Appalachian Judicial Circuit Veterans Treatment Court (Chief Judge Brenda S. Weaver) serving Gilmer County

The court. The circuit's Veterans Treatment Court page: "Veterans Treatment Court seeks to divert eligible veterans with substance abuse, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and/or mental illness, who have been charged with a criminal offense, to a specialized criminal docket. The Court substitutes a treatment and problem-solving model, along with accountability, including drug testing and curfews, for the traditional court processing. Our veterans deserve a chance for treatment. They served our country a..." and the description continues: "It is a hybrid of the current Drug and Mental Health Court models, serving veteran status individuals struggling with addiction, mental illness, trauma-related disorders such as PTSD, and/or co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders. This is a voluntary program that includes regular court appearances before the designated Veterans Court Judge. It also involves drug and alcohol treatment, mental health treatment, community service, random drug screening tests, recovery program support meetings, educational classes (including addiction, trauma, and moral reconation therapy) and community supervision. Veterans who elect to participate in the program must plea-in. Successful completion of the program can result in dismissal of charges, granting some graduates a clean slate. Failure to graduate results in sentencing as charged during plea-in." The structure and the mentors. "Summary: Phase one: 4-6 weeks; Phase two: 4 Months; Phase three: 6 Months; Phase four: 6 Months; Phase five: 6 Months. Minimum time for completion: 24 months." And: "A key component of the veterans treatment court program is the mentor program where veteran mentors provide peer-to-peer support to veteran participants. ... Only Veterans court has mentors and to be called a Veterans court you must have capable, qualified prior service individuals as mentors." The page cites the outcomes: "recent studies indicate the arrest rate within one year after graduation for a Veterans Court graduate is only 11 percent." Where and who. "Superior Court Chief Judge Brenda S. Weaver, P.O. Box 545, Jasper, Georgia, 30143. Contact: Chris Holt, Coordinator, [email protected], 706-301-8483." The circuit's counties are "Fannin, Gilmer, and Pickens" - each county has its own superior court with the three judges serving all three, and the Council of Accountability Court Judges' contact row carries the same court for the three counties. A Gilmer case enters through defence counsel, the District Attorney or the coordinator.