The Pulaski County Superior Court’s Veterans Treatment Court was recently awarded a highly competitive grant.
The court was selected from a national pool of applicants to receive an exclusive, two day intensive training from Justice for Vets. The National Association for Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and the Justice for Vets program host this very intensive training for Veterans Courts across the country. Courts are required to submit an in-depth application which consists of questions relating to each program, current data to support their needs, and outcomes. Pulaski County Veterans Treatment Court was selected nationally for this training.
Numerous online meetings and conference calls took place over the past six months to prepare for the training. The virtual online training then took place in September with three other courts from across the nation.
Judge Crystal Brucker Kocher of Pulaski Superior Court said in a press release, “This training is extremely important as we progress through our third year of Pulaski County Veterans Treatment Court. Now that we understand the process, we can learn how to improve our program to better serve the veterans who participate, while keeping our community safe. We also know this program cannot fix all of the issues our veterans experience after honorably serving our country. However, with updates to our training and our program, we can continue to tailor our services to reduce recidivism and improve our success rates.”
Court Program Coordinator, Dr. Natalie Tucker said “Pulaski County is home to around 1029 veterans and some are in need of additional community, mental health, and legal supports.” She added, “Building a stronger veterans support system that provides access to needed services is vital to the well-being of our local veteran’s population and this training will help our team and court program to further implement best practices to address veteran’s needs in the court system.”
Veterans Treatment Courts have proven to provide successful rehabilitation to veterans as they work through challenges upon their return from service. Additional services and resources are needed, community-wide, to truly help build human capacity, empathy, and support for those who have served our country.
