Pulaski County is moving ahead with funding requests for its new veterans court and jail treatment programs. Last week, the county commissioners agreed to let Dr. Natalie Daily-Federer and Superior Court Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher apply for a 1006 grant through the Indiana Department of Correction.
For the new veterans court, the grant would pay for the program coordinator and treatment provider contract, as well as some office- and computer-related costs, according to Daily-Federer. The jail treatment funding would be even more substantial, covering the cost of a program director, three full-time positions, two jail staff members, and a resource provider. “The county, in both of these grants, is not being committed to funding from County General,” Daily-Federer added, “but it’s showing up in a way that shows that you’re supporting it by providing us with office space and use of a copy/printer, WiFi.”
The commissioners also agreed to sign a letter of support for the grant application. The application now goes to the Cass-Pulaski Community Corrections Board for its approval next month, before it’s officially submitted in March.
Meanwhile, Judge Kocher reported that the veterans court is very close to officially starting operations. “We’ve been working on this very diligently for about a year-and-a-half,” she told the commissioners. “We are already at the pre-certification stage. Dr. Daily-Federer has made contact with the state, and they are going to be coming to meet with us in February to actually get our veterans court up and running. So we are really right there at the point where we’re ready to start taking participants this year, and so this funding is important so that we can make sure the program’s going to continue and that we have what we need to do it.”
In addition to the 1006 grant, the new veterans court program has already gotten funding from the Indiana Supreme Court.
