Veterans Treatment Court is a specialized court designed to meet the particular needs of the veteran community. The goal is to promote sobriety, recovery, and stability through a coordinated response that involves the cooperation and collaboration of many different levels of the Veterans Treatment Court team.
The program utilizes a non-adversarial approach in which the Veterans Court team works together with the Veteran to guide him/her toward successfully attaining their goals.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Eligible veteran-defendants will be diverted from traditional or other specialty courts to a specialized criminal court docket specifically crafted for them via a 12- to 24- month program. Participating veterans must suffer from a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other mental disorder, including victims of military sexual trauma that occurred during or resulted from the defendant’s military service and affected the defendant’s criminal conduct at issue in the case. The court substitutes a treatment-based problem-solving model for traditional court processing in conjunction with the Veterans Treatment Court team.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION
Eligible veterans are those who find themselves in trouble with the criminal justice system because of criminal behavior resulting from their physical and mental injuries from combat and/or military service which has materially affected their conduct. In Travis County, eligible veterans are identified through self-identification, screening and assessments. Participation is voluntary on the part of the veteran-defendant subject to the consent of the attorney representing the state and the Veterans Treatment Court team.
PROCESS
- The Veteran will submit the Veterans Court application to the Veterans Court Program Manager via his/her attorney.
- Upon receipt of the completed application, the Program Manager will consult with the Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist (VJOS) to determine eligibility.
- The Program Manager will also determine if the veteran has been evaluated for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a traumatic brain injury (TBI), or other mental health disorder.
- If the veteran has met the basic criteria, the application is forwarded to the County and/or District Attorney based on the level of offense.
- The County and District Attorney’s Office will then review the cases to determine if they are willing to accept the veteran into the program.
PROGRAM LENGTH
The Veterans Court Program is a 9 to 24 month program. The exact length of time in the program is determined by each participant’s needs, progress toward successful implementation of the SAP and the nature of the offense. Thank you, Veterans, for your service.
FORMS
