Contra Costa County Veterans Treatment Court and Military Diversion

The Superior Court of Contra Costa County runs a combined Veterans Treatment Court and Military Diversion programme for veterans whose cases are affected by sexual trauma, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse or mental health problems from service; see the California entry on Penal Code sections 1001.80 and 1170.9. The team includes the District Attorney, defence counsel, Probation, the county veterans service office and CalVet. Participants get judicial supervision, probation supervision, treatment and medication monitoring, counselling, and employment and housing help, and each is assigned a veteran mentor available around the clock. Referral. Cases are calendared one Friday a month at 10 a.m. in Department 37 (check with the department for dates). At least a week before the hearing, counsel files the defendant's military background, the link between the condition and the service, any request to seal health information, and the DD-214 unless VA health care eligibility is already established. The VA Veterans Justice Outreach specialist informs the court, and the judge decides. Where the referral guide goes beyond the statutes. It lists "VA eligibility" among the criteria, though neither statute asks for it, and section 1001.80 reaches anyone who "was, or currently is, a member of the United States military". It also lists as "ineligible offenses" a set of offenses it says are "listed in Pen. Code § 1170.9" (Vehicle Code 42002.1(c), Penal Code 261.5(d), 286(c), 287(c), 288, 288.5, 289(j) and offenses requiring sex offender registration). In section 1170.9(h)(4)(B) those are the convictions, and the duty to register, that a final dismissal does not reach; they are not a bar to treatment. A veteran without VA eligibility, or charged with one of those offenses, can still ask for diversion or treatment under the statutes.