Amount Requested: $150,000
The funding for this program will be used to develop specialized protocols for all former and current military combat personnel admitted to drug courts within the Mid-Hudson region. The project will develop recommendations and apply enhanced and targeted services to the veteran population.

There are currently 25 million veterans—and an additional 37 million dependents of those veterans—living in the United States, representing nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population.  So far, 1.6 million American soldiers have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since September 11, 2001, and they are returning home with record numbers finding themselves involved in the criminal justice system.  In addition to veterans, there are many combat military members who have not yet been discharged but are between deployments, along with thousands of National Guard soldiers who have served a major role in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics projects that by September 2009, 47,073 veterans will reside within New York's 22nd Congressional District. Many of these veterans return home to find themselves in far different circumstances than when they left.  Servicemen and women returning from combat zones are plagued by abnormally high rates of substance abuse, mental disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide related to their military experience. 

While exact numbers are difficult to confirm, there is little question that a significant number of New York’s military who have served in war zones will find themselves facing criminal charges related to substance abuse and/or mental disorders that frequently stem from their military experience. The Center for Court Innovation is seeking an appropriation under the Commerce, Justice, Science Bill, within the Byrne Discretionary Grant Program to enhance services for all former and current military combat personnel who are admitted to drug courts within the Mid-Hudson region (Kingston, Middletown, Newburgh, and Poughkeepsie).  Fulfilling the mission of the Byrne Grant Program to create safer communities by targeting drug-related crime, this campaign will focus on improving the way that drug courts respond to the special needs of veterans who have become entangled in the criminal justice system.

For this project, the Center for Court Innovation will convene a workgroup of relevant stakeholders to create a track within existing mid-Hudson drug courts that could deliver targeted, enhanced services for this population. At a minimum, the workgroup would include representatives from the existing drug courts, the local Veterans Administration, National Guard Transition Service Centers, the region’s substance abuse and mental health services providers and vocational/educational services. This group would formulate a list of specialized recommendations for veterans involved in the justice system, balancing the essential need for fair and equal treatment of all litigants with the goal of recognizing the profound contribution of America’s soldiers who have served in war zones. The Center would identify the kinds of offenses that should be considered for the specialized track; propose appropriate and validated screening tools; explore the most pressing needs for the population, e.g. housing, medical, job training, substance abuse treatment, mental health services; and determine any special needs of female military personnel. Based on the findings and conclusions of the workgroup, the Center would create a guide for developing this drug court track and work with the Mid-Hudson drug court programs to implement a set of enhanced and targeted services for this deserving population and their families.