Overview:
Veterans Treatment Courts are part of a holistic solution to support veterans who may actually have reached the point where hopelessness has overtaken their life. There is no end in sight, no recovery in sight. We will provide potentially the hope for that veteran to feel like ‘I can return to my community, to my society, as a contributing member.’"
- Major General (Ret.) Clyde “Butch” Tate
The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) will be conducting a live-streaming internet broadcast on justice-involved veterans, highlighting the lifesaving role being played by veterans treatment courts across the country. The three-hour broadcast titled “Veterans Treatment Courts: A Second Chance for Vets Who Have Lost Their Way,” will be aired live on Wednesday, August 26, 2015.
From WWII through the continuing global war on terror, there are approximately 21.5 million veterans in the U.S. today. So many of these men, and increasingly women, return home damaged mentally and physically from their time in service. These wounds often contribute to their involvement in the criminal justice system. As a result, there are far too many veterans in our jails and prisons.
For these justice-involved vets, Veterans Treatment Courts are providing a pathway to recovery so that they can be restored to functioning and contributing members of society.
Veterans Treatment Courts, or VTCs, provide hope, restore families and save lives. The first VTC, founded in 2008 in Buffalo, New York, has inspired the creation of more than 220 courts of similar nature in jurisdictions, both large and small, across the country. Hundreds more are in various stages of planning and implementation.
These courts have the support of the communities they serve, as well as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and local service providing agencies. Critical to the success of VTCs are veterans who volunteer to be trained and serve as mentors to justice-involved veterans.
"What has been created through Veterans Treatment Courts is the most profound change in the attitude of our criminal justice system towards veterans in the history of our country."
- Patrick Welch, Veterans Advocate, Buffalo, NY
Panelists/Subject Matter Experts
Gregory Crawford, Project Manager
National Institute of Corrections
Heather French Henry, Commissioner
Kentucky Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Thomas J. Berger, Ph.D., Executive Director
Veterans Health Council
Vietnam Veterans of America
Bernard Edelman, Deputy Director for Policy and Government Affairs
Vietnam Veterans of America
Nicholas Stefanovic, Judicial Assessment Specialist
Rochester Treatment Court, NY
Melissa Fitzgerald, Senior Director
Justice For Vets
Hon. Robert Russell
Buffalo Treatment Courts, NY State Office of Court Administration
Hon. John Schwartz, Ret.
Rochester City Court, NY
Elizabeth Burek, Coordinator
Rochester Veterans Court, NY
Sean Clark, J.D., National Coordinator
Veterans Justice Outreach, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Objectives
- Introduce Veterans Treatment Courts as an effective intervention and an alternative to incarceration for justice-involved veterans;
- Identify the unique issues which contribute to veterans’ involvement in the criminal justice system at the local, state and federal levels;
- Highlight the inception of Veterans Treatment Courts and the role they play in improving public safety, reducing recidivism, saving taxpayer dollars and, most importantly, restoring the lives of those who have served our country;
- Showcase model Veterans Treatment Court Programs, including Veterans Peer Mentor Programs;
- Demonstrate how to implement and sustain an effective VTC, including the vital role of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Veteran Peer Mentors; and
- Provide resources and next steps for jurisdictions interested in implementing a Veterans Treatment Court or looking to improve an existing program.
Questions to be Answered
- What are the essential elements needed to establish a Veterans Treatment Court?
- How can we identify a champion and other key players who will work diligently to create a Veterans Treatment Court?
- How critical are peer mentors, and a mentor training program in the operation of a Veterans Treatment Court?
- How do we gauge success of Veterans Treatment Courts?
- How do VTCs hold justice-involved veterans accountable?
Audience
This broadcast is free an open to anyone who would like to attend. The following groups are especially encouraged to attend:
- Local, state and federal court systems
- Pre-Trial
- Prosecutor / Defense Associations
- National Judicial College
- U.S. Attorneys’ Offices
- Law Enforcement
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- Justice-involved Veterans Service Organizations
- Justice-involved Veterans’ Advocates
- Criminal Justice and Corrections Leadership
- Probation and Parole Chiefs, Managers and Staff
- Community-based service providers
- Substance abuse and mental health treatment providers
- PTSD, TBI and trauma treatment providers
- State Correctional Associations
- National Correctional Associations (ACA, APPA, NJA, etc.)
- Council of State Governments
