A two-year felony programme in DeKalb Superior Court for veterans with substance use or mental health disorders, open to every discharge status, with treatment given in-house by the court rather than only through VA, a VA Veterans Justice Outreach officer, and peer mentors.
The DeKalb County Veterans Treatment Court is a veterans court division of the Superior Court under Code section 15-1-17; see the Georgia entry. It began in October 2016 and started treatment in January 2017.
What it is. A two-year, judicially supervised alternative sentencing programme for "moderate to high risk/high needs adult felony offenders with substance use and/or mental health disorders who have served in the Armed Forces". Participants join treatment and recovery groups run by court staff, VA clinicians, veteran peer mentors and other providers. Unlike courts that rely on VA alone, DeKalb provides treatment in-house, as its drug and mental health courts do.
Who can enter. "Veterans with all military discharge statuses are allowed to participate in the program, provided they meet the eligibility criteria." A VA Veterans Justice Outreach officer helps participants with honorable discharges establish VA services; a veteran whose discharge bars VA care still gets the court's own treatment. The statute bars defendants charged with murder, armed robbery, rape and the other offences it lists.
The team is the Superior Court, District Attorney, Public Defender, the Community Service Board, Pretrial Services, the county police and the Sheriff. The court page names no fee. Superior Court Administration, 556 North McDonough Street, Suite 410, Decatur (404-371-4901).
Thresholds
Thresholds for DeKalb County Veterans Treatment Court
Gate
Rule
Veteran facing a felony charge, any discharge
No rating or discharge test. The offences 15-1-17 bars are excluded and the court sets the rest of its criteria.
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Disclaimer
VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.