieve higher rates of control/cessation of substance misuse
• Provide parents with a problem solving rather than adversarial approach
If so, you may be interested in an exciting opportunity that has arisen for a Mental Health Specialist in the Family Drug and Alcohol Court Team. This is an exciting opportunity where we are being supported by the Centre for Justice who are the national leaders for change within care proceedings. Birmingham and Solihull FDAC are one of 14 FDAC’s nationally.
The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) help families where children are put at risk by parental substance misuse. FDAC is a problem-solving court where the same Judge reviews the case every fortnight and is supported by an independent multi-disciplinary intervention team. FDAC work focuses on the parents while keeping the child central. Parents are given ‘a trial for change’ that provides them with the best possible chance to overcome their problems. At the same time FDAC tests whether the family can make enough change in a timescale compatible with the children’s needs.
FDAC achieved significantly better outcomes than normal proceedings in an independent evaluation led by Lancaster University:
- More parents addressed their problems by the end of the proceedings.
- 40% of FDAC mothers were no longer misusing substances, compared to 25% of the comparison mothers.
- 25% of FDAC fathers were no longer misusing substances, compared to 5% of the comparison fathers.
- More children remained with or returned to their parents at the end of proceedings. 35% of FDAC mothers stopped misusing and were reunited with their children, compared to 19% of the comparison mothers.
Within the last three years Birmingham and Solihull FDAC have evidenced that:
- 69% of children were reunited with one or both parents or family and friends
- 63% of parents had not had a lapse or relapse
- 52% of parents had achieved abstinence
- 26% had returned to employment, education or volunteering
- 97% of parents had no further arrests or cautions during proceedings or during the post-FDAC support period.
We are looking for a Mental Health Specialist who has experience in clinical/therapeutic settings to undertake specialist assessments and one to one and group interventions to join our team. You will become part of the established team on this exciting journey of innovative practice across Birmingham and Solihull.
This is a specialist role in our Birmingham and Solihull FDAC, so naturally we’re looking for experience of working with vulnerable children, families, statutory bodies and voluntary agencies. Possible court experience and experience is clinical using tools and assessing individual mental and physical health needs. You’ll back all this up with excellent interpersonal skills – including communication, sound judgement, analytical thinking and teamwork.
Interviews will take place on :Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th October 2025
For an informal discussion about the post please contact:
Helen Davies FDAC Manager
Mobile Number: 07860906073
Email Address- [email protected]