Veteran's Court

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

In 2011, the Veterans Justice Outreach Coordinator for the VA Medical Center in Memphis began efforts to establish a Veteran’s Court in Shelby County. A planning group was established and, after a year-long planning effort, the Shelby County Veterans Treatment Court (Veterans Court) began operations in July 2012. The purpose of the Veterans Court is to identify veterans in the justice system suffering from substance abuse and/or mental health needs and divert them into a treatment program operated by the VA Medical Center in Memphis. The leverage of the justice system is used to encourage treatment with the result being dismissal of charges upon program completion. From July 2012 through February 2013 there have been 595 cases screened and 32 veterans accepted into the Veterans Court Treatment program. As screening processes are refined it is anticipated that many more cases will be accepted into the program.