Veterans Treatment Courts

With the end of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, many veterans are returning home suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). For various reasons, instead of seeking help, many self-medicate through drugs and alcohol, and lash out at loved ones. When this happens, a large percentage find themselves caught up in the already flooded legal system, further perpetuating their issues and overwhelming the system. Veteran's Treatment courts offer an alternative to traditional court procedures, closely resembling the already proven model of the Drug Courts, taking the individuals out of the legal system, and getting them the help they need to treat their problems and reintegrating back into the civilian world, instead of just pushing them through the system time and again.

The issue being addressed in this study is veteran’s rights, most notably homelessness and suicide rates. The subject of veteran’s rights overall is still being pursued. Along with the mindset of the American public, to the cases presented before Congress, this is an ongoing dilemma. Caring for our brothers and sisters in arms is the socially responsible thing to do. Ensuring the public is aware, and promoting campaigns to raise awareness, this is what the paper will touch on.

Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 107). Prior research has evaluated the prevalence of MH concerns and opportunities for treatment at various points in the military/veteran career including post deployment, among those being treated at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, and in the general population) (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 107). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data indicate that a substantial portion of young veterans in the general population have substance use disorder (18%) or Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) (14%) (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 111). All in all, the NSDUH proved to be an extremely valuable resource for this study, and indeed, the results of this analysis for unmet treatment needs have identified important directions for further research into reasons for not getting treatment, especially for SPD (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 113). The Veterans Administration and National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) are taking steps in the right direction to help our veterans with their unmet needs with substance abuse and PTSD. Some examples of improvements are, better mental health evaluations before leaving active duty, more information about military service, and tracking trends among veterans in the general population, who are not necessarily in contact with the

The objectives for the desired outcomes is to ensure that every veteran, regardless of which war, receives the proper care and treatment of their ailments. This is to include housing our homeless veterans in complexes in which they will feel safe, yet give them the freedom they need to work on their journey of healing. In the process, the veterans families that are affected must not be forgotten as

It is an unfortunate fact that thousands of military soldiers, both combat and noncombat veterans, find their way into America’s prison and jail systems. Of these incarcerated veterans, nearly half fought in the Vietnam War (Bronson, et. al.). Andrew Brannan was no exception to this. A decorated Vietnam veteran who suffered from severe post-traumatic-stress disorder and bipolar disorder, Brannan was sentenced to Georgia’s death row for the murder of police officer Kyle Dinkheller. The implications of the trials that followed and Brannan’s ultimate demise extend beyond the sleepy southern town of Jackson; rather, they suggest a broken and corrupted legal justice system that is in desperate need of improvement, with underlying themes of place,

The United States of America is phrased by many, as being “the land of the free.” Yet, the Unites States currently has the highest per capita prison population than any other country. The United States makes up only 5% of the world’s population and of that 5%, 25% of our overall nation’s population is currently incarcerated. A few factors that attribute to our high rates of incarceration include, sentencing laws: such as mandatory- minimum sentencing, lack of initial deterrence from crime, the war on drugs and the presence of recidivism. With our ever growing incarceration rates and the cost of housing individual offenders averaging $22,000 a criminal justice agenda. Recidivism refers to a person 's relapse into criminal behavior resulting in rearrests, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner 's release (National Institute of Justice.) Many programs have been implemented in our prison system to help reduce the recidivism rates. Programs such as educational/ vocational programming, reentry programs, substance abuse programs and subsidized employment are among many programs in which have been proven effective. Yet, due to costs deficits, the clock is ticking to find evidence based programs to invest in. So, the question currently being sought after is, which method is most effective in reducing recidivism rates?

1. I chose to cover special veterans’ courts for this paper. This court was created back in 2008 in Buffalo, New York. It was created by Judge Robert Russell in an effort to help veterans who have broken the law due to the adverse psychological and emotional effects that military service can have upon a service member. Some veterans, after undergoing various combat situations, being cut off from family and friends, and other hardships associated with being in the military, are not able to properly assimilate back into civilian life, if at all. They may resort to drug use or alcoholism to cope, and/or act out in other ways as well. In the various articles of this kind of court I’ve read, courts usually require that the veteran’s offense

This research project studies the effects veterans court has on the incarceration rate, and addresses the history, issues and concerns associated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this paper, you will find data collected from the Department of Corrections, Bureau of Justice, Department of Veterans Affairs, The Society for Military Psychology, The Community Mental Health Journal and Justice for Vets.Org. Veterans make up a large proportion of the incarcerated population, and it is important to address and find solutions to the incarceration rate increase, by separating the unique needs of veterans from the criminal justice system. The studies and research done show a correlation between a veteran’s military service related mental health and criminal behavior that leads to the entry of the criminal justice system. This project is done in dedication to Ethan Jacob Edelman, soldier and friend to many, died on Veteran 's Day, November 11, 2015, at his home in Denver, Colorado. He was born on September 30, 1991 and was enrolled as a first-year student at Metropolitan State University. Ethan was a classmate of mine, who had just recently ended his service contract and had PTSD among other ailments. He had been struggling with his transition and ended up in Jefferson County holding. He had been under medical supervision for a few

Day in and day out we think of the 21st century as evolved, yet in this day and age there are a large number of homeless veterans that roam our streets and overcrowd our shelters. They suffer from mental illness, struggle with substance abuse, and reintegration into society. Most veterans believe that because they fought for our country, they are entitled. That may seem to be a myth, but it is definitely true. Many depend on the Department of Veterans Affairs to save the day; only to be disappointed by the lack of consideration for those who served our country, and the amount of hoops that have to be jumped in order to receive services. Veteran homelessness is a huge problem in America, and though the Department of Veterans Affairs has set programs into place, there are a series of factors that contribute to the problem with no solid solutions.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is a non-profit charity that provides lifetime support to veterans and their families. More than 1 million veterans a year have been helped by changing their lives in an encouraging way. Our main goal is to offer veterans with meaningful employment so that they can begin their civilian life since serving our country. There are job fairs throughout the year that provide resources that ensure the veterans a chance to take part in new jobs which is a huge goal of ours. The DAV also offers support to more than 700,000 veterans in getting them to and from medical appointments and helps more than 300,000 with benefit claims annually. There are almost 1,300 chapters and 1.3 million members across the country. This gives veterans and their families the resources they need and ensures them that our nation will keep the promises that they made when they served our country.

All too often, the wellbeing of United States Veterans is overlooked. Alcohol abuse in veterans in a frequent problem and many feel like they have no way to seek help. To see the people who fought for our country feeling hopeless when fighting an addiction is We can solve alcohol abuse in veterans by offering PTSD counseling, alcohol rehabilitation, and having families work together to end the alcohol abuse.

PTSD is just a precursor to abuse of drugs and alcohol. The study further states that Viet Nam vets had the larger percentage of drug users than all the other war veterans of WWII, Korea, Desert Storm, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to date. The study presented evidence that spouses of veterans were diagnosed with PTSD more than civilians and that they were more likely to abuse substances. Research confirmed that those that exhibited symptoms of PTSD from dealing with the outbursts of the vets would self-medicate with the illicit use of drugs and alcohol to combat the stress that their partners put upon

Veteran’s Courts are special courts for veterans who are diagnosed with service related illnesses. These courts are for minor offenses that happen as a result from the veteran’s illness caused by their time served in the United States military. The goal of Veteran’s Courts is to give them an alternative option where they will receive treatment and help instead of taking their case to the traditional justice system, where their underlying causes will not be recognized.

One important point was why the “inmates” who had obviously committed felonies were given that many benefits. There were arguments that raised concerns about the fact that the felons received more benefits than most of the people working with the United States Military (O 'Hear, 2007). The fact that the

While the argument can be made that these measures act as a deterrent, they are inevitably invoked in the sentences of offenders. And when they are, these sentences are served with the taxpayers footing the bill for the stay. While many prisons offer manufacturing or public works to help pay for their operating costs, these are insufficient in making their budgets completely independent government funding. In 2012, the prison system was costing taxpayers $39 billion across 40 states according to vera.org ("The price of," 2012). According to the Virginia Department of Corrections, the average cost to the state of Virginia to house an inmate is $24,024 per year ("Virginia department of," 2010). Clearly the cost of incarceration is high, but does the current system actually pursue the goal of justice? In this student’s opinion, the current system doesn’t pursue justice in a manner that is economical nor beneficial to the community or the offender’s re-entry into