Pulaski County is gearing up for the launch of its new veterans court. The county recently got a grant for almost $45,000 for that purpose, according to Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher. “There’s a push by the Supreme Court to help us establish these veterans courts to provide services to veterans in our communities who have criminal charges,” she told the county commissioners Monday, “and generally speaking, it’s things like substance use or maybe domestic violence, things like that.”
Kocher said the goal is to offer more services to veterans while still holding them accountable for their actions. “We see them on a much more frequent basis, to try to get them back to being able to, I guess, live outside of military life, re-assimilate into our communities, and it’s just a different sort of defendant than we normally see, and it’s a different approach,” she explained. “It’s really customized to that person. It will include a mentor program that will involve veterans in our community, and so we’ll be utilizing those veterans to provide services.”
She added that Dr. Natalie Daily-Federer will serve as the coordinator of the new veterans court. The commissioners agreed to let Superior Court enter into an agreement with Dr. Daily-Federer, to provide those services on a part-time basis with funding from the grant.
