Anyone hear of Veterans Court? What is it?

We have a Veteran's Court in Pulaski County, Missouri. They provide an alternative to incarceration by allowing veterans to be part of a rehabilitation program. They are required to attend anger management, counselling, weekly court sessions, and appointments with the VA, depending on the offense(s) they committed. All are required to take urinalysis tests weekly. They are required to pay for those services not covered by the VA. If they fail to meet the requirements, come up "hot" on a urinalysis, or become involved in additional criminal activity, they can be removed from the program and serve time in jail. My husband and I were mentors for a while. Each veteran in the program has a mentor - someone they can talk to or reach out to when they are struggling. Its a good program, when it is run correctly.

Here's a summary on Vet Courts in Colorado:
Veteran Treatment Courts (VTC) are a generally a hybrid of the drug and mental health courts and are an effort to reduce recidivism rates of individuals who served in the armed forces, suffer from an Axis 1 diagnosis such as PTSD or TBI and are involved in the justice system regardless of discharge status. Nationally there are 130 VTCs across the country and currently 4 VTCs in Colorado. Unfortunately only one has been in existence long enough to generate any significant data – the 18th Judicial District. The four VTCs in Colorado are as follows:
• 4th Judicial District - El Paso County, established in 2009
• 18th Judicial District - Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln Counties, established in 2013
• 17th Judicial District - Adams County, established in 2014
• 2nd Judicial District – Denver, which currently has a small Veterans track as part of the Drug Court, established in 2011
The initial VTCs in Colorado were made possible due to a SAMHSA Grant awarded to the Colorado Department of Behavioral Health. The grant provided funding for project management, Peer Mentoring and Evaluation and ends on 31 March 2014.

A typical entrant into a VTC is part of the program for 18-24 months. VTC teams assist Veterans in obtaining their earned benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs, obtain stable housing and connect socially with the community to include employment, behavioral health services including PTSD, TBI and substance abuse support and employment. A key component to the VTC’s success rate is utilization of Peer Mentors to work directly with the participants. Peer Mentors for the VTC are Veterans from various service eras working with each Veteran. Challenges facing these Veterans entering the VTCs include1:
• Homeless or Unstably Housed – 23%
• Unemployed (looking for work) – 33%
• Not Sufficient Income to Meet Needs – 60%
• Experience Non-Military trauma before age 18 – 70%
• Served in a Combat Theater – 92%
• Military Service Trauma – 99%
• Thoughts of Suicide – 25%
• “Fair” or “Poor” – 40%

Nationally through February 2013, 7,724 Veterans have been admitted to the courts across the US. Length of involvement in the courts ranges on average from 15 to 18 months, slightly longer for felony offenders2. Of the Veterans who are no longer supervised by the court, slightly over two-thirds completed the court and healthcare treatment regime successfully. Upon successful participation in the VTC, Veterans can often have their records sealed. Result from the evaluation of participants in the 4th JD has yielded the following results3:
• 156 Veterans in the VTC; 111 evaluated
• 56 have graduated from the program (records may be sealed)
• No recidivism by program graduates within 1 year of graduation (National avg. for those entering the judicial system is 68-75%)
• In program recidivism is 14%
• This is the 1st Felony-Level VTC in the Nation
• Considered a National Model for other VTCs
• Community Savings per participant $33,390 per year (Probation vs. Department of Corrections sentence)
• It is estimated that the 156 participants have equaled a $5.21 Million savings to date.

there is one an Santa Clara county, the judge is fantastic for sentencing vets to treatment

I think it is a good concept and from my research it has proven to be extremely successful.

I am a police officer in Watertown, SD. We have a special diversion program for veterans. It could be considered Veterans Court. We also have a team of veterans and current service members in the area that help out with it.

CW4 Pam Collins was spot on in describing Veteran's Court. I practice law in southeast Missouri and Butler County is the venue for Veteran's Court for this entire area. One of the first questions I ask my criminal clients is if he/she are a veteran. We have a great program and the success rate is high. Success rate is measured not only by successfully completing the program, but also post graduation success. One of the main benefits to Veteran's Court over drug court is that they allow candidates to be on prescription meds and they also understand that there might be rules violations during the program that require additional treatment versus the "one strike and your out" approach to drug court. In speaking to candidates and the program directors, though, the biggest benefit is the fact that veterans relate better to other veterans. If your local community doesn't have a Veteran's Court, you should do what you can to try to get one in place.

Court for Veterans through the regular court system to take in account the veterans issues in service of the country for why the veterans broke the law. Instead of punishing a veteran like a regular civilian they take in account issues such as TBI's, PTSD, Trauma, and ect. Into account for proper punishment and personnel recovery instead of incarceration.

No I haven't but now I am interested to find out.

They have it the SO. Cal. area it helps those who have been in the military with different ways to go other than JAIL. Some times it will keep it off your record

I have heard of it and they seem to do a lot of good for veterans, but I don't know how widespread they are.