Sedgwick County’s Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) opened last September, one of several such courts in Kansas providing alternatives to jail for veterans troubled by mental health conditions and addiction.
The American Legion website explains the concept of VTCs:
Veterans Treatment Courts follow the Drug Court model. Veterans Treatment Court participants receive first class treatment and other services they require to get back on track and lead constructive lives, yet they are also held accountable by a judge for meeting their obligations to society, themselves and their families. Participants are regularly and randomly tested for alcohol/drug use, required to appear frequently in court for the judge to review their progress, and immediately receive rewards for doing well and sanctions for not living up to their obligations.
Requirements in Sedgwick County are similar to other locations:
Veterans must meet several conditions to qualify for Veterans Treatment Court. They must:
- Live in Sedgwick County.
- Have discharged from the military honorably or under conditions other than dishonorably
- Be convicted of a qualifying felony resulting from a mental health or substance abuse disorder
- Agree to a probation term of 18 months
Crimes of conviction cannot be:
- Serious felonies, Levels 1-3
- Domestic violence, if the offender has prior felony DV convictions
- Any crime involving a drive-by shooting or serious bodily harm
- Felony sex offenses.
The first Veterans Treatment Court in Kansas was established in Johnson County in 2016. In addition to Sedgwick, other Kansas counties that have established VTCs include Leavenworth, Shawnee, and Wyandotte.
Sedgwick County Judge Rodger Woods, in whose courtroom the VTC operates, explains how the Sedgwick court operates:
“The Veterans Treatment Court is not a separate court, but a specialty docket in existing courts, similar to Drug Treatment Courts and Mental Health Courts. The first was established in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2008. Since the VTC is a criminal court, there is a prosecutor and appointed defense counsel. Treatment courts, including veterans treatment courts, are part of existing Kansas criminal statute.”
Judge Woods says the VTC shows promising results:
“The program takes approximately 18 months to complete. As our first veteran entered the program just six months ago, we do not have statistical data on recidivism specific to the Sedgwick County Veterans Treatment Court.
“The Johnson County Veterans Treatment Court has been in operation since 2016. As of 2021, when we were in the planning process for the Sedgwick County VTC, of the 41 graduates of the Johnson County VTC, none had reoffended.”
