Veterans Treatment Court a success, lawmakers told

Veterans Treatment Court a success, lawmakers told
The Lane Report


FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 14, 2013) — A specialty court in Jefferson County is the first in the state dedicated to serving veterans involved in the criminal justice system, members of the Interim Joint Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Protection heard yesterday.

Based on the drug court model, the Jefferson County Veterans Treatment Court (JCVTC) is a four-phase evidence-based program for veterans charged with non-violent crimes.

The goal of JCVTC is to identify and address veterans’ needs so they can return to productive lives and reintegrate with society, according to Judge David Holton of the Jefferson County District Court.

Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury or other mental illnesses and sometimes self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, Holton said.

“Combining mental illness with drugs and alcohol is like adding gasoline to fire,” he said. “The results are often broken homes, failed marriages, homelessness, unemployment. And these are all factors that lead directly to the criminal justice system.”
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