During the pilot project, 36 women who have been accused of child neglect will be chosen for treatment -- 18 of them now, and 18 more after the first group has moved into aftercare. The women will be counseled on education, health and nutrition, and exercise as well as how to overcome their substance use disorder. The children will benefit by staying out of foster care and remaining with the person they know best.

Krista Evans, coordinator of women's programs at the city's Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration, said that children and their mothers typically benefit from the new setting. "In most cases, it's a better environment, because it's highly structured and there's a lot of support," she said. "The child was probably, in most cases, parenting themselves, and now, being in a safe environment, they are able to react as children."

Anita Josey-Herring, the Family Court judge who will preside over Family Treatment Court, said, "You're rebuilding people, essentially. You're helping them to understand that they are valuable and they have a life worth living."

The initiative, modeled after efforts in Virginia and Florida, took about a year to plan. D.C. Superior Court; the Department of Health; the deputy mayor for children, youth, families and elders; and the Child and Family Services Agency, which will pay the $1.4 million bill for the treatment and supervision of participants, are all collaborating on the effort.